When you buy a carpet from De Munk Carpets, you know that you are buying a quality product. ‘We keep everything firmly under control and we set the bar high for ourselves and our suppliers,’ said the entrepreneurial couple Edwin and Mirjam Tromp, who are celebrating the company’s anniversary.
Together with their passionate team, the couple develop, promote, produce and dispatch unique carpets right from the heart of one of the Netherlands’ most sustainable industrial estates in Heemskerk.
Warmth between manufacturers and customers
De Munk Carpets imports hand-knotted, hand-tufted, and hand-woven carpets from India, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan and Portugal. Edwin: ‘Each country is different and has its own unique style. We work directly with manufacturers that I visit various times a year. The warmth and personal connections that we have been able to build up with them over the years enables us to develop the most beautiful carpets together. We are sincere with our suppliers and they are loyal to us. This also applies to our customers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, many of whom we have worked with for a very long time. We supply our carpets to carpet specialists, top-end furniture stores and home furnishing companies. We also work with several stylists and architects, in the mid-range and top-end segments.’ Mirjam: ‘Consumers do not come directly to us, but if they are unable to find what they want in the shop, they are sent to us and can visit us by appointment between Monday and Friday.
In-house development
All of the development is done in house, in Heemskerk. Edwin: ‘We develop yarns, colours, techniques and patterns in consultation with our team. I then discuss these with our suppliers and the manufacturers in India, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan and Portugal.’ Mirjam: ‘The nice thing is that you find inspiration for these developments everywhere. I find interior design magazines and trade fairs very inspiring. But you also get ideas, for instance, from an attractive building when you’re on holiday or a certain fabric that has a great colour combination. Then you think, yes, we really should remember that.’ Edwin: ‘Then we create samples of all the new developments for the suppliers. Just as in many companies, only a small quantity of this gets through our stringent testing and meets all our requirements and expectations.’ Mirjam: ‘You always know right away whether something is good or not, and whether customers will like it. And you really get a good feeling for the right colours.’
Making ordering simple
De Munk Carpets likes to make things are easy as possible for its dealers. Mirjam:
‘We have had an order and information portal since 2017. It’s easy to place orders through the portal and you can see right away whether a carpet is in stock or not.
In fact, you actually see this live in our own system. What’s good about the portal is that you go through all the steps and you cannot forget anything. Of course, we also welcome orders by post, but the portal is exceptionally user-friendly and it immediately gives you all the information you need. We check the order, create it in the system, and then send an order confirmation. If we have the carpet in stock, we dispatch it the same week. Otherwise, we send the order to our manufacturers. The portal lets you follow your order so you are always up to date.’
Infinite options
Customers can also put together a carpet in their favourite colours. There is a separate log-in for the Nepal collection, because this collection is slightly more complicated due to the infinite options.
Mirjam: ‘In principle, I draw the specials myself, but to save time I also get them drawn in Nepal. Then all I need to do is to modify them a little and place them in the system with the specials. We’ve also developed a similar system for the new hand-tufted collection from India. We do all this so that we can provide the most pleasant and efficient service possible to our dealers.
Getting your carpets seen
Account Managers John and Luuk are out on the road cheering up the dealers everyday with their visits. They take care of the promotion and the sale of the carpets, and they maintain that warm connection which is so important.
Edwin: ‘We’ve been working for a long time with most of our customers and we are proud of our customer portfolio. Since we are always fair and transparent, customers know exactly what they can expect from us. Similarly, we also know what we can expect from them.’
In addition, John and Luuk also go to the ETC Design Center in Culemborg every Monday. This is the main meeting place for the trade, and for stylists and architects.
The ETC Design Center has a leading and inspiring range from the top end of the interior and exteriors sector. Edwin: The specialist trade is warmly welcome on Mondays. They also organise special days for consumers various times during the year. Mirjam: Naturally, our swatch boxes which we launched in 2019, are an important form of promotion. These large swatches give us a unique way of showing off our carpets at their best.’
The final leg of the journey
Carpets supplied by De Munk Carpets are sent by ship, airplane or lorry to the Netherlands. However, the final leg of the journey to the warehouse in Heemskerk is always by lorry. Mirjam: ‘The incoming carpets are stock carpets for us and our dealers, and also commissioned carpets. These are carpets that the dealers have already sold to end customers. We’re real perfectionists and we check every single one of the carpets before we store or dispatch them. This mentality can also be seen in the team. It is truly our joint mission to do everything perfectly. We are immensely proud of our employees. Together we ensure that our unique carpets are developed, manufactured and sold. Ultimately, we ensure that they end up in all manner of interiors at the end customer’s home.
