The art may seem pricey, but the white and beige abstract paintings that are currently a bestseller in Desenio cost 99 SEK can be very cheap associated with a model that seems to be increasingly attractive. The company belongs to a growing class of companies that have succeeded by being highly specialized and selling only directly to the consumer.
– I think he’s a great role model, says Frederick Palm, who is also chairman of Caia Cosmetics, the makeup brand founded by influencer Bianca Ingroso that also has no merchants.
With the help of the web, you can access the whole world on your own, without too many distributors. It will be better for the consumer who gets better quality and design at a lower price. And the company is making more money so that it can run a healthy and profitable business, unlike a lot of other businesses, he continues.
The model has, at least in the case of Dicinho, It proves to be very successful. Since the company was founded just over ten years ago, it has grown to 250 employees and last year the company sold products to nearly a billion people in 35 countries.
In the Sodermalm office, new paintings are constantly being produced. Here, the company’s creators create up to 150 templates per month. But instead of designing labels and testing whether customers want to purchase them, motivations are developed after careful analysis of what customers are now asking for.
It takes eight weeks from the white paper to the store, so it’s very quick for us to pick the direction.
We have been online since the beginning which means we have a lot of data and it can be data driven even when we generate the payouts. So we analyze our data to discover different patterns in customer behavior and scope. It could be anything from different color scales trending to a particular genre. Then we create new decorations based on that. But we also spend a lot of time exploring trends to be the first to use the latest, says Frederick Palm.
Does this mean that it moves quickly from the time you notice certain tendencies until the motives are available for purchase?
Yes, it’s true, we have relatively short lead times compared to many other industries. It takes eight weeks from the white paper to the store, so it’s very quick for us to pick the direction.
The creators in Stockholm make about 120 to 150 new models per month. From the white paper to the fact that the stickers are in store, it only takes eight weeks.
Photo: Niklas Thegerstrom
Not only do the creators need to keep up with the different trends, but they also need to know what is popular in the different markets. Taste in different countries can vary significantly. In the Nordic countries, for example, it is realistic that this applies, but in the UK, the gray beige scale has not yet been popular.
– If you want to generalize a little, they like more color, you take turns and dare for more. And in France, they want more plants, and more green plants.
Common to most clients Frederick Palm says they want something on the wall, but they really don’t know.
They want to be helped find their style. This is why we work hard to produce inspiration as we place different decorations in inspiring environments.
The CEO says owning this type of product could be another advantage in the escalating battle for e-commerce, not least against Amazon. The American giant is a convenient large catalog of products that are easy to compare prices, such as consumer electronics and consumables.
By analyzing buyer data, the company can adapt drivers to both trends and preferences in different countries. In Sweden, very white and beige are sold.
Photo: Niklas Thegerstrom
Amazon isn’t strong on products it wants to be an inspiration to buy, like fashion, design, and home décor, although it does sell a lot by volume anyway. The proof of our model’s success is that our biggest markets, Germany and the UK, are also the markets in which Amazon has the strongest place in Europe, says Frederick Palme.
The fact that Dicinho was listed on the stock exchange earlier this year may make it easier if they need more capital to grow. Frederick Palm thinks there is still great potential in Europe, because despite being the largest niche player, they only hold 2% of market shares for affordable art. At the same time, they gained more flair from a growing market in the United States, where last year their turnover reached 40 million, despite the fact that they focused almost exclusively on Europe.
We’ve proven that the model works there and now it’s all about the acceleration. Next, we direct our eyes to Asia, says Frederick Palme.
Desenio has been around for just over ten years and was listed on the stock exchange earlier this year. The market value exceeds SEK 13.5 billion.
Photo: Niklas Thegerstrom
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