[NL] CASA: at home in e-commerce thanks to the right partner

Is your interior or terrace in need of another fresh makeover, or are you just looking for that extra touch of atmosphere and cosiness? Then CASA is probably the place to be for you. CASA is a network of interior design shops operating in 8 European countries. It sells everything from kitchen accessories to furniture, textiles and decorative items. For several years now, all these products have also been available through their own webshop. And it is precisely in this online adventure that RAJA comes around the corner… We met for the occasion with Yens, Operations Manager at CASA. He tells us why CASA chose to collaborate with RAJA and which packaging solutions were selected.

What should we know CASA mainly for?

“CASA is known to most people as a shop selling quality, decorative and functional interior items. We offer all kinds of items to create an atmospheric home. We aim for trendy items that are still affordable. Our range also changes with the seasons, such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Christmas and the summer period. This allows our customers to make their home cosy at any time of the year.

Meanwhile, we can look back on more than 40 years of experience. In 1975, the first shop opened under the name CASA in Ottignies, in the province of Walloon Brabant in Belgium. This was later followed by a whole series of shops in the rest of Belgium, as well as in Luxembourg, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. A new chapter followed in 2018, this time in the Netherlands: an acquisition allowed 38 shops to be rebranded to the CASA concept. Today, CASA accounts for 480 shops across eight European countries. Beyond that, by the way, you will also find our shops in Aruba and Morocco.”

How did RAJA play a role in your growth?

“The shop concept played a central role in our strategy for CASA since the very beginning. In 2017, we launched a new sales channel: the webshop. In the early days, however, this remained quite small-scale. Then, a few years later, when we were confronted with the corona pandemic, that webshop suddenly turned into our main sales outlet. All our physical shops were forced to close their doors in a short space of time. Thanks to the webshop, we managed to keep our activities going after all. Since then, we do all e-commerce activities in-house to get all goods to customers’ homes as quickly as possible.

That meant we had to make a complete switch to e-commerce in a very short period of time. And whoever says e-commerce also says ‘parcels’ and ‘shipments’. It is at that point that we came to RAJA. In fact, we were looking for a total solution for the entire packaging story. RAJA had the whole range for us to get our products delivered quickly and safely to the end customer.”

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What RAJA solutions has CASA been using since?

“For our e-commerce department, RAJA offers all solutions for sustainable and efficient packaging. From their range, we mainly use different types of boxes made of single or double corrugated cardboard, but also tape dispensers and document sleeves – indispensable to complete our shipments.

By the way, we use the standard cardboard boxes mainly for sending large or fragile goods. To protect our most vulnerable products, we also use RAJA’s Geami Wrappak machine. The ideal device for applying a shock-resistant protective layer around our products. It is a great alternative to traditional bubble wrap actually. Our packers use this machine, for example, to protect crockery, pottery, etc. For products that require little extra protection on the other hand, such as textiles, we have switched to plastic shipping bags. This allows us to ship very compactly, without having to invest in excess padding material.”

How do you guys look at working with RAJA?

“What is a big plus for us is especially the speed of delivery. Thanks to their large stock, we can be confident that the packaging we need is always available. In that sense, RAJA even acts a bit like an external warehouse for us where all the packaging material is neatly stocked. This naturally leaves more space for CASA to store our own products.

In addition, service quality plays a big role for us. Every question we have is answered very quickly and very qualitatively. Something we naturally appreciate and value enormously in a company we work so closely with.”

How is CASA betting on the future?

“An important pillar in our forward-looking strategy is the ‘sustainability’ aspect. The choice of our products, the way we package and the method of shipping to our customer are high on the agenda. We realise that last-mile delivery is increasingly permeating customer consciousness. Tackling that sustainably will become a must in the future more than ever. By opting for more sustainable packaging – such as renewable cardboard or recyclable plastic – we are already taking a step in the right direction.”

Watch CASA’s full customer testimonial below: