CATEGORY UPDATE
Back on TRACK
The furniture sector is in a prime position to grab the opportunities presented by workspace revamps as companies try to entice employees back to the office
W
– by Michelle Sturman
www.opi.net
hat a lovely surprise – to speak to industry members where the overwhelming sentiment is positive. The office furniture category in 2021 was still so-so as many companies postponed – sometimes multiple times – return-to-office policies, trying to figure out remote working demands. This year, as they have begun to rethink, finalise and implement plans to accommodate contemporary ways of working, it has resulted in more robust furniture sales due to workplace environments being revamped. Pretty much all operators OPI spoke to that deal with the segment had a strong start to 2022. Encouragingly, they expect this to continue for the rest of this year.
38
POSITIVE BEGINNINGS David Guernsey, CEO of US independent dealer Guernsey, for example, reveals that the category actually performed very well for the company in 2021 too, and the same appears to be true for this year. “Guernsey has always maintained a significant position with public sector entities which is where both stability and growth is coming from. There was little activity in 2021 in the private sector, but at the beginning of Q2 2022, we started seeing an uptick with these customers,” he says. Cody Durbin, Sales and Business Development Manager at fellow US dealer GBP Direct also feels the private sector is ramping up again following
the “temporary blip” when work-from-home (WFH) negatively impacted the furniture business due to paused or cancelled projects. It’s the same story from Fellowes Brands. Talking to OPI, Chief Market Officer Monica Lopez says the sales climate so far this year has been strong compared to H1 2021, as a broader return-to-office movement has accelerated throughout the US. “We expect this trend to continue, with only a slight slowdown from the current pace in the last months of the year.” S.P. Richards (SPR) SVP of Sales, Furniture and Corporate Accounts Eddie Baird further adds that the wholesaler got off to a great start in January and sales have been maintained. “We are witnessing robust activity for transactional and project business and feel confident this will continue into Q3 and hopefully Q4.”
During difficult times is when new ideas and businesses bloom Baird says SPR’s strength lies in the commitment it made to a strong inventory position, which has paid off this year. “We want to provide customers with next-day delivery as well as special options in this category and currently have a deep inventory in our distribution centres of Lorell and branded products. We have even more Lorell in our redistribution centre which supports our Global Sourcing and Lorell Quick Ship Direct Programs.” Where SPR did encounter some problems has been with products in such high demand that they have outpaced even its large commitment to excessive inventory.
38
