Interview with "IN Lifestyle Golf Magazine"

The interview was published in "IN Lifestyle & Golf Magazine", issue 2/Autumn 2018.

You can view the original interview as a PDF here.

"A LUXURY WATCH AND AN IT-BAG, BUT SLEEPING IN DISCOUNTER BED LINEN" – The bedroom is the new living room

Today I am meeting two Cologne-based entrepreneurs who, alongside a showroom, run the premium bed linen shop www.waesche-kultur.de. The two of them have deliberately chosen to avoid the word "luxury". Maik Causemann, the founder of Waesche-Kultur, explains why:

Maik Causemann: These days, far too many things are labelled as luxury. Take a mediocre product from Asia, put the right brand on it and attach an inflated price tag — and suddenly it's called luxury.

I have to push back on that. When I look at your product portfolio, we are talking about luxury products, aren't we?

Maik Causemann: Let's talk instead about high-quality products. The manufacturers we carry produce almost everything by hand. The fabrics come from traditional European mills, the finishing is done in in-house sewing rooms, and every button, every seam is checked by hand. And we have the advantage of working exclusively with manufacturers who produce in Europe. That allows us to visit them regularly and, for example, to see the production processes for ourselves.

Ms Dannemann, how would you describe your typical customer?

Anna Dannemann: We don't have a typical customer. Our Cologne showroom welcomes young families who care about knowing where the down in their child's duvet comes from, just as much as it does industrialists and celebrities. Even many tourists find their way to us, and we ship their bed linen home to them afterwards. We advise by telephone the older lady whose local bed shop has closed and who no longer has the chance to buy beautiful bed linen in the countryside.

So your customers are individualists?

Anna Dannemann: In terms of the different designs, interior styles and requirements — certainly. But there is one thing our customers all have in common. And that is the warm, contented "Mmmmh" feeling every evening when they get into bed.

Mr Causemann, which customers are the most challenging?

Maik Causemann: *Laughs* The ones who wear a luxury watch and carry an it-bag but sleep in discounter bed linen. Joking aside, every customer has specific requirements and wishes. So there are no difficult customers — every customer is individual in their needs. What matters more is meeting customers where they are. Of course, depending on the customer, that presents us with wonderful new challenges. There is no textile in which we cumulatively spend more time than bed linen. So I do want to know where the fabric comes from, how it was dyed, who sewed the cover. Simply to have a good feeling and to be confident that everything from the cotton to the finished product has been monitored and certified.

Could you elaborate on that point about the luxury watch and the it-bag?

Maik Causemann: Well, bed linen is not something I can show off to the outside world. It serves the sole purpose of personal wellbeing. Every now and then, you get the impression in conversation that it therefore has to be very inexpensive — precisely because nobody sees it anyway. However, we are increasingly noticing that our society is undergoing a change. Topics such as sustainability and the "living at home" mindset are coming to the fore; people are more likely to lounge in bed and watch a series than sit on the sofa. Living spaces are no longer as rigidly separated as they once were. Today, it can quite easily happen that a group of friends all pile into bed together to watch a film or play a game.

Ms Dannemann, what bag do you have with you today?

Anna Dannemann: *Laughs* You've got me there. Although I do sleep in Christian Fischbacher bed linen.

Is Christian Fischbacher a well-known bed linen brand?

Anna Dannemann: Absolutely. Christian Fischbacher is a Swiss heritage company that next year will be celebrating its 200th anniversary, and is among the very best in the world when it comes to home textiles. Christian Fischbacher is one of the most renowned manufacturers in the areas of bed linen, curtains, rugs and wallcoverings. And we are proud to say that we have since become the largest online retailer of Christian Fischbacher.

You also have an anniversary coming up next year. Tell us about that.

Maik Causemann: With pleasure — next year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Waesche-Kultur. Alongside a big celebration, we are preparing a number of exciting activities for our customers.