Secrid

The brand known for cardholders or card protectors, especially for bank cards. The aluminum wallet makes digital pickpocketing impossible: the holders protect the cards and block unwanted RFID and NFC communication. Moreover, 'accidentally' checking in with the public transport chip card, for those who keep their pass in a Secrid wallet, is a thing of the past. Secrids are available in 6 models and in more than 100 variants - from aluminum card protector to leather mini wallet with a card protector inside. About a million of them are sold every year in 70 different countries.

History

In 1997, when cash made way for payment cards, René van Geer and Marianne van Sasse van Ysselt, private and business partners, created their first wallet: the Secrid Bodyguard. Still, it took until the next change in the pocket - hand in hand with the smartphone - personal documents shrank to a credit card size that they launched the Secrid Cardprotector in 2009. René and Marianne have continued to combine their backgrounds in fashion and product design to create pocket-sized products; just here in the Netherlands. Today, Secrids are in more than 7,500 selected stores worldwide and that number is still growing daily. Together with their three children and almost 100 colleagues, the founders work in a renovated industrial warehouse in The Hague.

Casual

The head office is now located in the Saturnusstraat. Anyone who enters might think that he is wrong. With a stylish bar, modern tables, leather benches, and coffee bar, the entrance feels more like a hip café than a workplace. And that is exactly the intention, says Van Geer later at one of the long tables in the equally modern office space. "Stiff and businesslike does not suit our company", explains the initiator and director of Secrid. "We think it is important that employees feel at home here. The atmosphere is cozy and relaxed." A 'home' belongs to a family, a colorful, young family, is how Van Geer describes the team he has gathered around him over the past ten years.

Fakes

Four Secrid employees work full-time on brand protection to protect the successful brand. Because not only at trade fairs and in market stalls, fakes regularly appear online too. Van Geer: “Copying is illegal, but there are also look-a-likes that look a lot like Secrid, but the makers of which have managed to circumvent the patents. No real copies, so. ” Van Geer tries to see such 'bad competitors' as something positive. "They keep you on your toes", he says. "Without B and C brands, no A brand. Our task is to be and remain the best."