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Demand for Office Furniture Rises
Companies that have reduced their spending on chairs, couches, desks and more in recent years have started shopping again (The Wall Street Journal, subscription).
What’s going on: Furniture maker MillerKnoll recently saw quarterly organic growth for the first time in several years.
- Organic growth “strips out the effects of currency fluctuations, acquisitions and disposals, and an extra week in fiscal 2023.” The company is seeing increased demand from its corporate clients in the Americas, which account for about half of MillerKnoll’s revenue, and retail customers worldwide.
Adapting to new needs: “Hybrid-specific furnishings are also now a big focus of the business,” according to Chief Financial Officer Jeff Stutz.
- As of the three months ending in June, almost 70% of U.S. companies offer employees workplace flexibility, as compared to just 58% during the same period in 2023.
- And “nontraditional office furnishings such as sofas, coffee tables, outdoor furniture and lounge chairs are increasingly in favor,” Stutz said.
- Retail customers are now buying more dining tables, bedroom furnishings and upholstered items. To maintain consumer interest, MillerKnoll is “investing in design services and increasing both the number of stores and products, possibly adding more dining tables, rugs and outdoor furnishings,” Stutz told the Journal.
What’s next: “Our sense is that there is still some pent-up [furniture] demand that we will see realized in the form of real demand improvement once the economic skies clear,” said Stutz. “We think we’re getting close to that point.”