Lindstrom bets big on Korea

By Lee Min-hyung

PANGYO ― Lindstrom Group has expressed confidence in its expansion potential in the Korean market, as its corporate motto to maximize customer satisfaction is in line with the demanding appetite of clients here.

In an interview with The Korea Times, its CEO Juha Laurio said the Finnish business-to-business (B2B) textile services provider hopes to raise its profile in the lucrative Korean market where no textile service operators have ever done business before.

“No one else is providing the same service as Lindstrom in Korea,” he said. “We are providing a very unique business model to your market. That is why Korea is a very attractive market for us.”

He visited Korea to mark the first anniversary of the establishment of its local subsidiary here.

Since the firm established its local subsidiary here in September last year, the company has signed contracts with four renowned local food and its packaging companies _ such as Samyang and Tetra Pak. With its business booming, the company recently set a goal of increasing its workforce more than tenfold over the next five years. Currently, the company holds six employees here.

The company chief underlined the importance that the firm is providing optimum “services” tailor-made for each client, with an emphasis on cost-effectiveness.

“Today, customers take Samsung tablets and smartphones and only pay for what they watch. We are on the same path,” he said.

“We are controlling our supply chain in different markets. All the textiles are owned by Lindstrom, and our clients do not have to invest in textiles. They are only paying for what they are using,” said the Linstrom CEO.

Linstrom’s major clients include companies in the food, beverages, electronics and engineering industries where manufacturing facilities should be maintained under an extremely clean environment.

The company operates businesses in 24 countries across the globe. In particular, the company is raising its profile in Asian economic powerhouses ― including China and India where Lindstrom holds the No. 1 market share in the B2B textile rental service market.

Although the textile rental service is less known to the Korean market, the company expressed optimism for its growth. That is because growing numbers of companies realize the importance of workplace sanitization for which Korea is no exception.

“With a unique business motto, it takes some time before you build trust with customers,” he said. “Being in a B2B world, we see the most important thing is to have a personal connection with our customers.”

“We do not stick to any short-term revenues or performance, but instead focus on creating long-term values for our clients. We are not interested about how we are doing in ten years or in 25 years. We are doing our business with a long-term perspective,” he said.

Lindstrom has a history of more than 160 years since it was established in Finland in 1848. Last year, the company generated some 374 billion won ($338.6 million) in sales, with about half of them coming from its hometown Finland. The company chief cited its strong brand image there as the key reason for its success, as Finland’s population is only about five million population.

Another noteworthy feature about Lindstrom is that the company has never withdrawn its business from any overseas markets it has entered.

“We never exited any markets we tapped into,” he said. “The secret lies in the fact that we have worked with local employees and local culture to optimize satisfaction for each marketplace.”