2020 is a year of new developments at Stricker: The group has consolidated its structures and thanksto two logistics hubs in Western and Central Europe and a state-of-the-art digital infrastructure, canoffer outstanding lead-times. Furthermore, Stricker is presenting new brand worlds.
The headquarters of Stricker in Murtede, near Coimbra in Portugal.
Paulo Stricker, grandson of the company founder and CEO.
In 2020, the hi!dea® collection was expanded to include products made of sustainable materials, divided up into different theme areas. Furthermore, Stricker has created a drinkware section and has expanded its bag, technology, office accessories and writing instrument collections to attain more diversity.
A further milestone, which has brought Stricker a huge step forward in terms of service, logistics and the expansion of its product range was the take-over of their Czech rival, Reda, in the year 2018. Since then, Stricker has not only been present on the Western edge of the European continent, but also in the heart of Europe: Central, Northern and Eastern Europe can be served expediently from Brno in the Czech Republic logistically speaking – what’s more, within the shortest space of time: Stricker delivers branded and nonbranded products to any place in Europe within two to four working days. Both company locations offer a combined storage capacity of 36,000 pallets. A highly advanced digital mockup simulator enables fast online approval processes. Since 2014, the headcount has risen from approx. 350 up to 900 employees worldwide, who serve 10,000 customers in 80 countries. In addition to the locations in Portugal and the Czech Republic as well as subsidiaries in Brazil and China, the company maintains offices in over 20 European cities. To achieve a more efficient, more competitive structure and a stronger position among the European promotional products importers, Reda and Stricker were consolidated under the umbrella of the Stricker group at the beginning of the year. This went hand in hand with a merging of the two line-ups, which were previously sold as separate brands. More than 300 products of the former Reda brand Excursion ® are now integrated into the brand portfolio of hi!dea®, which are all available in one catalogue.
After taking over the brand Original Lanyards ®, which was founded in 2001, at the beginning of 2020, the product range now also includes high-quality lanyards. Thus, promoting companies benefit from lanyard collections “made in Europe” with multiple customisation options and a fast delivery. The two newly introduced product worlds for business accessories and electronic gadgets, Branve® and ekston® have also been added to the line-up. Branve® encompasses six collections comprising of bags, notebooks and writing instruments – Empire, Urban, Dynamic, Motion, Quote and Ink. The models are created by three designers exclusively for Stricker and excel because of the quality of the materials implemented, their contemporary design, functionality and sophisticated details. The brand ekston® on the other hand offers hip, high-quality and stylish electronic products in the high-end section, such as Bluetooth headphones, wireless charging solutions and smartwatches.
The new brand Branve® unites design and comfort with durability and high practical value. Alongside rucksacks, travel and laptop bags, the brand also encompasses notebooks and writing instruments, which portray a stylish business look.
Bluetooth headphones and loudspeakers, power banks and wireless charging solutions – the new brand world of ekston® offers high-quality electronic gadgets for diverse areas of application and target groups. Whereby the products unite quality and performance with a trendy design.
// Claudia Pfeifer
Photos: Paul Stricker
