Terveo – for the love of Finnish culture
Stories from dealers: Terveo 30.11.2021
Irina and Fabio Ladu are a multicultural couple with a strong connection to Finland.
“Fabio and I met each other during our studies in Kotka, Finland in 2008. Fabio came from France and I came from Kostomuksha (Kostamus), a town in the northern part of Russian Karelia. Later, to continue with our studies, we moved to France,” Irina tells us.
During their stay in Finland, they had fallen in love with the Finnish culture, especially saunas. They wanted to share their good experiences and show the French something about Finland. But what would that be?
As luck would have it, the Ladus met the Kirami CEO Mika Rantanen at the Interbad Show in Stuttgart in 2016.
“Mika presented us with his products there. In France, hot tubs were hardly even known, but from that moment on it was clear for us that we had to import them to France. We decided to launch our partnership with Kirami then and there!”
Kirami hot tubs, or Nordic baths, bains nordiques, as they are called in French, started to find their way to France.
Active webshop and showroom
In 2017, the couple traveled to Finland to visit the Kirami factory.
“We wanted to know the hot tubs and their structure better, and to see their production. We also wanted to get to know the Kirami team.”
Nowadays, the couple runs their company Terveo in the North of France, in Fresnes-sur-Escaut close to Valenciennes. They get help with deliveries and installations from Fabio’s farther who is retired and willing to assist.
“We mainly manage our sales through our website terveo.com. I believe we were the first of Kirami’s partners to launch a web shop for their products, as I remember the surprise in the eyes of Kirami's sales team.”
When Terveo opened a showroom for the hot tubs, it was a real success.
“People want to see and touch the hot tubs; they are really curious about them. Some of our clients have already heard about them, some have tried them in Finland, on holidays, or at their friends' places.”
In the future, the Ladus are planning to open a new, even bigger showroom so that there is enough space to also present the FinVision -sauna and more models of hot tubs. They also want to have a bigger stock with quickly available hot tubs.
“Our goal for last year was to get regular sales, but we achieved even more! We are really proud to be the biggest distributor of Kirami on France.”
Introducing Finnish wellbeing to France
Even today, Irina and Fabio often get to answer questions like “What is this?” and “How does this work?” concerning the hot tubs.
“So, we explain, we share our experiences, and show the advantages. French people usually compare hot tubs to jacuzzis. It remains our biggest challenge to change their minds and propose the alternative: quiet bathing with wood cracking in the heater and the scent of smoke ¬– a real pleasure! We enjoy it ourselves in our garden, and naturally we want to spread the knowledge and share it with others!”
As Terveo’s slogan says, they introduce the French with Le Bien-être Finlandais – Finnish Wellbeing. The French appreciate wellness and relaxation, jacuzzis, spas, etc. However, things like jacuzzis are only available in spa centers, which are quite expensive.
“So, compared to Finland, people very seldom get to enjoy those experiences. We prefer the Finnish approach where saunas are considered very healthy and they are accessible for everybody. “
Terveo
Irina & Fabio Ladu
www.terveo.com
