Our history underscores our commitment to making your homes shine, deliver excellent customer service and staying true to our roots while embracing the future.
This is our story:
1979
Electricity Paul De Meutter
When Paul De Meutter was young, he mainly made money as a professional DJ. He spun records and also did electricity work as a side income. That's how he learned all about the trade. Even today, our customers reap the benefits of his knowledge and experience.
In the 70s and 80s, Paul decided to focus entirely on electricity. Despite the building crisis, he started Electricity Paul De Meutter. In the beginning, he worked from his garage in Hallaar and had an electrical equipment shop that was open daily. With his wife Maria in the shop and a basement and attic full of electrical equipment, everything was running smoothly. But the need for more space was growing.
1989
From crisis to success
The critics were wrong! With impressive annual growth of 40-60% and the title of Best Young Entrepreneur in 1989, this young entrepreneur overcame the crisis. That same year, he founded his own Cooperative Society, a peak year for the company.
With between 50 and 150 customers daily and a stock of as many as 3,000 products, the converted civilian house in Hallaar became too cramped. So Paul moved to a new complex on the industrial estate in Heist-op-den-Berg, where he had no less than 155 m² of retail and office space, plus a 700 m² warehouse.
The new location gave the company room to work more efficiently. At that time, the company had seven employees, including Paul's wife and brother-in-law. Until then, the focus was mainly on the region. 'Plenty of work in our own region,' says De Meutter.
1997
De Meutter expands
Over the years, De Meutter experienced strong growth in security, telephony, electric heating, air conditioning and home automation. In 1997, the company had 22 employees and offered 8,000 different items. The warehouse also expanded, as much as 1,500 square metres.
18-year-old Jef worked as a salesman in the shop, together with Paul's wife Maria, her brother Kurt and Paul's brother-in-law Paul C. Paul De Meutter always wanted to grow in a smart way, without sacrificing efficiency and finances. In 1997, Paul told the trade magazine 'Elektro-Visie' that the company was big enough, given the shrinking market in the short term. But son Jef De Meutter would change that a few years later.
2004
dmlights webshop
The company wanted to grow, but the home market was starting to get saturated. Son Jef De Meutter decided to go online and offer their products to the whole world. In doing so, they became one of the pioneers of e-commerce in Belgium.
Although at the time only 3% of Belgian SMEs worked online, Jef was confident about taking this step. But despite the years of experience and knowledge son Jef had gained in his father's shop, Pauls initially hesitated. Jef was determined to prove him wrong, and he did.
2011
Growth and innovation
It soon became clear that setting up a webshop was a smart move, accounting for 50% of total sales. In 2011, dmlights' website was completely revamped to improve usability. The new design made searching for items, viewing products and the ordering process easier.
The dmlights logo was also given a facelift and a second warehouse was added in late 2011. This to support the growing webshop and expanded product range, more than doubling the storage capacity. This allowed more orders to be handled faster and more efficiently.
2012
The first dmlights blog
dmlights wanted to do more than just sell lighting. Sharing information about the design and specifications of lighting also became an asset, as well as providing tips for atmospheric interiors.
In 2012, the dmlights blog was established to inspire people and keep them up to date on designer lighting. This blog regularly posted interesting articles on the history and facts of well-known design brands.
The blog was maintained by six writers, including Jef De Meutter himself, and counted more than 100 articles available in both Dutch and English.
2013
Continuing to grow
dmlights established itself as one of the largest online shops for lighting in the world. With more than 40,000 different products from 88 quality brands, the company grew into a leading player. This evolution was built step by step, with the broad knowledge and expertise of father Paul De Meutter as the basis and the cleverness of son Jef as a growth factor.
The customer was king, because that is what makes or breaks a (web) shop. Good service was therefore crucial. No fewer than 8 competent people were ready to help customers every day.
Finally, the product pages were given a new look in 2013: they were made even clearer, with larger images and the option of adding reviews.
2015
New website, new features
In the world of online shopping, change is the only constant. That's why Jef decided to launch a brand new version of the website after only four years. An upgrade with a modern design and with more logical categories so that users could enjoy it to the fullest.
First came the 3D Homeplanner, a handy app that allowed you to design your own interior or dream home. This way, you could see if your favourite lamp matched the rest of your decor. Then came the photo gallery. There you could look at interior design photos from all over the world and get endless inspiration before getting started yourself. And as icing on the cake, you could meet Vic Electric, our friendly electrician. He became the mascot of the new dmlights website.
2016
A new chapter full of growth and innovation!
As dmlights grew, the offices and warehouse became too small. A move was imminent and fortunately a solution was found near the physical shop, just 100 metres away. A beautiful new office and a much larger warehouse.
At the same time, hard work was done to expand the product range and by 2016, almost 50,000 products were available. Improving the dmlights website was also a priority. For instance, the filters and search options were greatly expanded and improved.
2020
Bigger warehouse and a new packing line
When the whole world went into lockdown for a year, they were anything but idle at dmlights. Jef opened a bigger parcel locker where people could pick up their online orders. Super convenient, because that way customers didn't have to wait long.
The shop was transformed into a place for professionals. And because the webshop grew so fast, more storage space was needed. The company added no less than 8,000m² of extra warehouse space.
The warehouse even installed a new packing line to cope with all those large orders. Sustainability was also on the priority list: dmlights uses almost no plastic and opts for recycled materials.
2021
End of an era
The final decision to close the physical shop was made in March 2021, as Jef strongly believes that e-commerce is the way forward. But rest assured, the parcel vault will remain, so you can still pick up your products 24/7.
2023
New identity, new offering
On 1 July 2023, dmlights was renamed Peeq. The product range was also adjusted. After all, after 44 years, the decision was made to stop selling electrical installation equipment. Instead, the range was expanded to include fun home accessories and beautiful furniture. With these changes, Peeq took a more decorative path.
The offices also received an upgrade. All rooms were given a Peeq look and a new reception area was created on the site of the old shop.