As one of the largest promotional products agencies in Sweden, Wackes provides a host of international firms with haptic advertising. The company pursues a consultative and holistic approach – centrestage: products with impact.
Two generations (f.t.l.): Thomas Davidsson, (CEO and shareholder), Stefan Persson (Key Account Manager and shareholder), Lars-Olof Wackelin (co-founder, retired), Dennis Stenmark (CFO and shareholder) as well as the co-founders Staffan Pousette and Stefan Lydén, who still work part-time at the company.
For Telia, the leading the Swedish telecommunication company, Wackes created a varied range of products which provide a physical bridge to the customers at various touchpoints.
“In a market which is to a large extent still characterised by useless products that have no return on investment, we try to design advertising messengers that are really popular with the target group and which become part of their everyday life and really contribute towards the brand identity,” explained Thomas Davidsson, managing partner of Wackes. With around 40 employees and a turn-over of approx. 12 mil. Euros, his company is one of the leading promotional products agencies in Sweden. Its clientele ranges from Swedish groups such as Telia and Scania, to multinationals like Verisure, through to organisations like Unicef, which are mostly supplied on the basis of full-service contracts: “A group of 30 key customers accounts for more than 90% of our turnover,” reported Davidsson. Since 2016, Wackes has been the Swedish member of Ippag (International Partnership for Premiums and Gifts). Davidsson was elected Chairman of the association last April. Wackes furthermore is one of the shareholders of Prominate, the international joint venture run by some (not all) Ippag members.
The early days of the agency were more modest: The company was founded in 1983 by Staffan Pousette, Stefan Lydén, Christer Hellqvist and Lars-Olof Wackelin – the latter’s surname forms the basis of the company’s name. The founders got to know each other at Sportjohan, a mail order company for sports equipment. Three years later the former NHL ice hockey professional, Stefan Persson, who is still a shareholder up until this very day, joined the company. In 1999, Wackes purchased Thomas Davidsson’s former company, PTHZ, and Davidsson became part of the Wackes team, later taking over the position of CEO. Further take-overs followed over the course of the years, Wackes expanded further and today in addition to its headquarters in Borås, to the West of Gothenburg, maintains further subsidiaries in Stockholm, Malmö and Oslo, as well as a procurement office with three employees in Shanghai, a sales office in Hong Kong and a branch in Atlanta, which operates under the name Prominate Inc. “We make around 50% of our turnover outside of Sweden, our Ippag and Prominate activities contribute a large share here,” explained Davidsson. “Our subsidiary in Atlanta with its seven employees, which the two other Ippag members MCS and Zinc are involved in, was founded so that customers in the USA could be served locally.” Last but not least, Wackes recently acquired Helsinki-based Logonet Promotion, one of Finland’s leading promotional products agencies.
Three e’s
The NPO Friskis & Svettis is one of Sweden’s largest organisations. Since 2004, Wackes has been designing a new sports garment collection every season for the over 16,000 members, that is suitable men and women of all ages, all sizes and for all training varieties.
The logistic heart of the group beats in Borås, the Swedish and European customers are served from this location. A warehouse spanning 3,300 m² provides enough space for around 5,000 palettes. “We stock goods to the value of 3 million Euros permanently,” explained Davidsson. “The orders are forwarded on directly to the packers via the ERP and if the orders arrive before 11 a.m. they are sent out the same day.” The fact that Wackes relies on extensive warehousing under its own roof, is not least due to the online-driven alignment of the company: It launched its first web shop as early as in 1999, many more were to follow. “We have a strong digital focus and operate over a dozen customer online shops,” confirmed Davidsson. “Around 65% of the turnover is generated via the web – with an upwards tendency. This suits us very well and reflects the fact that the buyer structure is changing with the upcoming generation.” Nevertheless, nobody has to do without personal consulting: “At the start of every briefing we put a team together that matches the customer requirements and according to whether graphic services have to be provided, whether we import the products ourselves or whether the customer has a complex brand structure the observance of which has to be monitored across all communication channels. This team accompanies the customer through all processes.” A personal, uncomplicated procedure that harmonises with the “three e’s” that stand for the company’s credo – Davidsson: “Effect, easy cooperation and expertise is our pledge to our customers.” So that the “effect” is also assured, Wackes takes a conceptual approach when creating the optimal haptic communication strategy and the development of appropriate products, as Davidsson underlined: “We not only involve the briefing and the goals of the campaign, the DNA and brand guidelines of the company, but also external factors such as cultural peculiarities, target group behaviour, current lifestyle and fashion trends as well as developments in the design area and on the retail market. In short: It is about the three complexes ‘the brand’, ‘the brief’ and ‘the world’. The programme is only really expedient if these three aspects harmonise with each other and only then is brand consistency secured, an aspect that is especially important for internationally-operating companies.”
The truck company Scania is one of Wackes’ oldest customers and has been relying on a strong range of brand ambassadors and merchandise for many years.
Two further sensitive themes, not only in this connection: CSR and sustainability. Wackes has its own Sustainability Manager, Elin Axelsson, who takes care of all activities related to sustainability – which are plentiful as Davidsson reported. “All manufacturers we cooperate with have to sign our Global Code of Conduct, which is based on the regulations of the ILO (International Labour Organisation). Furthermore, we are a member of amfori BSCI and have signed the UN Global Compact. We have received the silver status from the organisation Ecovadis for our sustainability efforts, furthermore in Sweden our environmental and quality management is certified according to ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. Last, but not least we are a member of the Chemicals Group, a Swedish network, across which manufacturers and importers engage in an exchange and inform themselves about the legislation and regulations of chemicals.” However, the first sustainability rule is indeed conceivably simple: “A promotional product must be that good and functional that it is actually used,” added Davidsson. “Each product communicates – whether in a positive or negative sense. Which is why companies shouldn’t have their names imprinted on a cheap article. We pass on this basic principle to every customer, because it is part of our expertise.”
// Till Barth
photos: Till Barth, © WA Media (1); Wackes (3)
