Growth in export

Two thirds of Reda?s turnover is currently made in the Czech Republic, one third via export sales. ?The export is one of our growth areas,? according to Minar. This is also the reason why the company has had to give up its membership in the international distributor alliance, IPPAG: Only members whose business is limited to their home markets are allowed to be part of the alliance, because otherwise it could lead to territorial rivalry with other member companies. ?During the course of our IPPAG membership we gained invaluable experiences and saw how the companies worked in other European and international markets. That is of great value for our orientation in the future,? Minar summed up. The complete warehouse and the printing shop of Reda are located at the head office in Brno, which also supplies the Slovakian and Polish markets. Around 65% of the products leave the warehouse customised. Overall Reda has a warehouse capacity of 14,000 palette storage places and a printing shop spread over a surface area of 2,500 m?. The Reda building in Brno expands over 29,000 m?, the company?s grounds are 35,000 m? in size. The value of the goods stored is estimated by the company as being worth 10 mil. Euros. In 2008 Reda made a turnover of 648.4 mil. Czech Koruna ? which is around 25 mil. Euros. A total of 230 employees work for Reda, the company has been ISO 9001:2001 certified since 2006.

Purchasing in China

Reda imports the majority of its products from China, only glassware is sourced in the Czech Republic. Alcohol, chocolate and other culinary items are also purchased on the domestic market for sale to the end customers. ?For our distributor division we also buy products from the big importers such as PF Concept, Inspirion, Mid Ocean and others ? who due to the special structures on our market our importing divisions simultaneously competes against when selling to the distributors,? is how Minar explained the difference in Reda?s relations compared to the other suppliers. The Czech firm doesn?t just visit the usual shows for their purchasing activities in China. ?We also regularly take a look at the factories and the production processes in China,? reported Minar. ?In the meantime we mostly buy from manufacturers we have known for a long time ? nowadays it is not just about the best price, but also about fulfilling quality standards and other requirements. We look for the perfect balance between price and quality.? The quality controls are carried out on site in Asia, before the products are imported to Europe. As well as the import business Reda also holds the exclusive franchise for the brand ?by Tonino Lamborghini? for 14 countries worldwide. Furthermore, the Czech company introduced its own brands onto the market this year: ?Santini? and ?Beaver?. ?We will be officially launching these brands at the D?sseldorf PSI show in January 2010, but we have already included them in our catalogues now,? explained Minar. The collections were partly created by the company?s own product development department, which Reda opened three years ago ? one of Minar?s favourite projects, which he would ideally like to expand by employing a design team in Asia. Up until now the product development activities have completely been carried out in Europe, ?but the information transfer to Asia, where the products are then manufactured, is not exactly efficient,? Minar stated. 7-8% of the products that Reda sells, are created by their own design shop ? ?which we want to expand further?. In total Reda?s product portfolio contains 1,860 items as well as 135 products of the ?by Tonino Lamborghini? series. 964 of the articles originate from China, approximately 25 products are created by the internal design department. Reda also has a good reputation as a calendar manufacturer: Approx. 9% of the overall turnover is achieved with self-produced calendars, ?an important segment for us,? emphasises Minar. Last, but not least the Czech company also offers a complete golf collection: Reda Golf includes numerous branded items of the golf label Callaway, as well as other golf sport brands.