Winner of the Design Management Award 2018

Award winner

SIXAY Lp – sixay furniture

Fotó/Photo: Flashback Photo Kft.
About

Jury statement
The founder of the brand, László Szikszai, follows the path of the classic manufactories of Europe with a clear purpose. The holistic approach, which treats design, manufacturing, sale and value creation is at the core of maintaining handicrafts in the 21st-century. Acquiring the knowledge of handicrafts, finding a master, commitment, gaining experience abroad, university of wood science, designer programme, entrepreneurial and management studies: László Szikszai completed all these driven by a clear vision, thus laying the foundations of his own business, which he established in 1995. During the manufacturing of sixay furniture, function and form are lent equal importance along with high technical and aesthetic standards. In the age of mass production Hungarian SMEs can be successful by creating added value. In the case of sixay furniture, a market niche was strategically sought for where the business’s handcrafted and high quality products – which represent a unique style while following European manufacturing traditions – can be successful. All the pieces of the sixay hardwood furniture, made in the company’s workshop in Sopron, have an all-natural finish and are designed to last for a lifetime: the forms are distinguished by graceful elegance and gentle shapes as well as a consistent and economical choice of material and ergonomic solutions. Ecological and sustainable manufacturing is regarded by the company as a core value. They sell their traditional furniture using not only classical sales techniques but also exploit and professionally apply all the opportunities provided by the internet and 21st-century. The quality and quantity of their product range allowed them to become a successful business on foreign markets too; a large part of their income is produced from their sales abroad. Sixay furniture builds its corporate processes on design management: this approach is present in all the operational segments, such as the corporate and brand image, communication, motivation, business planning and efficiency as well as market acquisition and profitability. They have generated a multiplier effect in the areas of selecting their partners as well as in regard to their suppliers and contractors, thus in the entire Hungarian timber industry. The example set by sixay furniture may inspire and motivate young entrepreneurs and those open to rejuvenate their business. Their success of over twenty years clearly confirms the need for the application of design management.