Your guide to discover the planet of the world number one in small household appliances is none other than the Export Director DOM-TOM, Mauritius and Polynesia of Groupe SEB France, Safi Bendahman, who speaks for the first time publicly in a Reunion press organ. International career, entirely within Groupe SEB, of this specialist in small household appliances gives particular value to his vision and his analysis of the current period, marked by the health crisis and the changes in habits it has caused in the kitchen... On a local scale, as national, small household appliances and the role played by Groupe SEB products, are indicative of a change in lifestyle that promises to be lasting : Homemade is regaining ground while e-commerce and digital information are developing. Result : purchases of small household appliances on the rise. And a new balance between tradition and modernity is being established.. It is the Consumer market that allows Groupe SEB to partially cushion the shock of the economic crisis. On this plane, Réunion is even an example with record sales in 2020, for Moulinex in particular. Thanks to dynamic distributors, in this difficult time to live, these sales demonstrate that Reunionese families can more than ever rely on the iconic brands that have accompanied their daily lives for many years : Moulinex, Seb, Tefal, Krups, Rowenta, Calor… to name only the main ones.
Meeting Leader : Despite confinement and the health crisis, your main local distributor, at Sogerep, achieved a record sales figure in 2020, higher than 2019. How do you explain it ?
Safi Bendahman : This is indeed very good news in the current context.. This great performance from our historic partner is due to both the quality and commitment of its employees.. Our partners remained mobilized and generally continued to offer their service to large food stores that remained open during the first lockdown..
Is this performance observed at the national market level?, even international, small domestic appliances ?
The year 2020 will remain for the entire world a year of unprecedented health crisis with major economic consequences. This crisis has shown a double trend : reinforcing certain habits such as homemade, which allowed our products and services to demonstrate their relevance and the acceleration of the development of e-commerce. In the difficult and uncertain context induced by the Covid-19 epidemic crisis, Groupe SEB achieved a turnover of 6,940 million euros in 2020, down by 5,6 %. The resistance of annual sales comes from the Consumer activity.
Who says export, said travel. How are you coping with travel restrictions to follow your marks ? Is the crisis lastingly changing the way of working exports? ?
From February 2020, Groupe SEB immediately took decisions and in particular to prioritize the health of its employees above all else.. International travel is currently strongly discouraged. We can no longer meet our partners in the field because this health crisis has disrupted our way of working., to change. We had to adapt on our side and continue to build strong and regular links with our local partners.. This is essential !
Eventually, between all these aspects, what is the impact of the pandemic on Groupe SEB’s activity? ?
The “homemade” craze has had a real positive impact on our Consumer business. Confinement, telecommuting, children at home : in 2020, the French spent a lot of time at home and they cooked more. And more than a craze, we see that home-made products are becoming a lasting part of the way we consume. 2020 sales in Professional are down by 30,7% at cpc, impacted by the highly restricted activity in the hotel and catering sector. In this difficult context, our results are therefore very satisfactory. They demonstrate the resilience of our model and above all the agility, the mobilization and commitment of our teams who, worldwide, were able to face this unprecedented crisis.
What does Reunion Island represent in all the markets for which you are responsible? ?
Reunion undoubtedly remains Groupe SEB's leading market in the French Overseas Territories/Indian Ocean/Polynesia zone.. This success is based on the quality of our historical partners who occupy the field and maintain excellent relationships with our resellers.. All our partners (I know, Ruined, DBCOI et Sogerep) played collectively and contributed greatly to the strong visibility of our products. Groupe SEB, through its portfolio of products and recognized brands, is a key player in Reunion and the Indian Ocean.
How is the Reunion PEM market evolving and what are the positions of Groupe SEB in its different segments at the start of 2021? ? Does Moulinex still occupy first place in terms of turnover? ?
Despite the very difficult context linked to the Covid-19 crisis, all our brands have progressed. There is no panel for the PEM in Reunion. It is therefore difficult to know precisely our market shares. However, we can see that our shares in the main brands on the island are significant and very close to those of the Metropolis. Moulinex undoubtedly occupies first place in terms of notoriety and turnover.. The closure of restaurants leads our consumers to equip themselves and go to hypermarkets to buy products such as blenders, rice cookers, fours, all small kitchen appliances (les kitchen-machines), as well as Tefal frying pans or kitchen accessories… Some of our products have been very successful, such as the first Moulinex Cookéo intelligent multi-cooker, Krups Dolce Gusto multi-drink coffee machines in partnership with Nestlé, Rowenta Clean and Steam and Flex steam vacuum cleaners. The acceleration of the development of e-commerce, le digital, contributed to making our products better known despite confinement. Finally, we must emphasize our cooperation with local distributors. It intensified with the implementation of numerous commercial and marketing actions targeting distribution and Reunion consumers..
Planet SEB, today it is a portfolio of 31 brands covering the entire range of domestic appliances, and more recently a development in the professional equipment sector. Has the range of brands available in Reunion Island evolved in recent years or is it still based on the great “classics” that are Moulinex?, Seb, Krups, Tefal, Heat, Rowenta ? How are these brands distributed and by whom ?
We distribute in Reunion all our brands marketed in mainland France, that is to say Seb, Heat, Tefal, Moulinex, Rowenta, Krups et Lagostina, Emsa, WMF in partnership with Sogerep, I know, DBCOI and distributors like Ravate and CAFOM. The Moulinex and Tefal brands are the most representative of our activity. We have made a lot of progress with Rowenta in vacuum cleaners and in particular on versatile ones., Calor with vertical steamers, as well as Krups thanks to Nescafé Dolce Gusto. Our turnover is achieved with approximately 50% of devices manufactured in our European factories. (mainly in France). Groupe SEB remains one of the last PEM manufacturers in France and Europe.
The partnership between Nestlé Réunion and Nescafé Dolce Gusto machines has lasted for several years with undeniable success.. Can you recall the genesis and nature of this partnership? ? What does this co-branding bring you in the very competitive coffee machine section? ?
It’s indeed a very nice partnership.. The notoriety of Nestlé in Reunion as well as the quality of the capsules obviously benefit the Krups brand.. Side note, we bring all our know-how and our Made In France expertise to the world of coffee machines. Our historical partner DBCOI leads and coordinates execution on the ground. Nestlé Réunion and DBCOI are setting up mixed capsule-machine trade Ops and regularly offering events. Today we have an active fleet of more than 55,000 machines.
With Cookeo, the ultra-rapid cooker, Moulinex invents the pressure cooker of the 21st century. With the Companion multifunction food processor, it’s worry-free cooking of almost all foods. Early 2020, these two devices became connected. Speed of action, multifunction and connectivity are the fronts on which the battle for small household appliances is being fought today?
Our mission is to always be as close as possible to the consumer to anticipate their needs and respond to them.. Listen to them to simplify their daily life. In France more than elsewhere, cooking is a field involving : consumers expect brands like Tefal or Moulinex that the products help them learn, progress and meet their expectations, their desires, while remaining connected. They want to be able to share their achievements within a community and be provided with content : recipes, advice, exchanges on the forums, etc. Cookeo and Companion are products that are very successful in Réunion with visibility on TV on Réunion 1ère . Sales records were even reached in 2020. Our presence on social networks (Facebook, Instagram) as well as the recruitment of influencers, allow us to better penetrate the local market by communicating the ease of use of our products and the promise of successful recipes every time. Cooking classes and in-store events are offered during the main highlights of the year. Faithful to culinary traditions, the launch of our Creole cooking recipe book COOKEO in August 2020 reinforced our personalized message to the Reunion consumer.
We see brands on the shelves, like Moulinex and Tefal, side by side on the same product families (coffee maker, grille-pain…) and at similar prices. What are the respective positions of your brands? ?
Groupe SEB deploys its activity based on a portfolio of 31 emblematic and complementary brands : Tefal, Seb, Rowenta, Moulinex, Krups, Lagostina, All-Clad, WMF, Emsa, Supor… They are marketed through multi-format distribution. Each of our brands has its own identity, with a differentiated product offering adapted to each consumer target.
Is Mother’s Day still an important event for the PEM market? ? Do you plan to launch new products at Reunion on this occasion? ?
Mother's Day remains a very important time for the people of Reunion Island., among many others ! We remain attentive to our partners to identify the products that offer the best potential and meet the expectations of our consumers., at different times of their lives. A friend wants to take his first steps in the kitchen ? Cookeo Touch is the ideal gift. A parent is looking for a solution to sanitize their household linens ? Cube is the solution. This is something new, the first high-pressure and mobile steamer from Calor which allows you to smooth and purify textiles using the 100% natural power of steam. Children want to please their mother ? they offer a Nescafé Dolce Gusto multi-drink coffee machine….
Given the evolution of lifestyles and consumption, what will be the characteristics of tomorrow's household appliances : extended lifespan, repairability, the use of recycled materials…?
We are aware of the fact that the durability of products is an important element for consumers and increasingly important in their purchasing act.. It is also a fundamental element for Groupe SEB, pioneer in this field. 94% of our household appliances products marketed by the Group in Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa are repairable products. To do this, the Group relies on a network of approved repair centers which today has more than 6,200 repairers worldwide, including 2,800 in China. The Group guarantees repairers the availability of 40,000 spare part references up to 10 to 15 years after product manufacturing has ceased.. In 2020, we went even further in the field by launching, In France, repair packages which are offered at a price much lower than the replacement cost and generally represent between 20% and 40% of the equivalent new product. The price is fixed, known in advance by the consumer. We plan to extend this system in 2021 to other countries in Europe.
The Chinese market is the first market for the SEB group. At the same time, your brands are among the most copied. Where is the SEB group in this area? ?
With nearly 250 million products produced per year, protecting innovation is a priority. Groupe SEB and its Chinese law firm WanHuida have just received the UNIFAB Award 2021 in the “Best legal decision” category on the occasion of the 25th edition of the European Intellectual Property Forum. This distinction rewards several years of legal proceedings in China to protect one of Groupe SEB’s most disruptive innovations., worldwide famous, the Actifry fryer which allows you to cook fresh fries with just one spoon of oil ! This product made in France is covered by numerous patents in several countries. Operating strict market surveillance with local actions to avoid large mass production of counterfeit products, Groupe SEB detected copies of the Actifry exhibited at the famous Canton Fair in China and took the decision to pursue the infringer for model and patent infringement. In December 2019, after several years of procedure, the Group obtained a remarkable and unprecedented decision from the Supreme Court of Beijing, the highest level of Chinese jurisdiction –, ordering the infringer to stop the counterfeiting, to destroy the molds and stocks of the counterfeit products and to pay 1,000,000 RMB in damages.
THE MAJOR DATES OF THE MAJOR BRANDS
SEB 1857 : Antoine Lescure, traveling tinkerer, installed in Lorsgey, in Bourgogne, his tinsmith workshop.
1962 : Seb launches his very first electrical device, the Seb electric coffee maker.
1973 : Seb created the fully automatic toaster.
1994 : launch of a revolutionary pressure cooker: the Clipso, with one-handed opening system.
2006 : Seb invents Actifry, electric fryer (a kilo of fries with a single spoon of oil).
2015 : Actifry Smart XL, first smart fryer to monitor cooking remotely.
MOULINEX 1932 : Jean Mantelet, Parisian artisan, invents the vegetable mill, which allows you to crush cooked vegetables and make purees without lumps (two million copies sold in early 1935).
1961 : the famous Moulinette becomes electric. Moulinex (brand born in
1956 : contraction of the Moulin Express coffee grinder) launches electric robots.
1976 : Moulinex invents the mini-oven.
2006 : Seb invents Actifry, electric fryer (a kilo of fries with a single spoon of oil).
2015 : Actifry Smart XL, first smart fryer to monitor cooking remotely.
TEFAL 1954 : Engineer Marc Grégoire has the revolutionary idea of creating the first pan with non-stick properties. he developed a process anchoring the Teflon to the aluminum disc of the pan. The first “non-stick pan” was born.
2006 : Seb invents Actifry, electric fryer (a kilo of fries with a single spoon of oil).
2015 : Actifry Smart XL, first smart fryer to monitor cooking remotely.
HEAT 1917 : Léonce Throuillet founds Calorqui manufactures the first European electric iron. In the 1920s, the parabolic radiator was launched, hairdryer and fan. Then in the early 1930s, the toaster, the automatic thermostatic iron and the first fan heater.
ROWENTA 1909 : Robert Weintraud, an industrialist from Offenbach, founded the Rowenta brand, whose name is inspired by his. He produced the first irons.
1949 : launch of the first thermostat-controlled iron.
70s : launch of the first Rowenta vacuum cleaners.
2006 : Seb invents Actifry, electric fryer (a kilo of fries with a single spoon of oil).
2015 : Actifry Smart XL, first smart fryer to monitor cooking remotely.
Planet SEB in figures
- 42 industrial sites • Nearly 250 million products produced per year.
- More than 1,345 stores worldwide • A presence in nearly 150 countries.
- Leadership positions in 25 countries • 31 brands • 34,000 employees.
- 38% female managers • 100% sites ISO 14001 certified (environmental management)
- 94% of products labeled “Product repairable for 10 years” for Moulinex brands, Rowenta, Tefal, Seb, Heat, Krups, WMF.
- 35% use of recycled materials • More than 500 projects aimed at reintegrating people in situations of exclusion supported by the Groupe SEB fund in 10 years
- 3,05 billion euros dedicated to sponsorship • Nearly 1,500 people in the innovation community.
- 45% share of digital in media investments in 2019 • Around 25% of the Group's 2019 sales in e-commerce.
- 2/3 of products manufactured internally • 266 million euros of investment as part of the “Industry of the Future” program.
- 383 patents filed in 2019.
2020 TURNOVER
6,94 billion euros (7,35 billion euros in 2019) dont : Grand public : 6,36 billion euros (6,55 billion euros in 2019)
Professional : 575 million euros (799 million euros in 2019).
Safi Bendahman, an experienced professional and a humanist
In office since January 2018, Safi Bendahmane begins a new page in her professional career in the Export department of Groupe SEB France by managing the entire product and brand portfolio in the French Overseas Territories., Mauritius and Polynesia.
“An exciting new challenge” sums up this humanist at heart, who will celebrate his 52nd birthday this year, to explain the enthusiasm that drives him to be the pilot of this very rich geographical area, so varied and to create value every day in each of its parts. It's an opportunity, for him and for the company, that the arrival of a professional with as much experience. “In 25 years of career, I have always worked internationally within Groupe SEB with which I grew up and held different positions, with interesting challenges as IS Project Manager in Hong Kong, International market manager, or very recently international auditor” declares Safi Bendahmane, who started as a young management controller at SA SEB in Lorsgey, the historic cradle of Groupe SEB. Then he very quickly moved on to his international career at Rowenta Werke at the kundendienst (service client). He then moved to the world of information systems as SAP Project Manager. “I had the opportunity to go to Russia, Hollande, Italy, Hong Kong, for the implementation of a SAP ERP tool on logistics modules, sales and purchase. From thread to eel, I took on the role of international market manager for linen care families, Personal Care and Baby Care with, within my perimeter, Western Europe, the Near and Middle East. A key step in my career which allowed me to be more comfortable with the product offering, strategic marketing and its execution with our market companies. »
A man with a mission
“I had the opportunity to work for four years in the Internal Audit Department with, for main missions, to prevent risks and ensure the proper compliance of our procedures. I was able to visit most of Groupe SEB's market and product companies around the world.. » “There are cycles in life and I have had and could have had the opportunity to change, poursuit Safi Bendahmane. All my professional logistics experiences, in information systems, financial, marketing and sales, now allow me to help our historical partners in the development of their businesses and to better prepare us for the rise, For example, E-Commerce and digital. »
