Gabriel_175th Anniversary_Web_Spreads - Flipbook - Page 31
T H E S T R AT E G I S T S
Meeting tomorrow’s
requirements first
As a result of this mindset, showrooms and market offices began to appear in major design capitals. The company that once measured its reach in driving distances
now operated across three continents. Thirty showrooms, local sales teams, and
a growing network of people who knew their markets intimately: their designers,
their tastes, their approval processes. Sales-driven globalisation became self-reinforcing. The more present Gabriel became, the more potential it could see.
While the world expanded, the company’s internal world changed too. Textile
development shifted from aesthetic craft to technical performance. Certification
requirements, flame tests, recyclability, environmental documentation and durability expectations were rising quickly. Gabriel saw the shift early and leaned into
it. Investments in technologies for weaving, knitting, finishing and later advanced
documentation tools gave the company an edge. Many of these decisions were
made “because the potential was clear long before the market was ready,” as the
executives say. This foresight meant that when sustainability became mandatory,
Gabriel was not catching up - it was leading. “The higher the requirements, the
better for us,” they reflect. “Because we meet them first.”
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