Maker Reporter #33 - Axtel Headsets
Hi, my name is Alina, I work for the European headsets manufacturer — Axtel Headsets from Warsaw in Poland. I am happy to be a member of Microlab and share my story with you.
Being Ukrainian by origin, studying in Germany, working in Poland, having family in Italy and ending up in the Netherlands in a relationship might sound a bit confusing and you probably wonder now what did “bring her here”?
Putting aside ambitions, experiences and career achievements, the most correct answer would be my multi-cultural background which opened my mind, made me more confident in my decisions, constantly helps me in better understanding others and surely keeps me moving like there are no boundaries. Oh, and I don’t like it easy, easy is not challenging, it doesn’t drive me.
The story of Axtel Benelux B.V. started in 2019 at Microlab, after I got a new role as Business Development Manager and an opportunity to open the Benelux branch in Eindhoven. People, who are not connected with Holland, were asking me at the beginning: “why not Amsterdam?”, “is there enough potential?”, “do they have many call-centers?”. But the Netherlands is not only Amsterdam, the same as headsets are not only for call-center. There were even some who asked, “where is Eindhoven?”, but we rather skip the last ;).
In my opinion, being in the ICT business and to be based outside of this high-tech and quick-developing Brainport region and away from companies which drive the technological progress (not only in the region but far beyond the Dutch borders) would be a shame.
The Axtel brand exists 15 years now, and 5 years ago, once we felt that our headsets could be competitive worldwide, we started actively to expand globally. Besides, we also started to produce in Europe instead of only outsourcing to China. To be in line with market leaders of the headsets industry raised our confidence even more. I constantly emphasize, our goal is not to ‘beat’ competitors, but to work hand in hand, share experiences and make our end-users ultimately happy. We found out that the Dutch customer is quite demanding, price is important but not a deal-breaker. The practical approach is everywhere, also when choosing headsets, but the quality is a must. That’s why we work closely with R&D and are flexible enough to provide customization to our customers to ensure satisfaction.
If you could only know how many times our strategy changed within the first year… and we thought we found our direction for 2020 until COVID-19 attacked the world and requested prompt actions. These days we are putting a strong focus on business online through our reseller’s web-shops and Bol.com. The USB headsets became the most popular product for home-office workers and luckily we can deliver as the production in Poland is at full speed. And how is your business doing?
I’m truly looking forward to meeting you all at our beloved 6th floor during Friday’s networking events, sharing our quarantine experiences and just having a chat after this long disruption.
Stay healthy and be safe!
Cheers,
Alina
