Gabriel_175th Anniversary_Web_Spreads - Flipbook - Page 30
T H E S T R AT E G I S T S
Winning the project
before it exists
By the early 2000s, Gabriel was respected but not widely seen. It was a Nordic
supplier with strong craftsmanship and loyal customers - but not yet a global reference point. And yet the leadership could see what was coming: a world where
influence moved earlier in the value chain and further away geographically. Material choices were being made at the drawing boards of architects and designers, often before manufacturers entered the picture. To reach these early decision
points, Gabriel needed to step out into the world with a new purpose. This is where
the concept of sales-driven globalisation took shape.
Sales-driven globalisation was not a slogan. It was a strategic re-engineering of
how the company would grow. Instead of thinking globally through production,
Gabriel chose to think globally through relationships and influence. “It’s about understanding the market one notch better,” the executives say and is complemented
by Jørgen: “We didn’t want to be everywhere. “We wanted to be in the right places,
with the right customers.”
“We wanted to be in the
right places, with the
right customers.”
That extra notch became the difference between reacting to demand and shaping it. The company built a two-front market approach: on one side, deep partnerships with furniture manufacturers; on the other, direct engagement with architects, designers and specifiers. The insight was simple but powerful: if Gabriel
could influence the specification work before furniture designs were finalised, the
sale was much closer to happen. “If the architect has already chosen Gabriel before a chair is even selected, we’ve already succeeded.”
From this moment, everything began to change. Sales went from being a function
to being the operating philosophy of the entire organisation. With 65 employees
following a regrouping during the financial crisis - eight of them in sales - Gabriel nevertheless spoke and acted like a global contender. Anders describes those
years with a smile: the company had to be “the fish that puffs itself up.” Not by
pretending to be bigger than it was, but by behaving according to its potential
rather than its size.
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