Turning Polish design into a product
Beata Bochińska, CEO and founder of the firm, talks about reconciling beauty with the bottom line, and what Polish design houses can do to catch up with their European competitors.
Katarzyna Dębek: There are many media articles about the wasted potential of Polish designers and the poor promotion of Polish designs, even though they very often win international contests. Can you see any positive changes thanks to all this interest?
Beata Bochińska: I think that the secret of discovering Polish designers by the EU and US lies in the fact that we joined the EU, which our neighbors have to accept. They are trying to get to know us, and are realizing our latent potential after years of ignoring us. Besides, they realize we are witnessing a great investment boom in our country; many new companies are entering the market, so it is worth getting acquainted with Polish designers and checking their capabilities. Do not forget that Polish products entering the EU market are competition for local goods.
As for winning the contests, it is surely good PR. From the point of view of young capitalism, we definitely need some praise from external authorities, but it is also true that there aren't many industrial-design critics in Poland, so who is to decide what is good and what is bad? More and more designers cooperate with the industry but it is mainly due to competition and the free market and not just the media hype, although the latter is very useful.
Poland is one of the biggest furniture exporters to the EU, but that does not translate into being a design icon. What should be done to change the situation and where do the designs of Polish furniture producers come from?
The biggest Polish companies, such as Balma, Profim, Mikomax, Com40, Adriana or Larsey, buy them from designers but there are still some less conscientious or successful ones that simply copy other companies' designs.
Besides, the structure of the Polish furniture industry is such that the majority of production consists in implementing designs provided by foreign commercial chains. Our brands are totally unknown on western markets, we haven't got our distribution networks abroad and don't sell in places where the brand actually matters. And the furniture produced for big chains under somebody else's brands don't really need innovative designs.
As you can see, a designer is only a tiny element of the big market mechanism and his/her position depends on the good or bad standing of Polish companies - designers can really improve products but they are not company managers responsible for trade policy.
KD: Many furniture shops in Poland typically offer affordable but unattractive products and when some more interesting collections appear they are usually far beyond the reach of the average consumer. Is it really impossible to meet halfway?
Cheap products simply have to be mass-produced but because, apart from Ikea, there is no interior-design distribution chain, our producers haven't got a partner who would order massive amounts of their products. Many producers open their own shops in order to get to the customer. The costs automatically grow and the price of furniture soars. It doesn't mean Polish producers are not prepared to offer good designs for reasonable prices - remember that 12 percent of all products ordered by Ikea are manufactured in Poland - so the industry has got capabilities; what it lacks is professional distribution-chain commerce.
What percentage of the product's value accounts for the design? Would a company have to bear great costs in order to opt for modern designs?
If the product is mass-produced then the price spreads on many items, if it's a small collection then the price is automatically higher but then again the producer's margin is bigger. But you have to remember that from the idea to the introduction of the product on the market there are also costs of research, prototypes, equipment for the production of new designs, promotion, sales and distribution ... project cost is just a fraction if we deal with serious partners that implement products in accordance with their market development plan.
Of course in the modern world of copyrights, designers are paid royalties related to the effectiveness of sales - so here again the risk is spread.
What about Wzornik's competition? Have any new players appeared on the market?
There are of course more and more good designers, which we are very happy about because it creates an opportunity to educate consumers and introduce good, new products.
It is also important that Polish designers are very flexible; they are able to work in the changing conditions, are very well prepared and can easily be an export product, such as our IT specialists, doctors or plumbers. I'm sure new R&D companies will soon appear on the Polish market and will be eager to employ them. Institutions who could turn Polish designers into 'a product' attracting investment to Poland seem not to notice that. People with an in-depth knowledge about the market and trends, analysts, product specialists - it's a great job offer and not necessarily on the lowest level. If the Polish plumber was able to terrify Europe, then maybe the Polish designer will be at least able to attract R&D investments to Poland?
Katarzyna Dębek: There are many media articles about the wasted potential of Polish designers and the poor promotion of Polish designs, even though they very often win international contests. Can you see any positive changes thanks to all this interest?
Beata Bochińska: I think that the secret of discovering Polish designers by the EU and US lies in the fact that we joined the EU, which our neighbors have to accept. They are trying to get to know us, and are realizing our latent potential after years of ignoring us. Besides, they realize we are witnessing a great investment boom in our country; many new companies are entering the market, so it is worth getting acquainted with Polish designers and checking their capabilities. Do not forget that Polish products entering the EU market are competition for local goods.
As for winning the contests, it is surely good PR. From the point of view of young capitalism, we definitely need some praise from external authorities, but it is also true that there aren't many industrial-design critics in Poland, so who is to decide what is good and what is bad? More and more designers cooperate with the industry but it is mainly due to competition and the free market and not just the media hype, although the latter is very useful.
Poland is one of the biggest furniture exporters to the EU, but that does not translate into being a design icon. What should be done to change the situation and where do the designs of Polish furniture producers come from?
The biggest Polish companies, such as Balma, Profim, Mikomax, Com40, Adriana or Larsey, buy them from designers but there are still some less conscientious or successful ones that simply copy other companies' designs.
Besides, the structure of the Polish furniture industry is such that the majority of production consists in implementing designs provided by foreign commercial chains. Our brands are totally unknown on western markets, we haven't got our distribution networks abroad and don't sell in places where the brand actually matters. And the furniture produced for big chains under somebody else's brands don't really need innovative designs.
As you can see, a designer is only a tiny element of the big market mechanism and his/her position depends on the good or bad standing of Polish companies - designers can really improve products but they are not company managers responsible for trade policy.
KD: Many furniture shops in Poland typically offer affordable but unattractive products and when some more interesting collections appear they are usually far beyond the reach of the average consumer. Is it really impossible to meet halfway?
Cheap products simply have to be mass-produced but because, apart from Ikea, there is no interior-design distribution chain, our producers haven't got a partner who would order massive amounts of their products. Many producers open their own shops in order to get to the customer. The costs automatically grow and the price of furniture soars. It doesn't mean Polish producers are not prepared to offer good designs for reasonable prices - remember that 12 percent of all products ordered by Ikea are manufactured in Poland - so the industry has got capabilities; what it lacks is professional distribution-chain commerce.
What percentage of the product's value accounts for the design? Would a company have to bear great costs in order to opt for modern designs?
If the product is mass-produced then the price spreads on many items, if it's a small collection then the price is automatically higher but then again the producer's margin is bigger. But you have to remember that from the idea to the introduction of the product on the market there are also costs of research, prototypes, equipment for the production of new designs, promotion, sales and distribution ... project cost is just a fraction if we deal with serious partners that implement products in accordance with their market development plan.
Of course in the modern world of copyrights, designers are paid royalties related to the effectiveness of sales - so here again the risk is spread.
What about Wzornik's competition? Have any new players appeared on the market?
There are of course more and more good designers, which we are very happy about because it creates an opportunity to educate consumers and introduce good, new products.
It is also important that Polish designers are very flexible; they are able to work in the changing conditions, are very well prepared and can easily be an export product, such as our IT specialists, doctors or plumbers. I'm sure new R&D companies will soon appear on the Polish market and will be eager to employ them. Institutions who could turn Polish designers into 'a product' attracting investment to Poland seem not to notice that. People with an in-depth knowledge about the market and trends, analysts, product specialists - it's a great job offer and not necessarily on the lowest level. If the Polish plumber was able to terrify Europe, then maybe the Polish designer will be at least able to attract R&D investments to Poland?
