Our horizons
Since 2006, our team, now over fifty people strong, has been committed to growing Hoalen.
Discover our continuous improvement plan
Hoalen was born from a desire to build something on the coast — a marine outdoor brand offering simple, durable products, made in just the right quantities by trusted professionals, and sold in inspiring, welcoming places.
This authentic approach took shape near the ocean, in a natural environment we respect. Since Hoalen was founded, we’ve made a point of staying clear-eyed about what we do well — and what we could do better. In 2023, we decided to give more structure to this commitment by launching ‘Our Horizons,’ a continuous improvement plan driven by all our teams. We wanted to share the many initiatives we’re carrying out to improve our company, as well as the goals we’ve set for ourselves.
Rather than pursuing ISO or B Corp certification — frameworks that felt less aligned with who we are — we chose to create our own environmental, social, and sensible improvement plan. One designed to reflect our identity, and shared and understood by everyone. This page reflects the progress of our projects: a working document we’re glad to share with you. Such transparency calls for high standards — a commitment we embrace as a team. Each month, we take stock, revisit our priorities, make decisions together, and move projects forward by entrusting them to those best placed to lead them.
We focus our efforts around six key areas:
Improving our products and production methods
Minimizing our impact on the environment.
Exceeding our customers' expectations
Working better together
Ensuring the sustainability of our business model
Contributing to the economic and social development of our coastal regions
-
Improving our products and production methods
We aim to offer durable, high-quality products that meet our customers' expectations. We strive to maintain careful control over every stage of production.
-
Ensure a coherent structure for our product range.
40 %
Improving our products and production methods
Ensure a coherent structure for our product range.
-
Adjusting the share of casual clothing and technical equipment in our product range.
40 %
-
Structure our product range to provide a coherent response to the needs of the men, women and children we want to equip.
40 %
-
Enhance the quality control of our products.
26 %
Improving our products and production methods
Enhance the quality control of our products.
-
Formalise our material selection process that guarantees the quality and relevance of each product.
10 %
-
Structuring the analysis of customer feedback to better understand the reasons for dissatisfaction.
43 %
-
Formalise our test methods for products under development.
30 %
-
Set up an action plan for each type of return to adapt products accordingly.
20 %
-
Refine our approach to product seasonality.
10 %
Improving our products and production methods
Refine our approach to product seasonality.
-
Define a calendar monitoring framework to better anticipate launches and orders.
20 %
-
Set up clear agreements with suppliers to better plan deliveries.
10 %
-
Organising the transmission of key deadlines to the teams concerned.
40 %
-
Provide teams with the tools to communicate our products more effectively.
43 %
Improving our products and production methods
Provide teams with the tools to communicate our products more effectively.
-
Write content on the main technical materials used.
-
Ensure that written content is systematically proofread by several people.
-
Present the information to the sales teams at forthcoming seminars.
-
Publish content on our in-house documentation tool : Books.
To do
-
Share more of this content on LinkedIn.
To do
-
Create an ‘Our materials’ web page.
To do
-
Extract key information to create in-store written communications.
To do
-
Make sure we remain compliant with regulations.
10 %
Improving our products and production methods
Make sure we remain compliant with regulations.
-
Carry out an initial update of our labels.
50 %
-
Facilitate the implementation of new legislative measures.
To do
-
Training our teams in traceability, labelling and eco-score issues.
To do
-
Make sure we have full control of our supply chain.
10 %
Improving our products and production methods
Make sure we have full control of our supply chain.
-
Establish a methodology for the audits we carry out on our suppliers.
To do
-
Formalise a report at the end of each supplier visit, including non-audit visits.
To do
-
Systematically collect information and documents concerning our suppliers' certifications and working conditions.
To do
-
Minimizing our impact on the environment.
The challenge is to reduce our ecological footprint. We take action to reduce energy consumption and minimize waste production, focusing on concrete, targeted initiatives.
-
Carry out a carbon assessment to better target our actions.
Minimizing our impact on the environment.
Carry out a carbon assessment to better target our actions.
-
Favour sea transport for our Asian imports.
55 %
Minimizing our impact on the environment.
Favour sea transport for our Asian imports.
-
Systematically send part of each order from China by sea.
-
Systematically send part of every order from India by sea.
60 %
-
Systematically send part of every order from Cambodge by sea.
40 %
-
Organise the transport of essential products in advance to systemise maritime transport.
20 %
-
Optimising the management and storage of our internal digital data.
To do
Minimizing our impact on the environment.
Optimising the management and storage of our internal digital data.
-
Ensure proper waste sorting across all our locations.
10 %
Minimizing our impact on the environment.
Ensure proper waste sorting across all our locations.
-
Analysing and monitoring our energy consumption.
55 %
Minimizing our impact on the environment.
Analysing and monitoring our energy consumption.
-
Taking stock of our consumption in terms of kWh and costs.
-
Estimate the cost of switching to a green energy contract.
-
Compare our consumption with that of other similar structures.
20 %
-
Centralise our energy contracts with a single supplier.
To do
-
Improve our daily practices in terms of electricity consumption.
To do
Minimizing our impact on the environment.
Improve our daily practices in terms of electricity consumption.
-
Program the heating and air conditioning equipment in all the Ocean Stores and at head office.
To do
-
Train managers to adapt heating and air conditioning programming according to needs.
To do
-
Set up and distribute best practice sheets to be applied in the Ocean Stores and at head office.
To do
-
Developing our infrastructure.
75 %
Minimizing our impact on the environment.
Developing our infrastructure.
-
Studying solutions for the head office workshop shops (heating, insulation) and estimating costs.
-
Explore the feasibility of a solar project (installation, costs, autonomy, financing).
50 %
-
Exceeding our customers' expectations
Our Ocean Stores are designed to reflect the lifestyle of our community. We constantly strive to offer a pleasant experience for our customers, learning more about them, staying attentive to their needs, and facilitating every interaction, both in-store and online.
-
Working better together
We want to take care of our teams by cultivating an environment of equity, diversity, transparency, and engagement, where everyone feels respected, integrated, and well-informed, both for current employees and those we recruit.
-
Providing benefits for our employees.
70 %
Working better together
Providing benefits for our employees.
-
Enhance the value of Sunday working in our Ocean Stores with an attractive remuneration policy.
-
Introduce a mobility bonus to facilitate the acquisition of a bicycle.
-
Conduct an employee satisfaction survey.
-
Study the different types of benefits and their feasibility.
50 %
-
Implement the benefits retained for our employees.
To do
-
Encourage information sharing.
18 %
Working better together
Encourage information sharing.
-
Finalize and file a single set of internal rules for all employees.
66 %
-
Organize inter-site exchanges with immersion days.
10 %
-
Ensure that all new employees are properly welcomed and integrated.
10 %
-
Encourage exchanges between managers, founders and employees.
10 %
-
Formalizing the conduct of annual interviews.
10 %
-
Use our internal communication tools more effectively.
10 %
-
Adopt and enrich our documentation platform: Books.
10 %
-
Optimize our HR processes.
35 %
Working better together
Optimize our HR processes.
-
Maintain a fair and equitable salary scale, in line with individual responsibilities.
-
Promote training opportunities.
40 %
-
Make sure to respond to all applications.
To do
-
Promote our corporate culture.
To do
-
Adapting our premises to provide an optimal working environment.
30 %
Working better together
Adapting our premises to provide an optimal working environment.
-
Ensuring the sustainability of our business model
The stability of our business model is essential to secure the future of the company and the well-being of our teams. This involves strengthening our resilience to economic changes while ensuring sustainable growth.
-
Contributing to the economic and social development of our coastal regions
We are committed to playing an active role in our local life. By supporting projects from local organizations based on the coasts, we strengthen our presence and contribute to the economic and social development of the areas in which we operate.
