Best In France Program : Klöber Joseph Antonios, Blandine Avot, Anne Azzola, Anne Ravard All figures are confidentiel

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 2 The Klöber company A Europeanwide company Market follower on most products Leader on specialized lines 65 Million € Turnover Sales in France for 7 years Fondation of the Klöber subsidiary in France in 2000 (with Austria, Italy and Swizerland) Objective for French market : To bring it at its right importance, that is to say to make the turnover rise from 3 to 10 million euros.

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 3 Klöber products Klöber produces roofing accessories and safety products  Outlets  Ridge & Hip  Skylights  Snow & Safety  Underlays & Tapes Klöber is mostly a “B to B” company Ridges and “respirating” underlays are 80% of the business

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 4 Klöber’s clients 3500 Customers 3450 Merchants 50 OEMs (the industrial market) Klöber only sells to retailers, and among retailers to those intended for professionals (for example Point P). That’s what Mister Douillet calls “a political choice”. Inside the Lafarge group, Klöber has a dual approach : It sells accessories as a specialist, and with a larger ranging than Lafarge (accessories for roofs in slate-gray, in tole) It sells accessories to the competitors of Lafarge in the tuile-roofing Customers located almost everywhere in Europe Mister Douillet’s strategy : to focus on major clients: He cut the press budget He had his firm referenced at a national scale (that means that you buy your place on a national list of productors for your particular field of activity, on a yearly basis)

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 5 Core values In fact there is no real corporate value, as a value that the firm promotes and tries to diffuse among its employees Klöber was a family firm, which does not need corporate values because the family already has its own values Moreover the sector of activity is BTP production, in B to B. People are technicians more focused on the quality of the product than on a «marketing image» When interviewing managers from Klöber, we can yet perceive a common value : a real attention paid to quality, either for the products sold or for employees.

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 6 Why Klöber came to France ? 1/3 The core question: Why Klöber wanted to reach an international scale? A German domestic market decreasing, although it is the biggest European market in the roofing industry. The necessity of expanding the activity outside Germany : Klöber scored 90% of it turnover in Germany : Klöber scores 50% of it turnover in Germany and 50% abroad The French market: the second biggest market in Europe after Germany => 50/60 Million m2 per year

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 7 Why Klöber came to France ? 2/3 To have a better valuation of the Klöber company: A question of added value The objective: the Klöber family wanted to sell it since there was no successor A European scale: : Foundation of the Klöber subsidiary in United Kingdom : Foundation of the Klöber subsidiaries in Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland The result: a compagny currently owned by Lafarge and depending from Lafarge roofing Germany

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 8 Why Klöber came to France ? 3/3 To win market shares in France: Knowledge of the French market: - First step: a distributor - Second step: foundation of the French subsidiary in Strasbourg Roofing’s particularities: - an industrial activity with strong cultural specificities in France - German products perceived as high quality in France Many activities outsourced: Objectives: to fit to French standards - Accounting - legal issues - logistics to UPS (Comparison France/ Poland)

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 9 Key benefit numbers Benefits in term of market share Ex: Ridges and “respirating” underlays: 80% of Klöber business ridges sales: +26% / the market: +12,5% Klöber in 2005: 12% of the market Benefits in term of cash generated by Klöber France - Important losses in France due to a weak market and management faults - Positive results recently - A perspective of growing market share thanks to the British Example Comparison with other European countries

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 10 Comparison with other countries Gross sales of Klöber, in K€

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 11 Constraints in France Main constraint in France: constant innovation. Depending on the region, French roofing habits are very diverse, whereas Klöber = specialist in PVC products. The French roofing market is quite aggressive: - necessary wide range of products to face competition, - but risk of cannibalisation. Reactivity is needed as for logistics: - no warehouse in France - the German supplying platform has to remain efficient, no matter the demand. The 35-hour working week: need for more sales representatives in France. The company has to be referenced on national lists which is quite expensive.

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 12 Key constraint costs Salaries paid to the French team: French workers ask for quite high wages, far higher than the average salary paid to Klöber employees in the other countries where the company has a subsidiary. Legal authorization is compulsory to market a new product: Each product must obtain a favourable « avis technique » to be sold on the French market. Even if standards are lower in France, the French legislation does not strictly correspond to the German one. Each « avis technique » costs approximately euros.

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 13 Adaptation to France Adaptation to the French market: -Selection of the products because roofs mean culture in France. -Fitting the distribution system strategically :getting referenced. legally: investment for « avis techniques » Investments Adaptation to the French management style: -Senior teams with responsibilities independence hiring the right people -Location in Strasbourg. Reflexion and research

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 14 Essential advice Have a clear product strategy based on: Good products Good people Good location Coherence of the whole organisation.

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 15 We thank M. Emmanuel Douillet – General Manager of Klöber France M. Matthias Francke - General Manager of Klöber South/West/Eastern Europe 0049 M. Bruno Avot – Building Material Dealer in France

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 16 Bibliography bin/lafcom/jsp/news.do?function=pressrelease&news= &partenaire= arch.yahoo.com/search?fr=fp-tab-web-t-1$ei=ISO $p=kloeber$meta=vc%3Dhttp:// bin/lafcom/jsp/news.do?function=pressrelease&news= &partenaire= arch.yahoo.com/search?fr=fp-tab-web-t-1$ei=ISO $p=kloeber$meta=vc%3D

Mars-Avril 2005 Best In France Program 17 Our team ANTONIOS Joseph Current address : Groupe HEC – D41 Permanent address : 47, route d’Espagne, Toulouse AVOT Blandine Current address : Groupe HEC – D25 Permanent address : 43, rue Jules Baudelocque, Boulogne-sur-mer AZZOLA ANNE Current address :Groupe HEC – A79 Permanent address : 61, route de Saint Simon, Toulouse RAVARD Anne Current address : Groupe HEC – D30 Permanent address : 1 domaine des Vignes, les Ponts de Cé