The current crisis could mark a new departure

An imposing Abbey left abandoned by the Benedictines in the French Revolution, on the border between the Germany, the Luxembourg and the France. The headquarters of Villeroy & Boch says much about the past of this undertaking, the earthenware for the aristocracy of the 18th century to its collection called "New Wave" of the 2000s, passing by the Art Deco, observed two hundred and sixty years the lifestyles of Europeans. She picked up only three conflicts between the France and the Germany, and has overcome many crises, the last dating back to the arrival of inexpensive dishes of the countries two decades ago.

The current crisis could mark a new departure. His activity of bathrooms will be affected by the difficulties in the real estate and construction. In the arts of the table, its high positioning range may pose problem with a customer base which is arbitration. "The consumer has a highly volatile behavior at this time, explains Nicolas - Luc Villeroy, who leads this division.". Six months ago, he was concerned for his purchasing power, due to an increase in the price of raw materials. Now, it's the uncertainty on the future on him. It is a less brutal brake, but should last longer. "As many industry this year, Christmas leave was lengthened and mills are on the case since early December. "The decline will match about a month of production." "We will also repatriate internally part of manufacturing, we had outsourced when we were in excess capacity," he said.

Whirlpool and spa baths

The situation had deteriorated sharply in mid-year. End of October, manufacturer of ceramics abandoned its goal of sales for this year. For the next year, he hopes at best a continuation of its turnover at the level of 2008. "We are working on two scenarios for 2009: either a stagnation if sales go to rising in the second half, or decreased if the crisis persists." The company is not considering a revolution of the model of activity as in the 1990s, where it launched "Villeroy & Boch House". To face market competition, it was then decided to display his dishes as tables to encourage customers to buy more articles. But it is considering the creation of a new complementary pole. Convinced that bathroom is becoming more and more a place of comfort, Villeroy & Boch has recently started the manufacture of whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Reflections on the reprocessing of water are also underway. "The water is not yet perceived as a scarce resource, but it will be, said Nicolas Luc Villeroy." It is well with the automotive crisis today that behaviour can change very quickly. We anticipate this development. "This means, for example, more efficient valve heads, or ceramics with bacteriological treatment. Villeroy & Boch is present at the Ish fair in Frankfurt in March a joint research project with other industrialists of the building.

With regard to the short term, the Saarland company said in a good position in terms of liquidity. "We did not have large acquisition in view, therefore not extraordinary need for funding." If the issue were to arise in the coming months, it is certain that the bankers will be more selective than before.