The Liquitex Brand Team and the folks at DC4 added some hype and energy to the town hall meeting hosted by Romain on Friday, 21st April. Watch the video to catch the full Love Liquitex branded merch fashion show, with awesome models direct from our Piscataway offices and warehouse.
Team members delivered multilingual statements telling us why they love Liquitex. Destine Moore, Justina Gomes and Ashley Zarrelii from the Liquitex Brand team also provided a full update on the Love Liquitex consumer-facing and internal campaign launches.
Beforehand, Romain provided a business update and a summary of his North American visit. Be sure to watch the video for the complete account. The summary is ...
Business Update
Colart has reported positive results for the year's first quarter, with revenue up by 7% compared to March 2022. Our trajectory has changed and is "bouncing back" slightly faster than budget. The margin has also increased, with more than 3 points gained. Cost is still under control, while revenue v's budget is up £1M – more details on this during the FC1 Finance update town hall meeting scheduled for 5th May.
Cash is crucial this year to reduce the level of debt and allow Colart to achieve future plans. Service levels are almost fully recovered, with a target of 94%, and currently at 92%.
North America Visit
Colart's biggest market is North America, where 50% of its arts and fine arts market is based. During Romain's visit to Piscataway, he commented, "Teams in the region have good energy and a beautiful distribution centre. The company relies on big retailers in the region, with Michael's still the #1 customer with a $20M turnover across 1,300 stores. Some partners are growing and inspiring, and Amazon and Blick are driving the market. Execution in-store at Blick is very impressive".
Liquitex commands higher revenues than Winsor & Newton in North America, coupled with an effective artist residency program. "We're looking to engage more directly with consumers; with 17 million consumers on Amazon and strong eComm through our retail partners, we need to focus on selling via brand.com websites. Most of Colart's business is built on the strength of its brands, and this must come first over partnerships.
Romain will be visiting Spain, Italy, and Germany and factories in the UK in the coming weeks. With a focus on reconnecting with China post-pandemic restrictions, Jane and Dominique visited the region this week and next. The Chinese market is only 5-6% of what the company does worldwide, and there is an opportunity to grow.
Click below to watch the full video recording of this town hall meeting.
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