Hartman

At the time of our investment (2005), Hartman’s main markets were the Benelux, the UK and Germany, with operations in the Netherlands, the UK and Germany.

Hartman required a fundamental shift in operational set-up to meet the changed market demand (i.e. change from a traditional manufacturer of outdoor resin based furniture to a developer and distributor of high value added outdoor furniture). VE Partners developed a recovery plan, which would enable the firm to change its business model and rebuild the brand following a bankruptcy in 2005.

Hartman changed from being a traditional manufacturer of outdoor resin based furniture to a developer and distributor of high value added outdoor furniture. The focus shifted from own production to focus on design, sales & marketing and logistics. Much of the previous internal injection molding production was outsourced to key partners. This made all costs related to resin products variable which enabled enabled Hartman to much better cope with fluctuating demand in de outdoor furniture market and cope with at the time experienced structural volume decreases in the resin furniture market Hartman.

During VE Partners’ period as shareholder, Hartman established an own sourcing office in China and extended the proprietary supply chain with selected Asian manufacturers. Product development was accelerated which led to a new non-resin product portfolio in the first two years thereby revamping Hartman’s brand in Western Europe, resulting in an increase of sales in non-resin products by more than 20% (non-resin sales currently amount to 2/3rds of total sales).