We celebrate anniversaries as a way of reminding ourselves how lucky we are to have been (pick your predicate: healthy, married, alive) or in this case, in business. 50 years ago Saul Feldberg founded Global Furniture with the strategy of building “…a product that the average person can afford.” In the process of building many such products, the company pioneered what has become the mid-market segment of the office furniture industry in North America.
The celebrations at Global are rightfully continuing throughout its 50th year. At NeoCon 2016, the company hosted a packed celebratory party in its Chicago showroom, and last week it celebrated again with the grand opening of its newly redesigned headquarters showroom in Toronto.
The showroom is a tour de force designed by Toronto’s Johnson Chou. Occupying the first three floors of the five story headquarters building, it has been designed with careful consideration of the history of the company and the history of the building and its location. Most importantly, it has been curated to effectively stimulate the creativity of visitors in thinking about how Global’s products might be used in new and unexpected ways. We’ll have more to say about the showroom in a later issue when appropriate photography is available to illustrate these ideas.
The invitees to this particular party were mostly Canadian clients and dealers along with a few journalists. I counted three generations of Feldbergs on hand and there may have been more for all I know. One of the most touching scenes I observed was one of Saul Feldberg’s young granddaughters walk over, take him by the hand and lead him across the room to meet someone. This is a proud family business, and the family was well represented.
Even though the crowd numbered more than 700, guests were made to feel welcome and wanted by unhurried conversations with all the host family members as well as the executive team. The dealers I talked to were very happy to discuss what a pleasure it was to have Global as a mainstay of their businesses. The most frequently heard words being integrity, loyalty, honorable and obliging.
The food and drinks were wonderful, as you’d expect, as well as thoughtfully distributed throughout the space. And the atmosphere was one of respect and admiration more than raucous celebration.
Saul Feldberg kicked off the brief formal part of the evening with a welcome and a talk. People were crowded around the small platform and “hanging” from all three floors as he spoke of his pleasure in seeing something he created thrive and grow into one of the largest office furniture companies in the world. He talked about the rewards of his shared experiences with his co-workers, his dealers and their customers, and especially his family. And he thanked each of them for their loyalty and support, so vital in achieving the company’s success.
He ended his speech by introducing his son, David Feldberg, who learned the business at Global before being tasked to organize Teknion, where he is now president and CEO. The younger Mr. Feldberg talked about learning the business at his father’s knee and about what a great mentor his father had been throughout his career. He ended his speech by introducing his younger brother, Joel Feldberg, the current CEO of Global.
In welcoming the guests, all three Messrs. Feldberg pointedly thanked the audience for their support, loyalty and role in building the company through 50 years of success. And appropriately, Joel Feldberg talked about building on that success for the future.
Based on the new products Global has introduced over the last three years, it is my opinion that Global is poised for even greater success in the future. And there is no better way to see that for yourself than to experience them as displayed in the impressive Johnson Chou designed showroom at the Toronto headquarters. If you weren’t at the party, I’m sorry, but you should try to visit the showroom when you can. I’m sure the red carpet has not been pulled in!