Navitas Capital is an investment company that realizes growth ambitions together with entrepreneurs. The focus is on Dutch companies that have reached a certain level of maturity and can take a step forward with financial, strategic and entrepreneurial support.
The investments of Navitas are characterized by scalability and are spread over various sectors. Characteristic of the philosophy is the long-term commitment. The emphasis is on continuous expansion.
Bram (driver at Beter Bed): "When Covid entered our premises, we didn't know anything yet; Uden was the 'hotbed' of the Netherlands. Of course there was fear for our health; we see about ten to twelve customers a day. And there was uncertainty; could we deliver safely and would customers still want us on the floor to assemble the beds? In the absence of guidelines from RIVM at the time, we used our common sense and consulted a lot with customers. Anyone who wanted to assemble their own bed got a discount. A solution for our customer, but challenging for the planning. We were sometimes finished hours earlier."
"I'm very happy that our work continued. Eight weeks after the stores closed, it got quieter; our delivery time is six to eight weeks. But what I get energy from - the contact with the customers - remained. Admittedly in a different way and to a lesser extent, but at least I didn't have to sit behind a laptop at my kitchen table. As soon as the stores opened, it was madness all over again. Consumers had more to spend because of vacations that didn't happen, and some had been waiting a long time for a store visit because of the closure. So run, stand still and be flexible. I have met very few dissatisfied customers. It is also just how you yourself deal with the situation, of course. Giving a smile means receiving one. Positive feedback - be it in the form of a smile, be it in the form of a positive review - has motivated me recently. There was doubt and uncertainty then; we managed to keep the customer happy."
Edmond
(Transport Manager at Beter Bed): "Every plan that I made in my first weeks as Transport Manager at Beter Bed (Edmond started at Beter Bed in March 2020, ed.) was thrown out. Corona forced the entire organization to be flexible. A long-term vision, what was that? Bringing together the dynamics of suppliers, customers, delivery people and three distribution centers is why I love my job. But this was a very different kind of dynamic. I wanted to go somewhere with our team. It was nice to see that Dutch people were investing in their own homes. But at the same time, we were taking into account a run on vacations, which would mean that sales had only shifted."
"That created the uncertainty that Bram also talked about. That was tangible in the team. Now that we see that the stores are still running well and we have all the processes better under control, the calm has returned. Everyone enjoys their work. And we've achieved something beautiful. When I started at Beter Bed, I saw it as my task to make our - somewhat undervalued - transport department more important to the company. Well, it has. In the increasing sales we have had a nice share and that is appreciated. Hopefully everything will return to normal soon and I can engage in the dynamics I love: of bringing all the variables together into a well-oiled machine."