FINANCE NEWSPAPER – The Most Entrepreneurial Idea: Cubie, custom-made garden houses

On 5 November 2018, the newspaper FINANCE published an article about the company Mizarstvo Hrovat in the “Most Enterprising Idea” section, on the topic of CUBIE garden sheds. A summary can be found below. We wish you enjoyable reading ?

At Mizarstvo Hrovat, they like to boast about the company’s long tradition, which has been increasing its revenues for the past eight years. Among the products they have recently launched on the market are also the Cubie garden sheds, which have been on the market for six years now. As Jaka Hrovat says, these sheds are characterized by modern design, and with them they are targeting markets north of Slovenia, namely Austria and Germany, while Cubie sheds have also been sold in Luxembourg and Croatia.

“Each shed is handmade to measure and represents a unique product. In the planning phase, we take time for each shed and carefully listen to the client’s wishes. The sheds are made with a high degree of precision by skilled carpenters who pay attention to every detail. Several types of facades are available to choose from so that we can come as close as possible to the customer’s wishes, and the Cubie shed requires no maintenance,” asserts Hrovat.

As he says, customers have several options when choosing wood. Most choose Siberian larch because of its modern appearance and durability, but they also offer impregnated spruce, facade plaster, sheet metal, and Fundermax panels, which come into consideration if they want to match as closely as possible the design of the residential house next to which the garden shed stands. The structure of the shed is made of metal, and since a concrete slab is not necessarily required for installation, preparing the base is very simple. The shed is otherwise entirely manufactured in the workshop and installed at the location already completed.

From three to 15 thousand euros for a shed

This year, Mizarstvo Hrovat produced more than 50 Cubie sheds, and they have set themselves a similar goal for 2019. However, the price range for such a shed is very broad: prices range between 3,500 and 15 thousand euros. As the interviewee explains, the price depends on several factors, the main ones being the size of the shed and the material. If, despite the autumn season, you decide to buy a shed now, you will wait three months for it. The delivery time also depends on production capacities, which they adjust to demand. The sheds are continuously upgraded and improved. “The development of such a product never really ends. Over time, we have therefore added quite a wide range of additional equipment to the catalog – shelves, alarm, solar energy, LED lighting, bicycle holders, ski racks …”

30 percent growth planned for this year

Last year, Mizarstvo Hrovat generated approximately 760 thousand euros in revenue, and this has been growing for the eighth consecutive year. According to Jaka Hrovat, they are planning 30 percent growth this year, and they also have similar plans for 2019. The company is also hiring: this year they expanded the team to 23 people, seven of whom are newly employed. “We invest a great deal of time and money in the team. This is the foundation that allows us, as small craftsmen, to push boundaries. Investment in the team has a great advantage over investment in technology or infrastructure. A good team will always find a way. A modern workshop without a team never will,” says Hrovat. Hrovat also likes to point out that, more than craftsmen in this family business, they think like a start-up or IT company. “We are flexible, we adapt quickly and efficiently, we are not limited by ‘it can’t be done,’ we educate ourselves daily, we advertise digitally, we use lean entrepreneurship methods …”

As of 1 January 2019, they are becoming the first Slovenian CO2-neutral craftsmen, which means that the CO2 produced by the company is fully offset by planting trees of equivalent value, and at the same time they will plant as many trees as they cut down, says Hrovat. (SOURCE: Most Enterprising Idea: Cubie, custom-made garden sheds)