Interview with Ruben van ‘t Loo and Giel van Stiphout, Clipper Interall Heading in a new direction

Following the merger of Clipper and Interall three years ago, the new brand, Clipper Interall, is positioning itself on the promotional products market. eppi magazine spoke to Ruben van ‘t Loo, Commercial Director, and Giel van Stiphout, Head of Category Management, about what the merger has set in motion, the direction it is taking and the trends that will determine the future of the industry.

Ruben van het Loo is Commercial Director at Clipper Interall. He has broad experience in various sales roles and managing different projects. He gained much competence with leading sales teams in different segments, from small to corporate companies. Giel van Stiphout has been working in the promotional products industry for eight years. He is Head of Category Management & Sourcing at Clipper Interall and helped guide the acquisition of Interall from a purchasing and assortment perspective. Van ‘t Loo and van Stiphout are trying to change the way the company sources its products by looking at the material perspective in a commercial and creative way with an eye for strategic partnerships.

 

Please tell us about your mission with Clipper Interall and the vision for the brand.

Ruben van ‘t Loo: In 1945 Clipper started as a business selling pens. The company was the first in the Netherlands to introduce printed promotional gifts and catalogue marketing. Today, as a supplier and generalist on the market, we are adding brand value through importing, printing and supplying functional, reusable, and sustainable promotional products. We recognise the need for change and want to inspire others to take action to take care of our planet. Our focus is set on a sustainable, certified collection and cooperation with European brands. 

We aim to become the leading supplier of sustainable promotional gifts. Together with our partners and suppliers, we are accelerating the journey to “sustainable giving”.

Giel van Stiphout: Before the merger, Clipper was in a similar position to all the generalists, trying to compete against each other with the same products imported from China. Interall was sourcing with a different, more sustainable perspective. Therefore, the merger gave us a new face, a new story and a new direction.

What core values drive this new approach?

Giel van Stiphout: Firstly, functional and sustainable products. The product should either be made of sustainable materials or have a better CO2 balance, or both. Likewise, the customer should really need the product and use it. Secondly, “made in Europe” is another core value for us. Every time we think about new products, we always consider if we can produce them more locally. Of course, there is always a commercial dimension to it. This brings us to the third value: Cooperation with sustainable brands and especially brands with a B Corp certification. We have a shop-in-shop approach for sustainable brands to offer our customers a different portfolio.

Ruben van ‘t Loo: Customer relations are another point. We aim to help our customers to become more sustainable as well. For example, we have a best-selling top flask bottle, but now we also supply a new model made from more sustainable materials, which we encourage our customers to put on the first page of their web shop.

How is your sustainability strategy reflected by your product range?

Ruben van ‘t Loo: At the moment, 40% of our products are included in our WoW Sustainable Collection. We have set ourselves a goal of making 80% of our product sustainable by 2030. Clipper Interall’s products have sustainability features such as “recycled” and “organic”, and these attributes are supported with globally recognised sustainability certifications such as GRS, RCS and FSC.

Giel van Stiphout: In terms of materials, the sourcing strategy is based on three pillars: products made out of waste, recycled materials and/or natural materials.

We consider the materials based on waste stream certifications. These pillars have two directions: Firstly, by monitoring our own buying and imports; secondly, working with sustainable brands.

Ruben van ‘t Loo: In addition, we work with GSES to measure the CO2 -impact of the products. GSES is a system that forms a global sustainability standard, based on hundreds of sustainability labels and standards for manufacturers, suppliers, and end users.

What is the B Corp certification about and why did you choose to work with B Corp certified companies?

Giel van Stiphout: B Corp is unique in its ability to measure a company’s entire social and environmental impact. A wide range of businesses from all different industries are B Corp certified. Clipper Interall offers products of certified B Corps. We support the B Corp community, their values and the global movement for an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy. Our current partner brands that are B Corp certified include Made Out Of, Moyu, Kambukka, Klean Kanteen, SproutWorld, and we will be adding new B Corps soon. We enhance the value of these brands and at the same time provide our customers and the end users brands with the B Corp stamp they can use for their sustainable messages.

You also rely on other certifications. According to which criteria do you select these?

Giel van Stiphout: Between 2019 and 2021 we checked how we could change the materials of our best-selling products, which were primarily the bottles, notebooks, and bags we sourced from China. We were looking into organic cotton, wood, bamboo and of course recycled materials like recycled paper, stainless steel etc. We gathered more and more information about certificates. How they measure the impact along the value chain is important for us, beginning with the raw material, to make everything as transparent as possible. That is why we also work with independent parties and don’t measure the performance of the products and materials ourselves. We take the complete value chain into account, from the raw material supplier, to the production factory, through to our trading company. That is why we rely on crucial sustainability certificates such as FSC, GRS, RCS and GOTS, which give our customers trust. We achieved these certifications last year and have recently passed the re-audit.

What role does “made in Europe” play in your assortment?

Giel van Stiphout: We are observing a growing demand for “made in Europe” products. However, we have to check the functionality and impact, as well as the commercial perspective. We always consider the option of manufacturing a product in Europe, but this is not always possible.

Ruben van ‘t Loo: 35% of our products are made in Europe already. Five years ago, it was somewhere between 5% and 10%. Our goal is to achieve 50% by 2030. But we are still a trading company and while the sustainability perspective is important, there is also the commercial aspect. We want to have a good mix of products from Europe and the Far East. However, the main point is that we want to offer products that are useful gifts instead of throwaways that end up in the trash within 24 hours.

Why is usability so important?

Ruben van ‘t Loo: If something is sustainably produced, but people don’t need it and throw it away, it is not sustainable. Thus, usefulness is very important. When a customer wants a sustainable pen, we have to ask: Do you want to have a sustainable product with a “green look” for marketing purposes?

Or do you prefer a product of beauty and functionality that people will write with for 20 years and thus treat the pen carefully. Instead of offering 10,000 different bottles and simply leaving them to pick one, we ask the customers questions about what they want and what they need, then we select maybe e five products that fit the bill, which they can chose from.

Giel van Stiphout: There are some standard products that have been selling well for 50 years, which are also reusable, such as coffee mugs for example. In August, I heard the news that a wellknown festival has to pay a big fine because they were using disposable cups instead of reusable cups. Reusability and usability are big issues. That is where the market is going, I think, because otherwise we will get into trouble with the European governments and EU legislation. If you give away trash, there is no point in making it sustainable. A coffee cup, a notebook or a bag are used when receiving it. Combine this with high value gifts which consumers appreciate and you have a strong combination of well received promotional products and gifts which really give your brand value. Useful products connect companies with their employees and customers while minimizing the impact.

What other trends are you observing in the promo industry?

Giel van Stiphout: Our market is moving towards recruitment and HR topics. There is a war on talent. Companies are struggling to get new employees. Therefore, our customers are placing a greater focus on employer branding, nice gifts for their teams, and welcome packages for new employees. That is why we are seeing more valuable brands at the promo fairs. End users no longer want to give away cheap stuff.

You have your own printing facility in the Netherlands with more than a hundred modern printing machines. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?

Giel van Stiphout: Though we offer similar printing technologies as others companies, the difference is that our main printing facility is still in the Netherlands. We focus on digital printing and laser engraving, and we also have everything in-house for ceramic printing. We are currently in the process of automating our digital print solutions.

Ruben van ‘t Loo: Our warehouse and logistic centre are 26.000 m2 , including over 100 printing machines in our printing house. In close cooperation with Senzer – a company that supports and guides people with difficulties accessing the labour market – Clipper Interall offers people with an occupational disability or people who participate in reintegration programs meaningful daytime activities in a pleasant working environment.

What are your plans for the near future?

Ruben van ‘t Loo: With our head office and printing house in the Netherlands, we are in a geographical sweet spot and hope to become the quickest competitor in the future, especially with our digital products, because we are winning on transit time. We will push towards digital print, not only because we want to be the quickest on the market, but also because we see digital printing as the future of the printing business.

Giel van Stiphout: At the PSI in Düsseldorf, the big generalists usually only exhibit the products of their own assortment. We follow a shop-in-shop strategy with the B Corp certified brands. This is how we add value and differentiate ourselves from other generalists and that has led to companies seeing us as a serious partner for the market.

 

Source: WA Nachrichten, Andreas J. Haller spoke with Ruben van ‘t Loo and Giel van Stiphout.
August 2024

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