The Brits are Coming (Back): UK Office Market on Track for Record Numbers

There’s a new sense of confidence in the British office furniture industry.

The dramatic aftereffects of the 2008 financial crisis when the market fell from $1.26bn in 2007 to $924m in 2011 seem like ancient history, as recent reports indicate that demand is right back on track and 2015 industry sales should reach $1.49bn. Clearly, inflation distorts these historical figures, but over this period, commercial pressures kept the lid on price rises, and the overall performance is impressive.

And the industry is nicely profitable. All UK companies must file their financial statements, so we know that the combined profit of the 10 largest companies is $50m. One company, Elite Office Furniture, made a return on turnover last year of over 30%!

Although there are always macro-economic threats around to worry a nervous CFO, it’s probably a fair bet that the industry will continue to prosper for a good while yet. The general election in May returned a relatively business-friendly conservative government; unemployment and inflation are both low, and most economists are predicting steady growth in GNP. Yes, issues such as skills shortages are threatening to constrain capacity; but the industry is never more profitable than when it’s straining to force a quart of sales out of a pint-pot of a factory.

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Coza Chair by Boss Design

So how is this optimism expressing itself? Well, there are some exciting new products around from British manufacturers – the results of some bold thinking and serious investment. Boss Design’s new Coza chair designed by Martin Ballendat was launched in May to considerable acclaim, and the Lano range of tables with its stylish die cast aluminium legs from Orangebox are just two examples.

Expansionism is also taking hold in the geographical growth of some of the larger companies. A new age of colonization perhaps? The UK industry’s export record is patchy at best, perhaps because of its relatively high historical manufacturing costs and a record of some rather introverted product designs. In recent years however, British tastes in office furniture have taken on a broad international styling, led by world-class designers from home and overseas.

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Lano Table System by Orangebox

The main export targets are the traditional ones of the Middle East and, naturally, the United States, the world’s largest market. The dynamic language and cultural links between the UK and the US have long been an irresistible magnet for UK manufacturers, and the latest market entrants are feeling their way through a notoriously tough environment. Senator, the UK industry’s largest company with 8.6% of the market, has production facilities in Maumee, OH, and showrooms in Chicago and NYC. Boss Design, another UK major, acquired the old-established Jack Cartwright upholstery business out of High Point, NC, last year, and for NeoCon this year, opened a permanent 3rd floor showroom at the Merchandise Mart.

Where the brave lead, others inevitably follow. It will be interesting to see whether the currently benign economic conditions last long enough to allow UK manufacturers to exploit the US market successfully with some interesting creative ideas about office-based work and strong product designs.