Our corporate purpose and our values
Our corporate purpose
Where we come from
In 1934, Hubert Schmidt set up his own construction company.
Firmly focused on his customers’ needs and concerned about their well-being in their homes, he began fitting his houses with kitchen sideboards. It was not long before the business switched completely from houses to sideboards, since they allowed the company to play an even more central role in people’s lives and help improve their home life. Then fitted kitchens took over from sideboards as the company strove to deliver a more tailored response to each customer’s individual needs and desires. The wheels of the trend for personalised home interiors were clearly in motion. Today, we create living spaces for every room of the home.
Since day one, confidence and respect are the two values that have guided our every action… confidence in the men and women throughout our Extended Enterprise, from our suppliers to our customers, without forgetting respect for our commitments, people and the environment.
What guides us
Be the best, respect one another and succeed together
Written in 1986 by Antonia Schmidt, Karl Leitzgen and their employees, this philosophy still serves as the guiding light for all our decisions and how everyone should act, while influencing our management practices.
That is exactly how Schmidt Groupe expresses its originality, and its sincere commitment to get it right and create a positive impact on our entire ecosystem, on the planet and all its inhabitants.
Being the best does not mean being the largest company, generating the most money or having the biggest media presence. It is about our sincere commitment to get it right, and do things better, fairer and more sustainably. That is what we strive to achieve every day.
Respecting one another means recognising that everyone matters, whether our employees, suppliers, dealers/partners or customers. Everyone should respect everyone else.
Succeeding together forms the backbone of our business model. We firmly believe that our success depends on the success of our entire value chain. From our suppliers to our showroom networks, we form an Extended Enterprise in which we want to succeed together.
Where we want to go
Our corporate purpose: Inspiring Living Spaces for Sustainable Living.
We are driven by our ambition of enabling everyone to experience better living in today’s world. We want to help people achieve a greater sense of well-being and pleasure in their homes by creating sustainable living spaces that are both inspired and inspiring. We are determined to take faster and greater action. We are relentless and uncompromising in our efforts to protect and regenerate our natural resources.
That is what our company is all about: creating sustainable living spaces that are both inspired and inspiring.
Our corporate purpose is shared and championed by the 8,600 men and women in our Extended Enterprise.
Specifically, this means:
- Creating inspiring living spaces for our customers, employees and partners, places with a real feel-good factor and where they want to live.
- Taking action to improve access to sustainable, healthy and personalised homes.
- Protecting and regenerating our natural resources: biodiversity, water, carbon, etc.
- Striking the right balance between the economy, society and the environment, because one cannot be sacrificed for the other
We do not want to save the planet. We want to save the living environment, which means us, you, and our ability to live together in long-term harmony.
Our values
Schmidt Groupe’s values are reflected in our decisions, our relationships and our projects.
Consideration: being genuinely mindful and respectful of individual differences, and caring for others.
Trust: inspiring confidence through open and transparent relationships, and trusting others to carry out their duties.
Cooperation: focusing on the collective interest and promoting cross-functional collaboration.
Responsibility: taking responsibility for decisions and being fully committed.
Agility: developing an audacious mindset, creativity and innovation, and building a change culture that is conducive to the company’s long-term prospects. To move forward during times of change, all our employees need to be capable of knowing how to bounce back, change direction or adopt a different point of view.
