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  • June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
  • Case
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Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:32
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Abstract

In 2013, Anders Byriel, CEO of the family-owned Danish textiles company, Kvadrat, considered the firm's strategic plan. In 2000, Byriel and Mette Bendix, Kvadrat's Product Director, had taken over management of the company from their fathers, who had founded Kvadrat in the 1960s. Byriel and Bendix had joined Kvadrat in 1992, and since that time, Kvadrat had grown from €19 million in annual sales to over €86 million. It had expanded its focus on selling textiles to European architects and furniture manufactures, becoming a global company with a wide product range and a broad customer base. Kvadrat's internal organization had grown and transformed to support this larger business.

Now Kvadrat's management team was focused on a number of key initiatives: expansion into Asia; improved sales trends in its curtain and Soft Cells businesses; development of Kvadrat's retail sales operations; the implementation of new Human Resources practices; and the execution of a new organizational design. Was such an extensive growth, turnaround and internal development agenda feasible? And, were the initiatives being considered the right ones for Kvadrat?

Keywords

General Management; Organizational Behavior; Strategy; Performance Management; Leadership; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Human Resources; Denmark; Europe; Asia

Citation

Groysberg, Boris, and Sarah L. Abbott. "Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation." Harvard Business School Case 413-120, June 2013. (Revised March 2014.)
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About The Author

Boris Groysberg

Organizational Behavior
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Related Work

    • December 2014
    • Faculty Research

    Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygård: Kvadrat

    By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
    • June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
    • Faculty Research

    Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation

    By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
    • June 2018
    • Faculty Research

    Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation

    By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
Related Work
  • Interview with Anders Byriel and Mads Nygård: Kvadrat By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
  • Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
  • Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott
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