Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1088108
21 COMMERCIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MARCH 2019 HÄSTENS, the bespoke bed that takes four tradesmen more than 350 hours to hand- craft, has arrived in Malta with the promise to provide the best rest one can dream of. Form, the local company re- nowned for its own luxurious mattresses, has just opened a dedicated showroom for Hästens in Valley Road, Birkirkara, selling beds famed for their horsetail hair stuff- ing, blue and white check pat- tern, and six figure price tags. Hästens country manager Domenico Capobianco said the allure behind opening in Malta was that the island had, more and more, become an interesting market for all the prestigious furniture brands and Hästens had been miss- ing. Known as the Ferraris of the mattress world, Hästens is the chosen brand by the Swedish royal family and it recently made waves after it emerged that the world's largest luxury cruise ship suite — the Re- gent Suite on the Seven Seas Splendor — will feature the Hästens' most luxurious Vivi- dus bed that costs €145,000. But you don't need to be a millionaire to invest in a bed that frees you from the shack- les of fatigue and the start- ing price for a Hästens bed is €4,000, which when you think that this will last you for the rest of your life it amounts to the cost of an espresso a day. The advantage is that al- though the bed comes with a 25-year guarantee, nobody re- ally knows how long a Hästens bed can last and the company has even stumbled upon one which has been used for over 90 years. The Swedish bedmaker, which has been perfecting its craft since 1852, gives the assurance that its beds can change three-thirds of your life: the one-third when you are sleeping; and the two- thirds when you are feeling refreshed and awake from a good night's sleep. Their philosophy is a simple and undisputed one — a good night's sleep is the human body's way of self-rejuvenat- ing, mentally and physically. Without the ability to proper- ly and thoroughly reset night after night, both the mind and the body will suffer. Form, which has been sup- plying quality mattresses and beds since its inception in 1947, felt bringing Hästens to Malta was taking their legacy to another level. The finest natural materi- als are used creating layers of organic components. There's cotton (for coolness, ventila- tion), wool (natural insulation properties) and flax (divert- ing static electricity), as well as thousands upon thousands of fine, curly (and disinfected) strands of horsehair, which behave like tiny springs to fend off moisture and assist in ventilation. The bed of your dreams arrives in Malta New Client and Social Media Partner at the Concept Stadium THE Concept Stadium, a bou- tique marketing consultancy agency based in Malta, has enhanced its account manage- ment and digital communi- cations partnership team by engaging Sabrina Agius, who will service clients in these two value-added service areas. Sabrina brings with her over 10 years experience in mar- keting, with a special focus on social media and content creation, having had the op- portunity to work with some of the most renowned local and international brands in the retail and hospitality in- dustries. Sabrina's main focus at the Concept Stadium will include assisting a number of the company's clients to ana- lyse trends in the industry es- pecially in the ever changing competitive world, as well as coming up with novel ideas and go-to-market activations with a great element of social media and digital focus. Upon joining the Concept Stadium, Sabrina commented: "I wanted to join the Con- cept Stadium because I felt that it was time to surround myself with likeminded crea- tive people, something which I honestly found in the whole team here. Having worked on both clients' and agency side in the past is helping me to understand clients' needs bet- ter. I am very excited to work on marketing strategy and so- cial media marketing with the team whilst creating engaging content together with the cre- ative and commercial teams in order to continue delivering commercially-sensitive acti- vations that the Concept Sta- dium have strived to become known for." Welcoming Sabrina to the team, Jonathan Dalli, Founder & CEO at the Concept Sta- dium, said "It is great to wel- come Sabrina on board. Fol- lowing our recent re-branding exercise, we are currently working in ensuring that our social media activations are not only engaging but reach- ing the Key Performance In- dicators that clients ask us for. This will ensure that we will constantly live to our ideal of commercial creatives". In addition, Jonathan Chet- cuti, Founder & COO, com- mented, "Since we started off as a SoHO business we have worked very hard to create a team and a company culture that ensures, that even from an operational perspective, we speak the language of our cli- ents, whilst being in constant communication with them. Sabrina's engagement is a true testimony to this, as she will help us to remain boutique in client interface." Sabrina really loves animals and expresses her creative side through painting whenever she finds the time. Get to know Sabrina bet- ter by visiting her profile on https://conceptstadium.com/ about/team/sabrina-agius/. PREMIER Capital plc, the Maltese-owned developmen- tal licencee for McDonald's in six European markets, opened 10 new restaurants in 2018 and began its 2019 expansion programme with the inaugu- ration of an additional res- taurant in Greece last month. The group will open a total of 13 restaurants this year. The openings fall under a €64 million investment drive to expand Premier Capital's restaurant portfolio in the Baltics, Greece, Romania and Malta to 176 restaurants by 2021. Opened between January 2018 and January 2019, the 11 new restaurants, four of which were inaugurated in Romania in December, bring the total McDonald's restau- rants currently operated by Premier Capital to 147. The group's staff complement now exceeds 8,200 people. Eight of the new restaurants opened in Romania, four of which with McDrive and McCafe opera- tions. The new restaurant in Lithu- ania and the additional two in Greece also feature the McDrive. Premier Capital's moderni- sation programme continued in 2018 with 22 conversion projects completed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Greece and Romania. The revamped res- taurants feature the latest Mc- Donald's innovation with self- ordering kiosks, an updated McDonald's kitchen configu- ration, and features like table services and upgraded birth- day party rooms. The modernisation pro- gramme has now been com- pleted across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and is expected to be finished in Romania, Greece and Malta by end 2020. In 2019, Premier Capital will continue to direct consider- able investment and train- ing into 'Experience of the Future', McDonald's revolu- tionary service model which injects innovation into the customers' experience as they interact with the brand. More restaurants around the foot- print will be remodelled and upgraded, and additional ser- vices introduced. "Our vision for the next three years focuses on broad- ening customers' accessibility to McDonald's, modernising the experience we deliver to them, and remaining commit- ted to our people so that they derive as much reward and advancement in their career with McDonald's as possible," Premier Capital Managing Director Victor Tedesco said. "We will do this by running great restaurants, capturing growth opportunities, encour- aging new leaders, and reduc- ing complexity in restaurants and in processes." Premier Capital's business continued to grow in 2018, increasing its year-on-year growth momentum. Compa- rable sales and guest counts surpassed 2017's figures by 10% and 4% respectively. McDonald's licencee Premier Capital to open 13 restaurants in 2019 Premier Capital's restaurant network expanded to 147 restaurants with the opening of the McDonald's at Larissa in Greece. The restaurant was opened by Simona Mancinelli, General Manager of McDonald's in Greece, and Victor Tedesco, Managing Director of Premier Capital plc, with Greek presenter Evvagelia Aravani