Until recently, choosing to buy ecological wood furniture at an affordable price and get it in a few days was practically impossible. The affectionate start-up Catalan company democratized this product and achieved it “by standardizing a series of designs to be as efficient as possible,” he explains. John Alvarez CEO and co-founder of the company. The craftsman has access to such designs and has the most advantageous terms when purchasing raw materials, which affects the price. “Anyone can have this furniture and we make a bigger impact,” he adds.
The affectionate idea came from his partner Maurici Badía, although neither of the founders had any experience in the furniture world. In 2017, they started shaping the idea in a very primitive way and realized that there were many people who might be interested. “In the beginning there were months when we didn’t quite understand what was going on. From a sale of 5,000 euros I went to 20,000 and then to 50,000. It was a very crazy growth, very uncontrolled,” Alvarez admits. Over time they understood the behavior of the market and adapted to its structure.
The Hannum team designs and develops furniture together with one of its suppliers. “We agree on the terms and integrate them into the system with our technology. That way, when they are purchased, the workshop produces them. We take care of the logistics, pick up the product and send it to the customer,” explains the CEO. Thanks to this technology they were able to get some Delivery times are ten days. “When products are launched, the software itself is able to see how many units will be sold and we can anticipate production. He adds that the intelligence of the system helps us and we are speeding up delivery times.
look outside
In 2018, they generated net sales of 300,000 euros and closed last year in excess of 4 million euros. The CEO advances, “In 2021, international sales represented more than 30% of the business, and in the first half of this year it was already close to half.” In France, for example, it works very well, so they’ve translated the entire website into French and have people serving customers in their language. “The idea is to be a European brand, We have an international focus,” Alvarez admits. In the first six months of the year, sales grew by 66% to €2.9 million. The CEO is optimistic about the numbers, adding: “We continue to work to be more efficient and improve margins.” Last June, it was listed on BME Growth, the stock market for small and medium-sized companies, and is currently valued at around €15 million.
Their first workshop/warehouse was located in Trasa, and as they grew they spread to other regions of the country. They also produce furniture in Poland and Hungary, to be more efficient in sales abroad. The company wants to be a reference in sustainable furniture in Europe and for this purpose the production is carried out in search of a minimal impact on the environment. It uses reclaimed wood for some of its furniture, which accounts for 25% of the company’s turnover. It also has a collection that includes post-industrial pieces of plastic to prevent it from being thrown into the sea, which recovers a portion of the plastic that has already sunk into the ocean. On the other hand, it makes deliveries in electric cars to make last mile deliveries sustainable.
