EICO is a Danish supplier of highquality, functional, well designed kitchen and bathroom products including cooker hoods, faucets and other fixtures, sinks, waste systems and Küppersbusch appliances. The company was founded in 1981 and has been in the hands of a private equity fund and several staff members since 2011.
“Since then, we have grown the product range and our turnover tremendously,” says CEO Michael Jacobsen, who joined EICO in 2015 after having worked as sales director for a large company in Denmark. EICO is a trading firm that cooperates with leading European manufacturers.
The company’s main suppliers are Elica and Faber, two world leaders in cooker hoods which are both based in Italy. “We see our suppliers as partners with whom we develop new products for the Nordic market for mutual benefit,” explains Mr. Jacobsen, describing the supplier policy of the Danish company.
The core product line of EICO is aesthetically designed, high standard cooker hoods offering various technical solutions. “We like to be seen as THE expert in cooker hoods,” states Mr. Jacobsen. EICO cooker hoods come with excellent sales support for the company’s customers: kitchen studios, household kitchen appliance businesses and the kitchen industry. “We are putting great effort into training our customers to enable them to offer the best possible solution to their customers, the users,” explains Mr. Jacobsen. “Half of our employees are located at the customers premises to provide consultation and support services, and seven people are telephone based to give the best possible service.”
EICO currently ships approximately 30% of its products to customers in Finland, Norway and Sweden and aims to further enhance its international activities. “The margin in our business is quite low, and the costs are increasing every year, so we need to grow to stay successful,” adds Mr. Jacobsen, explaining the reason for the company’s ambitious expansion plans for the Nordic region.
EICO is focused on organic growth but is also considering acquisitions to further develop its export business. “Our owners are behind our growth strategy and are supporting us in our international market development,” says Mr. Jacobsen. “The goal is to gain market share by investing in our export business. In Denmark, we already have a very strong position.”
