'An awning in retail or hospitality is not just functional'

The eye wants something too, that's one thing for sure. "For buildings, awnings can meet those needs," believes Johan Hol. "Not only for private homes, but also for catering establishments and retail." In fact, according to Hol, director of Marquees Netherlands, with awnings on the facade, a hospitality entrepreneur can not only confirm his own identity, but also propagate it. "In addition, this of course also applies to the baker, the butcher, the greengrocer or the florist. You name it. So it is actually quite simple: a awning has an awful lot of marketing value in hospitality and retail!" 

Since the corona years, Johan Hol and his co-director Aart van den Berg have seen an increasing awareness in retail and hospitality when it comes to the value of awnings. "With a fitting awning on your facade, you send a message into the world as an entrepreneur," Hol believes. "Passersby are already made aware of a terrace or a specialty store, for example, from a distance, especially if the awning also has a name, logo and/or advertisements. It is therefore no longer exclusively about functionality, such as blocking out sunlight or preventing light from entering the interior. An awning provides appearance, creates atmosphere, connects the dots and contributes to the customer experience and is therefore part of the communication and marketing of the entrepreneur." 

"There are therefore plenty of interesting projects to which we as Marquees Netherlands have contributed," adds Aart van den Berg. "Throughout the country we have created wonderful reference projects, for example with awnings on which special prints have been applied. The project market will - I predict - continue to grow much further. We are therefore noticing an increase in demand from the awning dealers of the Netherlands." 

"And that is not illogical," believes Johan Hol. "The marquise market used to be more of a 'dormant market,' stable and static, with little development. Now the awning is more prominent again and part of the conversation about interiors and exteriors. For example, we see many more different variants and modern colors appearing in the awning industry, making more possible. Not everything is still very traditional with block stripes. A lot has also changed in the use of materials. Meanwhile, 80% of awnings are made of aluminum and only 20% are made of wood. Just a few years ago it was the other way around. Our own collection has also broadened considerably in this respect. Hospitality and retail are discovering that more and more." 

Partly because they know how to inspire the hospitality and retail market with their products, Johan Hol and Aart van den Berg believe that Marquesas Netherlands can be seen as a forerunner in the market. "When we were really developing our products a few years ago, some people declared us crazy," laughs Johan Hol. "But in retrospect it turned out that our insights were right. We are now appreciated for our wide range and the fact that entrepreneurs recognize much more than before that awnings can have enormous marketing value for their companies. We therefore expect even more growth in this segment in the coming years. After all, it is becoming increasingly important for entrepreneurs to express their own, specific identity and distinguish themselves in the market. And an awning can certainly make a good contribution to that!" υ