design:CASE / HAY

design:CASE Through a dedicated focus on sustainability and innovation in collaboration with young designers, the furniture company HAY has created growth and renewal in Danish furniture design in a matter of just a few years.

danish design centre

This master case illustrates the value-creating and business potentials of design through the story about HAY. Facts about HAY

1.000 kr

2003/04

Gross profit Pre-tax profit

400 -1.828

2004/05

2005/06

1.399

6.437

-1.514

Equity

3.092

1.956

Staff

11

6

2.183 3.523 11

The furniture company HAY was founded in 2003/2004

by Rolf Hay and Bestseller A/S; it sells designer furniture and furniture accessories. The company is based in Horsens and has shops in Copenhagen and Århus. HAY has produced furniture design in collaboration with a wide range of designers, including Jakob Wagner, Leif jørgensen, Anne Heinsvig & Christian Uldall, Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen, Hee Welling, Johannes Torpe & Rune Reilly Kölsch, Louise Campbell and Rolf Hay. BS STUDIO A/S / HAY 1, Havnen 8700 Horsens Denmark Tel +45 9942 3870 www.hay.dk

A PASSION FOR DESIGN

After completing upper secondary school and his mandatory

INNOVATION IN DANISH FURNITURE DESIGN

military service, Rolf Hay wanted the experience of living abroad.

The start of HAY’s furniture production was obvious: Bestseller A/S

He wound up in Hannover, where he worked in a furniture store.

needed new canteen and office furniture. Rolf Hay developed his

Here, he met the Danish furniture agent Peter Biel, who was to

first furniture design, the ‘HAY desk’ for Bestseller. He also deve-

have quite an influence on Rolf Hay’s life. Peter Biel had more

loped a chair for Bestseller’s canteen and offices.

than 30 years of experience with furniture sales in Germany and a passion for furniture design. Rolf hay soon came to share this

After these initial experiences with furniture production, HAY

passion, and over the following months he devoured Peter Biel’s

expanded the collection to include other designers and furniture

countless books on furniture design and architecture. This

designs. HAY was mainly interested in new, young talents, as they

sparked an interest in design and architecture that has remained

wanted innovation in relation to the existing Danish furniture designs.

strong ever since, and Rolf Hay had found the direction of his life.

But how does one generate innovation in Danish furniture design?

After his stay in Germany, Rolf Hay returned to Denmark, where he spent the next many years working in practically all the major

Rolf Hay points out:

Danish furniture houses. But it was not until he met Director Troels Holck Povlsen of Bestseller A/S that he really developed

“When I’m asked what’s new in Danish furniture design, I always

the dream of becoming a furniture designer.

say that there is nothing new. The basic furniture items like the table, the chair and the bed have not changed since the 1950’s.

“He and I shared the same values, opinions and gut feelings

But our resources are different now. And our consumption pattern

about what is right and what works in furniture design, and we

has changed. That’s what’s new.”

both had a passion for good design,” says Rolf Hay about his meeting with Troels Holck Povlsen. “In our opinion, Danish

Rolf Hay’s interest in furniture design that uses contemporary

furniture design had been in stagnation for 10-15 years, and

resources aimed at creating innovative products through new

we felt that we could do better than the existing furniture

production approaches, technology and materials. This design

companies. There was plenty of room for innovation and

approach was essential in the company’s successful collaboration

development,” Rolf Hay adds.

with furniture designers Johannes Foersom and Peter HiortLorenzen. The production and design of the ‘Blow’ chair was one

With the ambitious vision of helping to bring Danish furniture

of HAY’s commercial successes, and it has received praise from

design back to the level of its golden age in the 1950’s and 60’s

the industry for representing a new innovative approach to Danish

through modern innovation, the two decided to combine their

furniture design.

efforts, and in November 2004, they founded the furniture company HAY.

BLOWN AWAY

BY INNOVATION

The inspiration for the production of the Blow chair sprang from

is based on placing the cover in a mould for mass-production

the challenges inherent in upholstered furniture. It is costly to

– and that was the next challenge.

produce upholstered furniture in Denmark, as the upholstery is done by hand, and it is a process that is difficult to industrialise.

The method is not in use in Denmark, so HAY had to find a

The basic principle in Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen’s design was a

blacksmith and a factory that would be able to make the mould,

chair that was produced as a ‘bean bag’, only supported by the

and which also had the machinery for the production process.

cover and the upholstery. Therefore, they had to find an alternative production approach, or the chair would be prohibitively

They managed to find both in Jutland. The blacksmith there cast

costly to manufacture.

the mould, which the Blow cover was placed in. The polyurethane was injected into the cover. Then followed the tense

The idea for an alternative approach to upholstery came from

waiting time until the foam set, and hopefully, a finished Blow

the car industry. For years, car makers have used a procedure

chair would emerge. It did! The last procedure was to sew the

for making car seats where polyurethane is injected into the cover.

many joints together, and the chair was done. The process

When the foam sets the chair feels padded, without being too

proved to be more economical in terms of freight costs:

soft or too hard. The end-result is also very durable. The method

It is not nearly as expensive to ship a cover as a heavy chair to be upholstered.

With the Blow chair, HAY proved for the first time that it was possible to develop new production approaches and generate innovation in Danish furniture design.

The production process turned classical furniture production ‘upside down’ by turning the procedures around – first the production of the cover, then the upholstery, and finally the sewing.

The process also proved more economical in terms of freight costs.

It is not nearly as expensive to ship a cover as a heavy chair to be upholstered.

mormor The MORMOR sofa is made in foam and flamingo, and with its ‘monolithic cut’ it appears as a solid object. Even though the sofa seats three persons, it only weighs 26 kg, which means it does not have to placed up against a wall. This quality helped break down some of the conventions in classical sofa design.

The MORMOR sofa was awarded the Danish Design Prize in 2007.

“HAY has been successful because we have in-depth knowledge of and a passion for furniture design. And because we are not afraid to maintain focus and take our design ideas all the way. This focus promotes dedication and consistency, which in turn promotes knowledge and skills.” Rolf Hay

Rolf Hay comments on the collaboration with Johannes Foersom and Peter Hiort-Lorenzen: “The reverse production process that we used for the Blow chair illustrates how innovative the design really is. Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen have an impressive grasp of modern technology. We never had any doubts about the design, so the form was not modified at all – it was perfect from the outset and well conceived. I admire Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen for their ability to rethink modern production technology and for creating some of the best Danish furniture designs of the post-war years. They are staying up to date in a very professional manner.”

The Blow chair spelled the beginning of a whole range of new innovative furniture designs from HAY, including designer Louise Campbell’s ‘Prince Chair’ and designers Torpe/Kölsch’s ‘MORMOR’ sofa – both have won awards for outstanding design and innovative production.

Prince Chair A new production technique makes it possible to carve out two very different materials – steel and rubber – in exactly the same pattern. The steel provides the chair frame, the rubber provides a soft, comfortable seat, and the felt adds finish to this alternative upholstery.

A NEW TARGET GROUP

To Rolf Hay, design exists on the terms of architecture. He is not the only person to hold this view, but it still marks a crucial difference in comparison with many other furniture makers.

Another corporate tenet is that quality and sustainable production are related.

“There is an inherent ideal of sustainability in the very ambition of designing quality furniture. People look after quality things and like to keep them around for many years, and that helps protect the environment in comparison with the many lowquality furniture designs you see today, which wind up on the scrap heap after just a few years,” says Rolf Hay. Another aspect of sustainable furniture design lies in the production process and the choice of materials. HAY uses all the modern production processes and seeks to bring innovation into the industry, as new, sustainable developments require insights into new technology and materials.

According to Rolf Hay, HAY’s furniture is in the middle to upper end of the price range. HAY targets a broad customer group, 20-70-year-olds with an interest in design. HAY wants to produce quality furniture for everyone and help make good furniture design more accessible. The company’s philosophy is that a growing number of consumers are going to be interested in design.

“The young people, between 20 and 30, are an interesting target group. When I was 20 years old, for example, I had no idea who Arne Jacobsen was – today’s young people do. It’s a very different target group compared with the 1950’s, when 20-30-year-olds couldn’t afford design furniture and also cared little about it. Today, they are much more knowledgeable and independent as consumers, and they recognise and appreciate quality. Interior design has also become an essential part of our lifestyle, and I think that’s a trend that’s here to stay,” says Rolf Hay.

PARTNERSHIP About innovation, sustainability and the good design idea

DIRECTOR TROELS HOLCK POVLSEN, BESTSELLER A/S

Rolf Hay

comments on his collaboration with Rolf Hay:

comments on his collaboration with Troels Holck Povlsen:

“The business rationale for founding a furniture company

“He is a huge source of inspiration, both due to his know-

together with Rolf Hay was that Bestseller needed new

ledge about running a business and due to his knowledge

chairs and tables for our canteen and offices. I knew Rolf

of design. We work closely together and talk almost every

through my interest in furniture design, and I respect his

day. That is a privilege, because it helps you develop all

knowledge and his ideas. Also, Rolf is a very warm and

the time.”

dedicated person, and I see him as a great asset for the Bestseller group.”

“HAY was not established on the basis of a business school proposal or a fancy business plan. We work with

“It is my ambition for HAY to make furniture that will sell

design furniture simply because we love it. It is pure love!

in auctions 15 years from now. We should be producing

We do things instinctively. That’s the way we work.”

value-generating furniture that makes a good investment.

We do that by producing innovative furniture designs

“HAY has been successful because we have in-depth know-

characterised by high quality, good function and a strong

ledge of and a passion for furniture design. And because

design concept.”

we are not afraid to maintain focus and take our design ideas all the way. This focus promotes dedication and

“Internationally, Danish furniture design is no longer in the

consistency, which in turn promotes knowledge and skills.”

lead, and I think it’s important to face up to that. There is no point in pushing the term ‘Danish design’, as nationality alone no longer provides ‘added value’. It would be a much stronger selling point if Danish design and Denmark were in fact perceived as world leaders of sustainable design.”

Asked whether it causes problems for the balance of “Sustainable production is far more important now than

power that Bestseller A/S is a large, financially strong

it was in the 1950’s or 60’s, it is the way of the future.

business in a small firm like HAY, they both agree:

And it’s something we take a strong interest in and try to ensure and promote in all our designs.”

“Our interest in furniture design, our passion for the field, our common goals, dedication, skill and good chemistry are the key elements in our partnership.

If these aspects don’t match, there is bound to be problems down the road. The Bestseller group is the ‘locomotive’ that drives the passionate designers, to the benefit of both parties. That places high demands on the designer, but it also provides financial security.”

danish design centre

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The Danish Design Centre has its headquarters

Danish Design Centre

on Hans Christian Andersens Boulevard in the middle

H C Andersens Boulevard 27 1553 København V

of Copenhagen in a building, designed by professor, architect Henning Larsen. The building houses offices, exhibition halls, a professional conference centre,

Tel +45 3369 3369 Fax +45 3369 3300

a shop and a café, all run by the Danish Design Centre.

design@ddc.dk

The Design Centre was established in 1978 and moved

www.ddc.dk

to its present headquarters in 2000.

Text: Pia Dandanell Parrot

The Danish Design Centre’s assignment is based on the Danish government’s design policy of promoting innovation and growth in Denmark and strengthening the international competitiveness of Danish businesses.

The Centre is an independent institution under the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs. In addition, the Danish Design Centre handles a number of specific promotional tasks for the Danish Ministry of Culture.

The Danish Design Centre’s vision is to document, promote and brand Danish design on a national and international level by: • Increasing the knowledge about design and the

economic effects of design in Danish industry

especially in the small and medium-sized companies

buyers of design through development of competences

• Branding Danish design nationally and internationally His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik is the patron of the Danish Design Centre.

For further information please visit

www.ddc.dk

Design and layout: Scandinavian Branding A/S and Susanne Schenstrøm, DDC

• Professionalizing the Danish design companies and