Visiting the Breuer+Schmitz booth

'Where are the hardware store employees?'

A broad smile is seen on the face of Gijs-Bert Drost. He is Account Manager at Breuer+Schmitz, the manufacturer of hinges.... Nothing but good things about the fair. Gijs-Bert: "It was really busy beyond expectations. The talks we had were also of high quality. To my surprise, Monday and Tuesday were very good days. Those were a bit quieter in previous fairs. So a lot to do.

"Yes, there is a lot of buzz around the country. You notice that customers - and potential customers - are very interested in all the novelties. At the BouwBeurs, for example, we widely publicized the expansion of our HiDe 3D hinges. We started this 2 years ago; sales of these hinges are growing in the Dutch and Belgian markets. We also see that colors are becoming more and more important. Especially for the project market this is interesting."

Gijs-Bert once again touches on HiDe 3D hinges, the so-called "blind" hinges. "In this day and age, consumers need a clean finish. Anything that is not really necessary no longer needs to be visible. It explains the interest there is in these HiDe 3D hinges."

In one aspect, however, Gijs-Bert is somewhat disappointed. "I see it myself AND I hear it from quite a few suppliers that there are so few hardware store employees here at the fair. I understand that they often don't get permission to come here for a day. And, if they do come, they often have to do it on their own time. But why? Surely success - even in the hardware store - is also determined by the knowledge your employees have? Give them a pat on the back and make it a fun day out here at the BouwBeurs in Utrecht. With all the knowledge they gain here - both from us and from all the colleagues who are here with a stand - they can inspire consumers again. Too bad they won't be here this year, then."    n