The Blanco Group has reported it made headway in sales, despite challenging conditions, with 2% growth in turnover to €493 million in the past financial year.

Blanco group management board (left to right) COO Andreas Ostermann von Roth, CEO Frank Gfrörer, CFO Rüdiger Böhle

It follows record sales by Blanco in 2021, with an increase of 18.5%, and 2020 when it achieved 3.1% growth.

While the company was able to benefit from the pandemic-related boom in the construction and renovation sector due to the ‘cocooning effect’, it reported the second half of 2022 was challenging due to the global conditions.

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Nevertheless, Blanco CEO Frank Gfrörer says the company has succeeded in becoming fit for the future: “The 2022 financial year was a year of transformation for us. We used it to set a strategic and operational course for the future and market the Blanco Unit as a high-grade system unit.”

“Overall, Blanco was operating in a difficult general environment in the last financial year, which was marked by the war in Ukraine, fraught supply conditions on procurement markets, drastically increased energy and transport costs, followed by rising inflation and declining consumer momentum.”

Against this background, the company withdrew from its operational business in Russia and dissolved its subsidiary there.

For the first time, Blanco implemented a mid-year price increase, along with measures to save costs and energy in production and logistics.

And in order to step up marketing of its Blanco Unit and position Blanco as a premium brand, it focused on the core regions of EMEA, North America and Asia-Pacific.

To make the Blanco Unit more visible for retail partners and consumers as a premium product in the kitchen water place, it rolled out modules and materials for showrooms.

It held a Europe-wide dealer roadshow, that took in seven countries and was accompanied by social media campaigns, opened a flagship store in Indonesia, and exhibited at major industry trade fairs.

In 2022, Blanco also progressed or completed digitalisation in production, logistics and administration.

This included the introduction of a digital warehouse management system in the UK and the launch of a digital transport management system in North America.

CFO Rüdiger Böhle pointed out he conversion of the global ERP system, which has been planned over several years, had also achieved important milestones.

Blanco also increased production capacity for Silgranit sinks at its plants in Toronto, Canada and Most Czech republic and invested in infrastructure for the supply of alternative energy.

Employing 1,587 full-time employees worldwide at the end of the year, “They have all contributed to the success of the business by working towards our common goal of making the water place a sought-after brand product in high-end kitchens.

“The Management Board would like to express our heartfelt thanks for this,” says CFO Rüdiger Böhle.

He concluded: “With a clear course for its strategic direction, Blanco consistently built up expertise last year, both through a comprehensive development programme for the workforce, tailored to the requirements of the transformation, and through targeted new hires.”

According to CEO Frank Gfrörer, the company expects business volume to grow modestly in 2023, given the global conditions and their consequences are difficult to assess.

“Nevertheless, we are doing everything we can to inspire people to equip their new kitchens with the Blanco Unit to make life simpler and better with convenient added benefits such as refined drinking water for every taste, digital ordering services for consumables and handy utensils for drinking, preparation and cleaning.”