Daughter of Jean and Madeleine Peuvrier, founders of the company Mat-Flor, Beatrice Tinguely took over leadership of the company in 2000 when her parents retired.
"My parents created the company in 1975. Even though I was five years old at the time, they already took me around the trade shows. After completing studies in marketing, international trade and finance, and a CAP (trade proficiency certificate) as a florist, I joined the company in 1990. I started out in sales and arranging, while at the same time learning Chinese. We added a seasonal range to our pot and basket lines. In 1995, after our first Home & Objects trade fair, we were the first to bring deco customers to Rungis. In 2000, I developed the accessories department and reorganised the shipping department, and our show space was increased to 4,000 m². Then, our first product line and our first brand - comingB, B for Beatrice - was created to better position ourselves on European markets and on the hanging chaser lights segment.
We acquired a 10,000 m² warehouse in Ris-Orangis to centralise our administrative, marketing, purchasing, accounts and design departments around a 500 m² showroom for our own collections. My husband Benoit refocused on classic cars, so I hired François Pigozzo to run the Rungis store, and I built up a team with administrative and finance executives, buyers, a logistics manager, designers, set designers and display artists. I manage group activities, and I am also art director. Our guiding strategy is to outguess the demand; creation is then a team effort. We are a staff of 80 and our range boasts 10,000 references. Mat-Flor remains a key player in containers (30% of turnover), basketware, glassware, zincware and ceramics, while comingB covers accessories and interior design (40% of turnover). Our customer base is composed of florists (70%), catering businesses for display cases, table art and gift companies, interior design architects and production designers from cinema, TV, events and shows. We have a store in the rue du Bac, Paris, our own 'corners' at several major retailers and a distributor in Belgium. Although we already export across the globe, we are now focussing more on foreign markets. Rungis Market has become a trendsetter, an extremely attractive tool. That said, it would nevertheless benefit from more dynamic business initiatives such as setting up tools to be shared by wholesalers and available to customers". The Group celebrated its thirtieth birthday in style and opened its new premises last September.
