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INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER FLO VAN TONGEL,
DESIGN MANAGER OPHÉLIE VANHOUTTE, MARKETING OFFICER YENTL
VAN DER PLAS AND CEO PETER DESMET.
immediately in view for visitors. We deliber- ately avoided presenting our assortment as self-contained collections, arranging them in- stead in looks and themes. Customers could thus choose first according to visual aspects before in a second step making their selection based on characteristics and price.
Ophélie Vanhoutte: We showed new de- signs and qualities, and yet they all have the Mc Three DNA – our customers felt that. Our Limited Edition, which we launched together with Belgian artist Angéline Catteeuw, was a talking point. Her expressive abstract designs show what our carpets can do, and we are very happy about the wow effect we achieved with them.
Carpet Home: There was a lot of movement in the Belgian carpet industry last year. What does the decision of the founder’s daughter, Sophia
Vanwynsberghe, to keep the company in family hands mean ?
Peter Desmet: For us, it is a very strong signal to the outside world: we are here, and we are here to stay; and we have a vision of the future that we are busy shaping ourselves. The con- fidence that Sophia Vanwynsberghe has in us and the security she gives us is reflected back in our loyalty, motivation and tremendous passion for the product. We have the expertise and the skills to compete confidently in the market. And our owner gives us the opportu- nity to invest.
Carpet Home: As a fully integrated manufac- turer, where does Mc Three prioritise its invest- ments ?
Peter Desmet: The very first thing we do is invest in our people. We offer training and
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