Spotlight: Homeward Bound
The world’s second House of Fritz Hansen is in Jakarta, as showed by its CEO
House of fritz Hansen is a furniture showroom unlike any other. Dario Reicherl, CEO of Fritz Hansen Asia, was the visionary who came up with the concept. In town for the launch of House of Fritz Hansen Jakarta, Dario spared some time to talk to Indonesia Tatler about his vision for the second House of Fritz Hansen in the world, and how he measures success.
How does Fritz Hansen stand out among other brands? Fritz Hansen is a historic brand that has been around for 145 years. Creating something new that will allow the company to stand out was quite the challenge. The concept for House of Fritz Hansen was born out of a desire to place the focus on customer experience. The traditional showroom or department store displays products in a way that maximises the amount of space available. However, they do not resemble a home in any feasible way; no one has a row of five sofas in their home. House of Fritz Hansen aims to inspire shoppers and thus its design. The layout feels very much like a home, including a dining table and a functional kitchen. Each House of Fritz Hansen is made unique to each location—with the aid of local designers—blending Fritz Hansen designs with local elements.
What is your vision for House of Fritz Hansen Jakarta? With House of Fritz Hansen Jakarta, we want to get much closer to the clients and be able to better explain to clients the Fritz Hansen philosophy. I envision House of Fritz Hansen Jakarta to be evolving constantly, much like a home at different stages in the owner’s life. We wanted this location to be extremely flexible, changing regularly in order to provide the best experience for clients with different needs. House of Fritz Hansen Jakarta is not merely a shop that clients visit. It is more of an experience that clients can take part in.
How has your previous experiences helped you lead Fritz Hansen? For the past 20 years, I have worked in various retail and service industries. I chose to move from one industry to another as I believe that after a certain period at the same job reality becomes routine, and it becomes difficult to move forward creatively. Being in the position that I am in, it helps a great deal to understand the differentiations between industries.
I find it is crucial to have a solid understanding of retail principles, the market you are in, and, most importantly, of human nature. At the end of the day, regardless of the industry you are in, the clients and the people you work with are the keys to your success.
How do you measure success?
The word “success” used to carry a lot weight as it did for many others out there. It took a while before I came to the realisation that it is just a silly word that cannot be contained within one definition. For some it could be having an abundance of material money, an illustrious career, or high-ranking jobs. At this point in my life those are just tools. For me, success is all about personal happiness. By that metric, I am at my most successful when I can make others happy.