HANKO hides your mail

— Article published in “Le Quotidien” on Monday April 30 and Tuesday April 1^er May 2018, written by Aude Forestier

The young company founded in 2016 and based in Wecker wants to modernise the world of stamps in Luxembourg, according to its creator, Sérgio Alves Santos.

The company offers a wide range of ink and wooden stamps for both businesses and individuals. The little extra? A rubber plate personalized by the company's founder.

Everyone has at some point held an ink stamp in their hands. A plastic or wooden object that allows you to print your mark on a sheet of paper or an envelope. Sérgio Alves Santos knows a thing or two about it. Before launching HANKO, a company specializing in the online sale of rubber or wooden stamps, the 31-year-old worked for a year and a half in the stamp sector in Luxembourg.I learned about the environment and how it worked." he said. The method used where he worked was ""too old". Clearly, "it lacked modernity"Customers placed orders by email, mail or fax,"even by phone", emphasizes Sérgio Alves Santos. And an order taken during a phone call can sometimes contain errors.

This professional experience allowed the graphic designer and web designer to learn how to create layouts for stamps. Above all, it gave him the desire to "create a new experience for buying tampons". Why call it HANKO? The explanation is quite simple: "hanko means ink stamp in Japanese", says the young father of the firm who was looking for an original name for the company. In addition to loving web design and new technologies, Sérgio Alves Santos is passionate about Japanese culture. "I lived in Japan for over two years and studied Japanese at a language school in Tokyo. “It was a great experience, it really changed my way of seeing things, the world and Luxembourg,” he says.

A personalized product

A HANKO customized product is here »to modernize the world of stamps in Luxembourg", continues Sérgio Alves Santos. On the website he created "from A to Z", it is possible to order self-inking plastic stamps from the brands Trodat, the Austrian number 1 in the sector and Colop. "My job is to personalize", warns the company's founder. He uses the text provided by the customer (for example, the company name and address) and then creates the rubber plate in his workshop. By the way, how is it made? "It is an A4 sheet of rubber, it will be laser engraved. I make the design in the file on the computer, I set the machine and I start the engraving", he explains.To my knowledge, I am the only one in Luxembourg to use this technique.» And for the wooden stamp, how does it work?I make the rubber plate and the engraving: I do customization" he says. Manufacturing time varies depending on the type of stamp. "If it's a plastic stamp, it takes an hour, the time to compose the file, engrave the plate and mount. For the wooden stamp, there is an additional step, that of engraving a message on the stamp. This is to facilitate use", he adds.

The price of the object depends on its size. For a small plastic stamp with an address, it costs 25 euros and 32 euros excluding VAT for a large stamp of the same material. A large wooden stamp, much lighter, costs 40 euros. Both companies and individuals can order a product from the firm. Customers are mainly in the Grand Duchy. When the website will have an English version, "This will open up other markets", advises Sérgio Alves Santos. Who knows, maybe one day tampons "Made in Lëtzebuerg» will be sold worldwide.

Advice to a young start-uper

Before embarking on the business adventure, Sérgio Alves Santos says that it is necessary to "research the market"He researched the latter and was able to see who his competitors were, asked himself what he could do "differently from the others" and what he could bring to customers.I saw that there was potential, it was worth it, I took the plunge. "You shouldn't jump in without knowing the terrain," he repeats.A year later, I see it was worth it", he adds. For the creator of HANKO, you have to have self-confidence and "you have to know how to project yourself into the future and persevere" This is one of the keys to success.

Download the article in PDF format (1 MB)

Source: The Daily