World premier in the sanitary industry: Van Marcke opens Digital concept & experience store in the heart of Antwerp

10 mai 2023

Comfortable: Customers can go to the 80 m2 concept & experience store to digitally compose their dream bathroom, visualise it as a life-size project, and see it as a 3D rendering in their own bathroom space.
Fast and transparent: There’s no need to make an appointment; customers can come by without obligation to get an instant quotation, view the products and arrange installation.
Easily accessible: The concept store is located in the heart of Antwerp and is easily accessible on foot, by bicycle or via public transport.

ANTWERP, 10 May 2023 – The leading Belgian international family group Van Marcke, specialised in sanitary and heating solutions, opens Van Marcke Lab, a digital concept & experience store in the heart of Antwerp. This world’s first for the sanitary sector allows the company to now offer its customers unprecedented comfort when designing and purchasing their dream bathroom: from choosing the desired style to installing it in their home.

Changing customer needs

“We decided to set up a unique and innovative project that makes the online purchase of a technically complex product such as a bathroom much more comfortable”, explains Aldric d'Oultremont, leader of the concept and representative of the fourth generation of the Belgian company
Van Marcke. “The way of shopping is changing, especially among young adults. Belgians are making more and more purchases online, and their buying habits have also evolved considerably: clothing is the crown, but much larger purchases such as cars, houses and kitchens also occupy an important place. At the same time, we are seeing that their needs are shifting towards tailor-made total solutions that take care of everything, avoid unpleasant surprises, and cause them less mental stress."

The digital concept & experience store allows the company to offer an answer to the increasing demand for total solutions. Thanks to this 80 m² immersive digital experience, customers can have fun digitally putting their dream bathroom together, visualising a life size version of it, and then – with the support of an interior consultant – bringing it to life in 3D in their own bathroom space.

Inspiration and comfort

Customers will first use interactive touchscreens to get acquainted with a carefully selected range of unique products; bathroom specialists have taken these ranges and collected them into technically good and tasteful product combinations.

The product combinations are brought to life on large LED screens using DeepScreen technology enabling ultra-realistic display. Customers can thus easily and comfortably add their favourite product combinations to their wish list.

All styles are represented: from minimalist to classic, from natural to extravagant.

Custom work in the bathroom

Van Marcke’s interior consultants are then ready to fit the product combinations in the customer’s bathroom. An interactive drawing board is used for this. This drawing board allows a realistic representation of the dream bathroom to be generated in real time that simultaneously takes the technical compatibility of the products in the bathroom into account.

After visualisation of the personal bathroom, the bathroom elements selected via the interactive touchscreens are put in the right place. The result is then visualised in 3D. In addition, Van Marcke’s interior consultants are ready to provide technical advice and product samples to help with the choice of available colours, to touch the chosen materials, and to adjust them if necessary.

"A bathroom remains an important purchase and is often a complex issue, where different parts – both functional and aesthetic – have to fit together in order for it all to work properly. Our technology already contains a lot of intelligence, but we remain convinced that the ultimate bathroom finish requires personal and professional advice from people who are both technically savvy and knowledgeable about interior design.” adds Aldric d'Oultremont.

Digital with a physical touch

The new concept & experience store combines the convenience of digital with the functionality of a traditional showroom. "Our ambition is to offer Belgians a comfortable total solution: from the choice of bathroom style and products, their aesthetic wishes, the technical criteria they must meet, all the way to the installation. We will take the feedback from our customers seriously in order to improve our services.” explains Caroline Van Marcke, CEO of the Van Marcke Group. “After all, our mission is to be Creators of Comfort, and we are convinced that the integration of digital technology is crucial to making future purchasing decisions as comfortable as possible for our customers”, she finishes.

Innovation: Van Marcke’s DNA

Van Marcke continues to position itself as a pioneer in the sanitary sector. In 1946, the company was the first European player to introduce the now well-known concept of large sanitary showrooms. Now, almost 80 years later, the company is building on its expertise and introducing the first product – the interactive drawing table – developed by its own start-up: Modulab. As a joint venture between the Van Marcke Group and the Cronos Group, Modulab is led by Aldric d'Oultremont and was founded in the context of further digitisation. With this technology, Modulab is now marketing a “phygital” solution that gives interior design a new impetus.