Keter Group – An Evolving Offering BFM 91

KETER GROUP

AN EVOLVING OFFERING

KETER GROUP

KETER GROUP PROVIDES EVERYTHING FROM GARDEN SHEDS TO FOOD STORAGE, BUT DOES IT WHILE TAKING CARE OF ITS STAFF AND THE PLANET.

AN EVOLVING OFFERING PROJECT MANAGED BY: LEE PHOENIX

Resin is one of the ultimate multipurpose materials, and perhaps nowhere is that clearer than in Keter Group’s offering.

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e touch multiple categories within Keter Group and have this unique ability to develop products across all of those categories, whether that’s home storage, food storage for pasta and rice, lunch boxes, or out into the garden for bin storage, bike storage, garden sheds, and tool storage,” points out Eddie Johnson, Keter’s Managing Director for UK and Ireland.

“We create all of those out of the same material. The same material as the cup you put your toothbrush in is used for garden storage that is outside for 12 months a year. It doesn’t deteriorate, it doesn’t get damaged.”

Keter Group was founded over 70 years ago, and in that time, it has received recognition through design awards including the Red Dot Design Awards (2010, 2011, 2013), the ID Annual Design Review (2010), and the DIY Product of the Year (2010).

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“Keter is a wonderful business based around innovation, agility and entrepreneurship,” Johnson tells us. “In essence, we’re a consumer productbased business that looks to offer solutions through creating resin-based products.”

Keter Group does this across a wide range of categories, inspiring people to create amazing spaces in their homes and gardens through its innovative, high-quality products. The company focuses on creating products that are stylish, practical, and durable.

A QUESTION OF LOGISTICS

Of course, these are unprecedented times no matter what sector you are working in, and Johnson is the first to admit Keter has felt the impact of recent events.

“Obviously Covid has been the most unique business challenge, but now the biggest challenges are around raw material prices, transport,

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and labour,” Johnson says.

“Logistics, drivers, containers; it really feels like a challenge.”

While there are wider supply chain issues going on across the board right now, Johnson points out that Keter Group’s products are particularly in demand following the pandemic, as it has motivated many people to address their home and garden organisation.

Fortunately, the business has measures in place to address this rising demand.

“We have a really clear process; Sales Finance and Operation Planning, or SFOP,” Johnson says. “We look at our outward forecast of what our consumers and retailers are looking for, providing real data for our supply base to give them the certainty and information necessary to plan and invest to meet that demand.”

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A TEAM YOU WANT TO STAY WITH

Of course, this is made possible by the dedicated and expert team that is Keter’s staff, a particularly valuable resource at a time when many companies are struggling to recruit.

“Retention is the key point I would raise,” Johnson says. “We have a ‘Wellbeing Wheel’ in our human resources department showing the key areas we need to focus on to develop and retain talent.”

This development features a foundation of functional programmes around areas such as health and safety and driver training, but Keter Group also offers a great line manager programme within the UK business that focuses on staff to be the best they can be as a line manager and understand the other people within their teams.

“We have a really clear development path for our people,” says Johnson. “We have negotiation and finance training courses to upskill people and give them the skills to deliver business growth.

We make a huge effort around wellbeing through a course called ‘Walking to the Moon’.”

‘Walking to the Moon’ sets the ambitious target for the team to walk a combined distance equivalent of that between the Earth to the Moon by the end of 2021, in addition to featuring regular challenges for staff, which include simply taking a break from the office for an hour.

“It’s not like everyone has to run a marathon, it’s just getting people out walking and talking and in the fresh air, taking that time away from the office or the machine or whatever they may be doing,” Johnson points out.

The challenges are a way of sustaining staff and avoiding burnout. Perhaps unsurprisingly, sustainability is a key part of Keter Group’s philosophy.

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As Johnson tells us, “Our sustainability pledges run across three key pillars: better products, better planet, better business. Our business is built around people development and welfare. One of our commitments is having a gender balance, and, in gender terms, the leadership team is perfectly split 50/50.

We work closely to get the right people doing the job with that balance and representation.”

This focus on staff welfare, equality and diversity is reflected in Keter Group’s environmental principles.

“The beauty of the business is that already over 40% of our products globally are recycled, and virtually 100% are recyclable,” Johnson points out.

“We are already well towards our target of 80% recycled material by 2028 and send zero waste to landfill.”

AN EVOLVING BUSINESS

It is clear talking to Johnson what Keter’s priorities are moving forward. One thing that Johnson is confident about is that this future will be British.

“Over the last five years we’ve invested just under £15 million into the UK business and UK manufacturing,” Johnson tells us proudly.

But what’s exciting is that the company remains open to change.

“What I love about Keter, and I think that consumers do too, is that our business continually evolves,” Johnson says. “Keter as a business is based on agility and entrepreneurship and that continues throughout the business. About 18 months ago we launched the Darwin shed, the evolution of the garden shed in the UK. We spoke to consumers, asked their opinion on what the perfect shed solution would be, and they said they want it to look and feel like a normal shed but be maintenance-free. So that’s what we did. We looked for consumer trends and consumer solutions, and then later those solutions can be reground and recycled.”

Keter Group provides a strong offering and is focused on meeting the demands of the consumer of tomorrow.

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