Problem Solving Innovation: The Teleshade

By: Charlie Derk, Director of Product Marketing, Shading Systems

At Legrand, we have a long history of product innovation. We transform spaces where we live and work by creating exceptional experiences through the products we design and manufacture. In past issues of Light&Shade, we’ve talked about various forms of product innovation we see here at Legrand. Most frequently, innovation is born out of an untapped customer need. We listen to our customers to better understand their daily challenges so we can help solve them. For Legrand Shading Systems, there’s no better example of product innovation than the Teleshade. 

Legrand Shading Systems started out a single proprietor shade dealer in Toronto, Canada. Founder Anise Odeh knew there was a market for commercial shading as buildings began popping up all over Toronto. But soon, there were many manufacturers competing in the market. Odeh came to realize that the manufacturers that he was dealing with just made products. They didn’t use them. They didn’t understand how difficult they were to install. More importantly, they didn’t understand the challenges that their customers dealt with on a day-to-day basis. This realization that there was an untapped customer need was key to innovating a better-designed product.

​​​​​​​To provide a superior product and solve for the challenge’s customers were facing, Odeh started tinkering with the brackets that manufacturers were providing, trying to come up with ways to make the installation easier. By doing so, customers could save time on installation and complete projects more efficiently.
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Over time, this tinkering led to the introduction of a new product: the Teleshade. The Teleshade featured a two-part cassette system comprised of the brackets, the shade cassette, and two screws for each bracket, making it easier and faster to install thus saving time and money. The result? Installation time using our Teleshade product has gone down 66% compared to using a competitors’ system, solving the challenge of difficult to install shade brackets for our customers. 

At Legrand, we’ve been improving on that original Teleshade design ever since. A flagship product for Legrand Shading Systems, we’re delighted to hear stories of fast and easy installations from our customers. It serves as inspiration for new product innovation – and we don’t plan to stop innovating anytime soon.