Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Matthée, in the midst of the pandemic, when virtually the entire working world was sent to work from home, you took over as the managing director of the office furniture manufacturer KÖHL – did it not sound like a suicide mission at that time?

Ingolf Matthée: When I was approached by a headhunter about this opportunity, I initially thought so too, frankly. But as the exact background became clear to me, this suspicion was immediately dispelled: KÖHL, as a family business that has grown over decades in the office furniture segment, was still profitable even amidst the home office boom. However, the then-owner Thomas Köhl wanted to retire due to old age reasons, and no one in the family wanted to take over his succession. This led to the sale to an investor, who in turn was looking for a new managing director. My co-managing director Peter Wilhelmus, who has been with KÖHL since 2017, and I have thus not taken over a company in need of restructuring, but a solid company that we now want to lead into the future together.

Wirtschaftsforum: What attracted you to this new role and the company KÖHL?

Ingolf Matthée: I had previously managed the largest foreign subsidiary of a well-known valve manufacturer for ten years. The world of high-quality furnishing products was therefore not unfamiliar to me, even though I had never dealt with office furniture in my professional career. At KÖHL, I am particularly excited about the great creative freedom to initiate important changes together with my team and thus create a strong foundation for the coming decades – a temporal dimension in which our investor also thinks.

Wirtschaftsforum: What has changed at KÖHL since the leadership transition?

Ingolf Matthée: We are currently undergoing a diverse transformation process, starting with the design of our product range: Previously, KÖHL used to launch a new product every two to three years and was especially known as a designated specialist for the classic office swivel chair – very high-quality workmanship and excellent ergonomics. However, the growth rates for this product are now significantly negative in the market simply because it is increasingly rarely needed in today’s office context – which is now much more about communication and collaboration. The classic office swivel chair, on the other hand, is the solution of choice for the individual workstation, which is increasingly being moved to the home office or co-working space.

Wirtschaftsforum: What does this imply for your company?

Ingolf Matthée: The logical consequence for KÖHL is a significant diversification of our product range, which is why over the last three years we have launched three new lines with ten models onto the market – these include lounge furniture, systems for reception areas and meeting rooms, and multipurpose chairs for training events and cafeterias, which KÖHL did not previously have in its portfolio. With the acquisition of ONGO from Sindelfingen, we are now also offering a large assortment of mobile stools and standing aids for smaller mobile desks, which are particularly found in the context of agile working, such as in pop-up offices.

Wirtschaftsforum: Does this also change how KÖHL wants to be perceived in the market?

Ingolf Matthée: I believe that we need to present ourselves as a brand even more strongly in the future. It is no longer sufficient to just produce technically and qualitatively high-quality products; we must also connect them with an emotional and appealing brand. Most relevant dealers should know us quite well by now; however, now we want to communicate our additional values more clearly directly to commercial customers, to facilitate their purchasing decisions. After the pandemic, many companies are now faced with the challenge of motivating their employees to return to the office – an attractive working environment with appealing, home-like office furniture is an important key here, and we can provide significant support in this area.

Wirtschaftsforum: What further changes are planned at KÖHL?

Ingolf Matthée: I believe we have succeeded in creating a certain start-up mentality in our company over the past few years, to try out a few new things with passion and optimism – not just on the product side, but also at the organizational level: We have implemented a new CRM system and are now largely paperless. We are currently also focusing on the digitalization of our marketing. The topic of sustainability is also very high on our agenda, where we are pursuing various initiatives. For instance, we have recently discovered a biodegradable polyester fabric that we want to use more intensively in the future to largely avoid the generation of microplastics. Thus, the KÖHL ship has been on a new course for a good two years now – and is now ready to really pick up speed.