170 colleagues participated in online strategy workshop

With zero chance of gathering 170 colleagues at HimmerLand, this year’s strategy kick-off instead became the largest virtual event ever in JYSK’s history.

“Nice to welcome you to this strategy session. It is a little bit artificial this year, but we have to adapt to the situation.”

Those were the first words from Jan Bøgh, CEO & President of JYSK, during the online livestream last week from our Head Office in Brabrand, Denmark.

Under normal circumstances, the management teams from all countries and service functions would be gathered for the annual strategy kick-off in HimmerLand, the conference centre owned by the family behind Lars Larsen Group.

This year, however, the corona pandemic forced Jan Bøgh and the rest of the Executive Management Team to change plans and turn the meeting into a virtual event. Still with focus on creating the best plans for the coming financial year, which begins in September.

Participants from all of Europe

In many different locations across Europe, JYSK’s country management teams connected their computers to the two-hour livestream, which began at 8am sharp.

One of the people following the livestream was Christian Schirmer, who is Country Manager for Dänisches Bettenlager in Germany.

“This year was the first time we were joining the strategy kickoff since the merger of DBL and JYSK Nordic. It was really inspiring to watch and hear the different speakers and their different ways of communicating. And although it was all virtual, the speakers stood close to the camera, so it felt almost like they were with us in person,” he says.

Another virtual participant was Martina Pohjanen, who is Country Manager for JYSK in Norway.

“It was great to connect through the livestream. Being able to gather and hear the direction for JYSK was more valuable than ever in the uncertain times we have right now. Doing it digitally also went perfectly well, although it would have been even nicer to meet physically,” she says.

Back to HimmerLand in 2021

During the livestream, Jan Bøgh also gave a status on the current situation in JYSK: It is still too early to say exactly what corona has meant, but with almost 2,000 stores closed for a period, the situation has been very serious. Fortunately, it seems to be improving day by day.

Also part of the livestream were Niels Veien, Executive Vice President Customer Experience, Digital & Business Development, as well as Jacob Krogh Andersen, Head of Business Development & Relationship. They introduced the participants to various parts of the strategy process and how best to work with the local business plans.

And although the livestream went well, Jan Bøgh is looking forward to welcoming his colleagues back to HimmerLand next year.

“Judging from the feedback I have received so far, this virtual event exceeded expectations. But of course the feeling of belonging to something bigger is more present when you meet up with 170 colleagues in HimmerLand. That is hard to replace,” he says and adds:

“Still, I think everyone has been really engaged and motivated again this year. And I have no doubt that we will once again make strong plans to grow in the future,” he says.