{"id":8067,"date":"2025-12-09T09:15:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T09:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textirama.be\/kvadrats-marketing-strategy-for-success-case-study\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T12:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T12:37:11","slug":"kvadrats-marketing-strategy-for-success-case-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textirama.be\/en\/kvadrats-marketing-strategy-for-success-case-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Kvadrat\u2019s Marketing Strategy for Success \u2013 Case Study"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Kvadrat is one of the few truly well-known B2B textile brands worldwide. They owe this to their consistent positioning as a cultural design brand rather than merely a supplier of fabrics. To guide their inevitable growth, they broke through the traditional industry value chain: weaving mills, product development, showrooms, and support for architectural and design projects were all integrated within Kvadrat. In 2022, a wool spinning mill was launched in the UK in co-ownership with wool manufacturer Wooltex, allowing them to move further up the chain and gain more control over the entire process from raw material to finished product.
We also see several textile companies in the Belgian industry starting to break through the traditional structure. They weave, deliver a finished product, and collaborate with designers, artists, and architects \u2014 some even take responsibility for project follow-up. A case study. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Substitutes<\/strong><\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Fabrics are typical B2B products: they provide a special added value, yet as brands they have low visibility. They are a link in a long chain where textile knowledge is limited and the number of substitutes is large.
Substitutes are competing products \u2014 but not entirely. They fulfil the same basic need, making them alternatives that compete directly with each other, even though the products are often not truly comparable, something all too common in the textile industry.
People see cheap synthetic fabrics, for example, as substitutes for meticulously crafted fine-linen textiles, even though they belong to entirely different segments and therefore cannot be compared. A lack of textile knowledge and brand awareness only reinforces this.
This Danish textile manufacturer proves that things can be different: thanks to visual storytelling and exclusive collaborations with designers, artists, couturiers, and architects, they achieved unprecedented brand recognition. The result of vision, long-term strategy, and of course bold investments. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Driving force instead of silent partner<\/strong><\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What makes the brand truly impressive is the perception of its role as a driving force \u2014 rather than a silent partner \u2014 within successful collaborations. Whether the product concerns a hotel lobby, a phone case, or an installation, Kvadrat\u2019s contribution is consistently recognisable as a source of exceptional value, confirming superior design. <\/p>

Currently on view at HangarBicocca in Milan is the installation \u201cThis Will Not End Well\u201d \u2014 running until 15 February 2026. It is a collaboration around the work of Nan Goldin, photographer and filmmaker, and one of the greatest artists of our time, who explores human behaviour in her work. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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DMU as target group<\/strong><\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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To understand the strategy behind this, we must first clarify the difference between a target group and a DMU \u2014 a decision-making unit. In B2B marketing, DMU refers to the group of people involved in a purchasing decision. Contrary to classical marketing ideas, this is not a homogeneous group or a single decision-maker.
The B2B decision-making process is complex, involving at least 6 to 8 people. Increasingly, experts argue that companies should acknowledge the complexity of the DMU \u2014 something that Kvadrat has understood very well. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Decision-makers, influencers, and blockers<\/strong><\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Within the DMU we find decision-makers, influencers, and blockers. In complex projects, such as a building or installation, they may be spread across multiple companies and countries.
A decision-maker may be the CEO or project lead, but to truly understand how things work, we need to dig deeper. They are themselves influenced \u2014 and not only by social-media influencers.
DMU influencers can be professionals, but also a partner or a friend with an opinion. The last group is the most difficult: the blockers. They are usually not interested in a solution, or even perceive it as a threat. Anyone aiming to influence a DMU must therefore go beyond identifying personas. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Cultural and artistic branding<\/strong><\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Kvadrat\u2019s approach is an example of smart marketing. Under the leadership of CEO Anders Byriel and marketing SVP Njusja de Gier, the company built a brand ethos centred on creative freedom, authenticity, and cultural contribution.
Marketing focuses on art installations, exhibitions, films, and cross-disciplinary collaborations rather than traditional advertising. Kvadrat essentially became a cultural patron \u2014 linking textiles to artistic expression rather than functional product messaging. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Partnerships with Raf Simons, Olafur Eliasson, Thomas Demand, and others turned the brand into a cultural reference point. These collaborations brought the textile manufacturer into the spotlight of the fashion world, museums, and lifestyle media, extending brand recognition far beyond interior professionals. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Scandinavian design as a foundation<\/strong><\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Kvadrat was founded in 1968 in Ebeltoft, Denmark, and anchored itself firmly in Scandinavian modernism. It collaborated with groundbreaking designers such as Nanna Ditzel, Finn Juhl, later the Bouroullec brothers, and Patricia Urquiola to strengthen its design credibility.
This allowed Kvadrat to position itself as a high-end design company rather than a producer of textile commodities. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Responding to megatrends<\/strong><\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Long before sustainability became mainstream, Kvadrat had already implemented an ambitious environmental policy, with a net-zero target for 2040 and investments in circular systems.
Examples include \u201cReally,\u201d which upcycles textile waste into new materials, and \u201cRe-Wool,\u201d which recovers wool from the production process \u2014 similar to what Belgian company De Witte Lietaer already does with cotton.
By controlling almost the entire chain, the company can also reinforce its vision of European raw materials. Wool is increasingly sourced from Norway or the UK, and storytelling is ever-present.
All of this strengthened its reputation among architects and designers who value ethical sourcing and long-term innovation. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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