French Retailer Case Study: Private Label MDF Toilet Seats for DIY Market

Project Overview A major French DIY retail chain (500+ stores) approached Jell Group to develop a private label toilet seat range. They needed 6 SKUs covering white, grey, and wood grain finishes in both round and D-shape formats. Requirements Timeline: 45 days from approval to first container Volume: 20,000 units initial order (across 6 SKUs) Packaging: Custom retail box with French language, EAN codes, and store branding Compliance: NF certification, REACH compliant materials Price point: Competitive with existing market leaders Our Approach Week 1-2: Design & Sampling We produced 6 pre-production samples matching the retailer's specifications: Each sample included: Finished product with final coating Hinge mechanism (soft-close, quick-release) Draft packaging artwork Technical data sheet Test reports (load, cycle, chemical resistance) Week 3: Approval & Production Planning After minor color adjustments (the grey needed to be 5% darker to match their brand palette), production was scheduled across two lines: Line A: White and grey solid color (H001, G01 models) Line B: Wood grain transfer print (DZ02 model variants) Week 4-5: Production With our daily capacity of 3,000 units, the 20,000-unit order was completed in 7 production days, allowing buffer time for quality holds and rework if needed. Week 6: QC, Packaging & Shipping Third-party inspection (Bureau Veritas) confirmed: AQL 2.5 Level II: PASS (0 critical, 2 major, 8 minor defects in 315-unit sample) All NF certification requirements met Packaging artwork and barcode verification complete Results (First 6 Months) Sell-through rate: 78% (vs. 65% category average) Return rate: 2.1% (vs. 4.5% previous supplier) Reorder: 3 additional containers (35,000 units) SKU expansion: Added 4 new patterns for 2025 Key Success Factors Speed: 45-day turnaround met the seasonal buying window Quality: NF certification and low defect rate built retailer confidence Flexibility: Small MOQ per SKU (3,000 pcs) allowed testing multipl