# From Textiles to Global Trade: Theodoor Mannaert's Journey of Reinvention & Resilience | S4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0honBDhwg9g

[00:05] Welcome to season 4 of Skillcast, the podcast by the London Organization of Skills Development.
[00:12] My name is Nurabanu and I'm your host.
[00:14] I couldn't be more excited to embark on this new season with you.
[00:19] In season 4, we're pushing boundaries and exploring the forefront of skills development.
[00:23] We'll discuss emerging trends, innovative practices, and the evolving landscape of professional growth.
[00:30] Our lineup features thought leaders, industry pioneers, and change makers who are redefining what's possible.
[00:37] Whether you're aiming to futureproof your career, ignite your passion, or simply enjoy insightful conversations, you're in the right place.
[00:43] Let's dive in.
[00:45] Welcome to the podcast.
[00:47] Thank you very much.
[00:48] Good morning.
[00:49] Are you excited to be here?
[00:50] Yes, very nice.
[00:52] So, tell me a little bit more about yourself.
[00:53] I've only just met you, so I'd love to see how you'd introduce yourself to our audience.
[00:58] No, I, my name is Tio.
[01:01] I'm from the Netherlands.
[01:04] I'm 57 years.
[01:06] Old and I, uh, I, I'm coming from a textile family.
[01:11] I was always a dream for to, for to, for to do business by myself in the textile business.
[01:19] So, did you inherit this business or did it just come to you through family?
[01:25] No, my father is a, is, is an interior architect and he's doing a lot of, lot of, lot of hotels.
[01:36] So, he was always, uh, at home with samples of, of textile, of curtains and furniture fabrics.
[01:43] So, so we know, we were always busy with the textile.
[01:45] Nice.
[01:45] So, then what made, why did you stay within textiles?
[01:50] Why, why did you not move out of textiles?
[01:52] Was there a reason?
[01:53] Yeah, because it is, it is nice.
[01:55] It is textile, mainly fabrics with, with beautiful descents and beautiful colors.
[02:01] This is nice to work with.
[02:03] Do you know much about color therapy?
[02:04] You know, people use different colors to, um, to
[02:08] Create more lighting.
[02:09] So like white walls create more light whereas black creates more more closer closer stuff.
[02:15] That's true.
[02:17] Do you give that sort of advice to your clients as well or you kind of just No, actually my father uh did this kind of job and I was more for for to uh for to for to buy fabrics and to sell.
[02:29] So so more trading so not not not to uh to give uh uh advice to to people.
[02:38] It's more buying and selling.
[02:40] Do you have a lot of employees working for you at the moment?
[02:44] No, actually actually not.
[02:48] After after my graduation of the of the middle business school, I was starting to work uh in in a Jewish uh Jewish company for a for textile.
[03:00] Mhm.
[03:05] And then uh in this period the the wall of Germany
[03:08] Collapsed.
[03:11] There was always there was an uh Germany was divided in the east and the west Germany in the communist side and the and the west side.
[03:20] And then actually we uh I went there with with a friend of school with with a very very old small small car.
[03:30] We we went to Berlin because someone some somebody told me that that was in the east of Germany and a lot of textile business going up.
[03:40] So we were very curious and we went to Berlin because in Berlin you have the the toy hunt and the toy hunt it was an government company and they were were taking care of all the for the whole chains of the the communist system to the to the to the to the private private owned uh system.
[04:02] So we went there and uh and then then they give us a an tip.
[04:05] There was an company.
[04:09] In in Cotbus that's also in the city and the company was almost bankrupt and there was a lot of textile.
[04:18] So we went there and and we came there and it was a big warehouse full but we had an very fairly little budget budget of money but uh because it was the first time we were yeah we we were also not uh not not not specialized in in those things and but we knew that the quality what we saw that was the right quality what you're looking for.
[04:52] And then uh then we uh spoke about the price and uh but the company they they told us or you buy the whole stock or you buy nothing.
[05:02] But because of our budget it was it was a little bit difficult but then we bought everything and and we were telling to the to the company uh we will buy everything but we
[05:12] Take it, uh, by little parts, because that was our budget.
[05:14] Uh, but we were telling that that our warehouse was too full.
[05:19] So we had to do it step for step, and that was the start of a journey of about 20 years.
[05:29] Oh wow.
[05:30] So how did you start getting your clients?
[05:34] Uh, because of the eight months I was working in the textile company in, uh, near to Amsterdam.
[05:40] I was always listening to people.
[05:43] I'm not so, not a very big speaker, but I can listen very, very, very well.
[05:50] And I also think if you are starting, it is better to listen than to speak, because if you listen, you can learn from people; they have experience, they know much more.
[06:05] And that was the way, because there were, it was a textile.
[06:12] Company and they, they were always telling me in this period when I was working in this textile company, um, there's a lot of demand for lining in West Africa because they use it for whatever.
[06:20] So I was, I had always in my mind I must have lining that is polyester acetate or viscose lining.
[06:37] And we have found this lining.
[06:42] So it was, uh, so when we found the lining, I was calling to the client and I said, I have found lining.
[06:51] And then we sold him in 20 years about five million meters.
[06:55] Wow.
[06:59] That's a lot.
[07:03] Were you doing the sales piece as well or did you have someone else kind of, um, try to sell the product?
[07:07] No, we, uh, actually, um, the buying part that is in the
[07:16] full full-time job because uh because I had to drive uh almost every week uh 7 8 hours from from for from my company to to to the to to the east of Germany near to Poland.
[07:35] and so it is an it is an daytime time job.
[07:39] and then in the I I find an aner and he was already specialized to export to Africa.
[07:47] and we had a coffee and we had a good uh a good toll together.
[07:57] and then we and then I said to him I said listen uh we can make a very complicated story but we can also do a simple I do the buying part you doing is the selling part in Africa.
[08:06] because you you're you're very good in it and to and to sell in in Africa is not that easy because you have to to do with with Dana with with taxes with with.
[08:17] Paperwork export license with, uh, a lot of a lot of a lot of stuff.
[08:23] So you do the export, I do the buying part and then we do 50/50.
[08:26] No, we make a handshake deal and we worked together about 25 years.
[08:36] Have you ever had any conflicts between the two partners?
[08:40] No.
[08:40] Normal things?
[08:40] No.
[08:40] Not not really.
[08:43] No.
[08:43] No.
[08:43] Cuz you find that especially when you're in two different fields even though you have no, he has no expertise in the buying side but and he's very good at sales, but does he ever kind of give you advice, oh you should do this or bring this or do you get that or you give him thoughts and ideas?
[09:00] In this period it was in the '90s and the end of the '90s, uh, the benefit was there was no internet, there was no mobile telephones.
[09:15] So, uh, for us it was a big benefit.
[09:18] Because the big competition now from China that is mainly coming to Google, the internet and everything.
[09:28] So also the people in Africa, they can Google everything.
[09:33] But in the '90s, it was quite complicated for the Africa people to find the right fabrics.
[09:42] So we created a big, big warehouse, really, really big, big warehouse, and we were putting everything on stock.
[09:50] So the Africa people, they came and it was possible for them to choose some cotton, some printed, some plain, some, and they put it in the container, and they were selling it on the local market.
[10:07] So what's the future then?
[10:10] What are you going to continue staying in textiles, or you are adventurous, or you want to try something else, 'cause there's so many new industries out there?
[10:16] Hospitality, there's technology.
[10:19] You considered dabbling into any of these other fields?
[10:21] Yeah.
[10:24] For to make a little story, in the time we were buying a lot of textile.
[10:31] So we were buying fabrics and yarn, uh, yarn for to make fabrics.
[10:41] So in the meantime, there were companies, for example in Dson.
[10:47] Dson is a beautiful city.
[10:51] In the time we were at the beginning in Dson, there was Putin.
[10:57] Putin lived there.
[11:00] He was the head of the KCB.
[11:09] And actually we could buy many textile because we met two women.
[11:16] They were in the Hornker team.
[11:16] Honker was was...
[11:22] Was the was the chief of the of the of the East German country and he had an a group of people.
[11:33] They were taxial engineers but but the benefit was that those people know know they knew everybody.
[11:45] For us it was quite difficult in this time without internet and telephone for to find the the right companies because of of those woman we it it was more easy for to for to find all kind of textile and all kind of uh things.
[12:04] What's the difference between now someone who start up as textiles business compared to when you started up?
[12:12] China make make the the destroy everything almost.
[12:15] Mhm.
[12:19] Because China can can can can pro produce so so very cheap and the benefit
[12:25] Uh, was in our time that the uh in the because of the falling of the wall.
[12:34] So all the companies they were they were uh they were government companies, but uh the whole system was changed.
[12:46] So they try to to to change the from the government companies to to private companies.
[12:53] But to be private companies, you have to be very smart with with with warehousing with lost and and and it was in this in this country very bad organized because in the communist system it it doesn't doesn't care if the warehouse is there and the production is there and it was it was very complex.
[13:18] So what would be the advice you'd give to someone who's trying to start up textiles in this generation?
[13:24] What would be the best thing you'd say to them?
[13:26] Should they go into textiles or should they feel another field of specialism?
[13:30] Now the point in the textile nowadays is that there are very big players like Zara and all those companies and to for to make competition with those companies that is difficult.
[13:51] So would you say to still compete with fast fashion or should you avoid the textiles industry altogether?
[13:59] Yes, I think so.
[14:02] It is uh difficult for to uh start it up.
[14:04] How are you sustaining it then or are you thinking of moving away from textiles now?
[14:10] No, in the I was always busy in the period in the textile period.
[14:17] I was always busy with uh for to set up other other things too.
[14:23] Uh for example in the east of Germany this those companies where we
[14:28] Were buying that were juice companies.
[14:30] With about 1,000 employees.
[14:35] And a lot of companies they were they were shut down.
[14:41] And we also find out that in those companies because uh because the the the time was not not change changed after the war.
[14:52] So there was a lot of antics in the companies, a lot of old furniture and and then so we so I started for for to buy also when when the factories closed I was buying all the textile.
[15:03] And I I also bought all the furniture and that I was selling to to antique shops.
[15:13] And then uh then we then there was an an company in Holland and he was asking us for uh if if you can find uh planks, wooden wooden planks.
[15:25] And so we we came.
[15:28] At in Frankfurt Frank Odor at Dutch bomb because the they were uh always uh transporting in the east of Germany by by by railway and now because of the chains of the of the of of the border they will they will transfer transport everything by road.
[15:51] So there was about uh 10 10 or 15,000 uh wagons.
[15:56] They were the the the stroid but in the hagans they were 5 cm planks uh old old planks.
[16:06] So so I make made a contract with with with the German uh with with the German railway for to buy all the all those planks and and those planks I was selling to the to to a furniture company and they make tables of it.
[16:24] So I was always uh I was busy in the textile but I also in the furniture furniture.
[16:29] And in the wood business.
[16:33] And then after this, this uh, this um wood business, we we uh met and uh an a company in in Bulgaryi.
[16:42] And then there was a lot of demand for for oak parket.
[16:45] So there was an bankruptcy in in Holland with with with all kind of machines and uh so I I bought everything and I brought all the the whole my machinery to Bulgary.
[17:04] I I bought an an and an and and powder milk factory and and we renovated and we make the road and everything with the heating system and everything.
[17:16] And so we started there also in a in a wooden pocket company with with 60 people.
[17:19] Amazing.
[17:23] I've learned so much from your journey that you've been on.
[17:25] And the main thing that I've really taken away from what
[17:29] You've said is be specialized in one field, but then also kind of dabble in other areas like you said in furniture and being open-minded to different areas and kind of creating yourself that holistic system because like you said, fast fashion is really taking over the textile industry.
[17:46] And if it wasn't for your initiative and your bravery and being taking the risk of going into furniture, buying a wholesale and getting stuff for it, you wouldn't you never be where you are today.
[17:56] So really really enlightening and thank you so much for sharing.
[18:01] Thank you for for uh giving the opportunity.