The CEO of Girbau, Mercè Girbau, remembers as if it were yesterday the words of her father Pere Girbau who learned English later in life to be able to do laundry in a global market: "We have to have many rods set up." And she goes even a step further: "Now we are almost more hunters than fishermen." This is the Girbau Case explained by Mercè Girbau during a new session of the True Leaders cycle organized by The New Barcelona Post in collaboration with EY to learn firsthand about different business leaders and their success stories in an exclusive environment with about thirty presidents, CEOs, and CFOs.
Before, however, getting down to business, let me remind you why Girbau is considered a "pocket multinational," which is a concept that has a lot to do with what the German consultant Hermann Simon defined as Hidden Champions.
The expression is not new. Far from it. Quoting Xavier Cambra, president of the Fundació Enciclopèdia Catalana and editor of the book Multinacionals de butxaca: "Girbau is a clear example of a pocket multinational and Hidden Champion. Multinationals often hidden that don't appear much in the media, but that do great work and are world leaders."
So much so that explaining Girbau with current data means talking about a global player with a turnover of 180 million euros, more than 800 employees, 16 subsidiaries, presence in 130 countries, and a 5% global market share ---not counting the new companies in China---. As an anecdote, it is also worth adding that "in Cuba, an industrial washing machine is called a Girbau and that more than another country it is another planet." Yes, a Girbau ever since the Cuban government, as a result of Fidel Castro's great interest, invited Catalan industrialists through the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and they opened the first commercial delegation to serve the Spanish hotels. In contrast, in the United States they rebranded with the Continental brand because they were told their name was difficult to pronounce, but soon, they will have the name that almost everyone already knows again.
The captain of the pocket multinational
Girbau is a family business and a pocket multinational, just as, following the thread of historian Jaume Vicens Vives, Mercè Girbau would be a captain of industry. From Vic to the world. Although they say that being a captain also causes many headaches, Mercè Girbau looks at the family business with innovation, sustainability, and internationalization, while trying to anticipate what is yet to come, collecting in the best possible way the legacy of the "senior trident" formed by the brothers Pere, Toni, and Teresa Girbau.
Girbau is considered a pocket multinational with 16 subsidiaries and a presence in 130 countries and a 5% global market share.Mercè Girbau did not plan to work in the family business. In fact, she worked for almost more than a decade in the banking sector between Barcelona and Madrid. She left banking, she explains, because she didn't have time to dedicate to her family, but her father made her an offer impossible to refuse. One of those that appear in movies. That's how she returned home and started working at Girbau until in 2008 she assumed the co-general management with her cousin Pere and in 2016 she became CEO after incorporating an external general manager.
Let's go back to the origins and remember some historical milestones with Mercè Girbau.
Girbau's story begins with "Joan del Ferro" who was a mechanic from Manresa who settled in Roda de Ter. Years later came the first workshop for the manufacture and repair of electromechanical devices (radios, washing machines or cars) located on Pla de Balenyà street in Vic, by Joan Girbau Vilageliu and Pere Girbau Barbosa. From that era, the agreement with Philips for the manufacture of X-ray equipment is remembered.
Mercè Girbau did not plan to work in the family business, but her father made her an offer she couldn't refuseIn 1950, Pere, Toni, and Teresa Girbau joined the family business. Everything was going as planned, until the three siblings "suffered a lot" with the debt caused by the 1973 oil crisis and the fall of tourism. Internationalization began then because "export was the last way out." Of course, everything was self-financed and "always with few loans."
From one branch to another and with some notable alliances such as ICEM or Speed Queen, they reached France, Cuba, the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and China, to which she warns that "the Germans, for example, receive support from the country that we do not have." "In each country, we have a different business model. With the generational change, we have rebuilt the entire management team with the incorporation of executives from multinationals, but we have maintained the business model that best suits each country. We have standardized the figures and now we have a group vision. The new executives now speak languages," explains Mercè Girbau.
A step aside, a step into the future
With the introductions made, we delve into the details of the great hits of the colloquium I had with Mercè Girbau. Why did she decide to leave general management in 2016? "I was very focused on the day-to-day, and both my cousin and I wanted time to analyze and anticipate the sector and the industry. It was a family reflection, to establish a new model and dedicate ourselves to innovation, sustainability, and strategy. I really like visiting clients, seeing subsidiaries, and being in contact with people, caring about the company culture," she explains.
The previous speaker of the True Leaders cycle and honorary president of Grupo Borges, Antoni Pont, said that "family is one of the few truths in this world." Absolutely right. In Mercè's eyes, Girbau is undergoing a transformation from "family business to entrepreneurial family." To be clear, the family is there, but both management and the board have become professionalized. "The next generation will no longer be in management tasks, only on the board. In the next generation, made up of 14 people, many artists have emerged... We will see how it evolves."
"I really like visiting clients, seeing subsidiaries, and caring about the company culture. The next generation will no longer be in management, only on the board"From Mercè and Pere Girbau's decision to step aside, Girbau Lab was born and grew as an open innovation platform, as well as alliances with DFactory or Tech Barcelona to get closer to talent and Indpuls as hub of industrial innovation driven jointly with Fluidra to foster collaboration between large industrial companies and startups that share digital transfer or sustainability challenges. The inspiration of "growing by making others grow" from Xavier Marcet or strategic execution at the hands of Mariona Sanz or Clara Guasch. More specifically, the main focus of Girbau's research and development strategy is sustainability and the textile world, also adding new technologies and new washing systems. "We are held back from competing with customers and that is why we have not created our own network of self-service laundries, but we must provide added value with the washing machine of the future and open ourselves to the textile sector," assures Mercè Girbau.
'Seny i rauxa' and people...
Teresa Girbau used to say many years ago that at Girbau there were people before there were workers. Pere Girbau often speaks of "seny i rauxa". Mercè Girbau recalls that they used to have "a more paternalistic culture", but now they have a purpose of positive impact for people and the planet.
In their industry, there are only 25% women, which is why Girbau also promotes Stem vocations in search of engineers. The CEO asserts: "We are a space for people's development. We have a lot to do to achieve a flatter organization and lower the level of decision-making. We have made the generational change and now we want to perpetuate values and leave a very human company, more diversified and focused on sustainability, which will give us many opportunities. Nobody likes having to wash clothes, but there are still many years until this need disappears."
Capital and dreams To open up or not to capital? That is the question. And this is Mercè Girbau's answer: "It could be, in the future, due to growth needs, but today we still see it as far off. We have the vocation to maintain the family business." Her vision? Growth via nursing homes, self-service laundries or coliving. Her dream? The neutral or regenerative laundry.
Thus, we conclude the second session of the True Leaders cycle, which was attended by Núria Basi (Base Group), Elena Massot (Vertix), Jaume and Mar Grego (Leti Pharma), Eva Lluch (Lluch Essence), Salvador Garcia Ruiz (Abacus), Ramon Sagalés (Sagalés), Albert Manchón (Altoplast), Ruben Sans (Aijec), Joan Ignasi Monfort (AED), Mar Galtés (Tech Barcelona), Albert Jordi (Laboratorios Ordesa), Gonzalo Tobía (Grafik Estudio), Edelweis Obiol (Servihabitat Servicios Inmobiliarios), Eduard Farga (Isern Medical Telecom) or Ariadna Belver (Belver&Co), among others.
Soon more and better True Leaders. Person to person and Case by case.