The core of the workplace and its design is undergoing fundamental changes, and the field is an exciting one to work in right now. New work styles, alternative team alignments, and new ways of doing business have all been set into motion by the opportunities technology affords us. Coworking, one of said new work styles, is making waves not only in end user workspaces, but also in the way furniture dealers do business.
While traditional showrooms used to reign supreme, new alternatives to showing products are gaining traction. The rise of “active showrooms,” or ones that involve people actually working in them as their real-life office, is one such alternative.
Henricksen, prominent furniture dealer in Chicago, recently set up offices in New York City and was on the lookout for opportunities to engage new, growing markets, TAMI-based [technology, advertising, media and information] ones in particular, as well as the New York City A&D community in general.
Upon meeting Daniel Gutierrez, the owner of coworking spaces Wecreate NYC and The Cube in London, they recognized a common interest in how furniture affects productivity in collaborative spaces. Thus began a partnership involving Henricksen as dealer, coworking space Wecreate, contract furniture manufacturer Paoli, and interior design firm Input Creative Studios.
“We [Wecreate] were already in the middle of working with Input Creative Studios to develop the idea of an active showroom in our space,” said Mr. Gutierrez. “We saw an opportunity to work with a dealer that could sponsor some of the space and would then benefit by gaining a little bit more insight from foot traffic in an active showroom, in addition to their regular showroom.”
Sarah Back, business development manager at Henricksen, connected Wecreate and Input Creative Studios with furniture manufacturer Paoli, a Henricksen manufacturer partner.
“Paoli is evolving as a brand; it’s not the same brand as it was a few years ago,” said Ms. Back. “The team there was very interested in the opportunity to get product in front of young entrepreneurs in the tech and creative industries.”
In return for sponsorship of the conference room, Wecreate will supply both Henricksen and Paoli with the workplace strategy research it’s conducting in its coworking space. Wecreate’s workspace combines principles of neurochemistry and design to promote openness and productivity among its members, who are busy developing software and websites, producing advertisements and documentaries, writing books and magazine articles, building fitness programs and fashion brands, and designing everything from logos to picnic baskets.
“Coworking is a concept beyond a phenomenon now, it’s not going away,” said Alan Grandis, general manager at Henricksen, NYC. “It’s taking ahold of a lot of real estate, certainly in New York City, but also in cities all across the country.”
Furniture dealers such as Henricksen are embracing an interest in coworking spaces and other trends that cater to the young entrepreneur demographic. Eager to tap into that customer base, Henricksen developed an incentive program for coworking companies that makes furniture available at a discount to those companies in exchange for notifying Henricksen when startups in the space are leaving.
“We see partnerships like this as huge opportunities to develop new customer relationships,” said Mr. Grandis. “Coworking spaces represent a growing market that can buy our furniture. Then, some of the companies that start out at those coworking spaces will grow and need to start looking at real estate for themselves.”
Mr. Gutierrez, his team at Wecreate, and Input Creative Studios, have been collecting detailed data through heat mapping in the coworking space for over a year now. The team, which includes individuals with backgrounds in engineering and neuroscience, was keen on measuring cognitive responses to open collaborative spaces, an area of workplace design they found lacking in tangible research.
“Times are changing within the furniture industry,” said Mr. Gutierrez. “Furniture companies need to be more flexible, more open and accommodating to new market sectors.”
Most of the research Wecreate is collecting studies how, where, and for how long, etc., its members are interacting with the furniture and various work areas.
“We want the research,” said Mr. Grandis. “It helps us go deeper into the TAMI industries. As the companies in these industries grow, they move out of their coworking spaces.”
The furniture provided by Paoli for the conference room includes six connectable tables that can be rearranged and collapsed if needed to suit changing needs within the space.
“The main goal was to have an adaptable conference room above all else,” said Brooke Lichtenstein, co-founder of Input Creative Studios. “We wanted to activate the space to accommodate different groups of people and meeting types.”
Opportunities abound for dealerships looking to engage more with interior design firms, manufacturing partners, project managers, end user groups and potential new customers. Many dealers across the country offer their spaces up for networking and industry organization events. Henricksen, for instance, recognizing its relatively new presence in NYC, regularly hosts LMNOP events, Meetups and other outings around NYC.
Henricksen is one of many dealers in the contract furniture industry that are pushing boundaries to create new opportunities for themselves and to better align with end user clients in target markets. Many of these opportunities present covetable benefits for all parties involved.