Curious about the entrepreneurial adventure behind inspiring brands, Brand and Strategic Professional Martijn Arets decided to quit his job, hand in his lease car, ignore all uncertainties and follow his dream. For five months, he travelled more than 15,000 kilometres across Europe in a one-of-a-kind 1971 Volkswagen T2 camper van, meeting with the founders, CEOs and brand managers of 20 authentic European brands in what was to prove a unique trip: Brand Expedition. On popular demand, he has bundled the lessons and stories behind 20 appealing European brands such as Lego, Mini, Skype, The Body Shop and Adidas to create Brand Expedition, the book. More information? Check www.brand-expedition.com or send Martijn a Tweet: @martijnarets.

1. READ OUT LOUD
THE STORY BEHIND
- KOZIOL -
ALWAYS AHEAD OF THE TRENDS

2. BEFORE YOU START….
please look into your camera and tell
us slowly your name, city and
country… Then you can start reading
this paragraph out loud… Have fun!

3. The role of the Internet should not be
over-estimated, says this professional.
“The internet is not a revolution, but an
evolution. Many companies see the
world as uniform and that is a mistake
I often warn others about.

4. My motto is: ‘think global, but act
local’, with which I mean that you
should always take into account and
react to local needs and cultural
differences. Because we do run into
small local differences with our

5. household and gift items; for instance,
in Italy they don’t eat boiled eggs. So
it’s no use bringing an egg cup onto the
market there, however stunning its
design may be.” Though sales via the
Internet are increasing steadily,

6. shops and wholesale businesses remain
Koziol’s most important distribution
channels, and their products are sold in
50 countries around the world.

7. That being a professional alone will not
guarantee success, is clear from
Stephan’s following remark: “When I
started out at Koziol 33 years ago, I was
fascinated by the process that
converted an idea into a tangible

8. product. For the future, I think it is
important to expand upon the brand.”
And that is exactly what I would have
advised him.

9. - END OF RECORDING-