In a recent interview with Krzysztof Dukat, the Managing Director of Polish furniture manufacturer Notto. We delved into the company's origins, its growth and its vision for the future, but also the market challenges the furniture industry is facing at the moment.
Origins
Notto's story is akin to an entrepreneurial dream taking root in a garage. ‘It’s a bit like the American dream,’ describes Krzysztof. The owner, Tomasz Mankowski, started making furniture in his garage when he finished his studies. First he made kitchen furniture for neighbours and then, step by step, it grew.’ From these humble beginnings, it steadily expanded, evolving into a key supplier of solid oak and upholstered furniture.
Daily operations and philosophy
A distinguishing factor for Notto lies in its vertical integration – housing its own sawmill, sewing, carpentry, and foam cutting workshops. This approach allows them to oversee the entire production process, ensuring meticulous control over quality. Krzysztof emphasises their commitment to responsibility for the final product, stating: ‘We want to be responsible for the final product. So we do a lot ourselves: we cut the logs ourselves, we dry the wood ourselves. There’s always two ways to do this. You either work with someone you trust, or you do it yourself and control the whole process. We prefer the latter, so we can guarantee the best quality possible.’
Notto headquarters
Market presence and challenges
Notto primarily caters to European markets, focusing on Benelux, Germany, France, Austria, and Southern Europe. Despite challenges, Notto has carved a niche in the middle-class furniture sector, aiming to establish itself as a reliable partner for wholesalers and agents. Especially the market conditions in Germany are tough Krzysztof explains: ‘Generally the biggest and most important challenges are caused by inflation, war and turbulences. So of course the amount of customers in Germany is much lower. What we observe on the market is a 20 percent decrease in sales. But in every European country we can see the number of individual orders is lower. Our objective is to try to work very hard, to actively focus on repair and gain customers. So generally our market position is not the same percentage. We are going up, because we already have new customers on the market.’
Innovation and future plans
Highlighting Notto's commitment to innovation, Krzysztof mentioned the continuous development of new furniture models: ‘We create circa 50 new models each year. This means on average we do one model per week.’ The company's Research and Development department remains at the forefront of creating and refining these models based on customer feedback and market trends. ‘It’s important to be one of the firsts in the market and not to wait, to discover what is going to be popular.’
Looking ahead to 2024, they continue their presence at MOW Germany and Brussels Furniture Fair and plan to unveil new designs crafted through collaborations with both in-house experts and external designers.
Notto's Santorini sofa
Krzysztof's closing remarks encapsulated Notto's ethos of quality and dedication. He emphasised their stance as passionate and active players in the furniture market, not merely seeking recognition but striving to be known as a serious, knowledgeable and experienced supplier. Notto aims not for sheer size but for flexibility, remaining steadfast in their commitment to prioritise quality over quantity. ‘We don’t want to be gamechangers. For us it’s important to be a partner for buyers. Step by step, we want to be stronger, not bigger. With 160 employees, we are not a very big company, so we are very compact and flexible. But we don’t have the ambition to be the biggest. For us the most important factor is to be a serious supplier for the furniture business, with experience and knowledge.’
More information:
Notto
Obornicka 1B
PL 64-630 Ryczywół
+ 48 606-225-141
[email protected]
www.notto.eu