HIGH POINT — Expanded and newly introduced home office programs launched in 2020 that are gained momentum in the third and fourth quarters are expected to drive the business in the category this year, and beyond.
They also are encouraging resources to expand on their offerings as the work at home trend that caught fire last year is becoming more the norm and less of an exception for working professionals.
Also helping fuel the demand — and continued expansion in the category — are kids still taking online classes at home albeit at a reduced rate as more and more children are returning to school.
Committed to the category are long-time resources such as Riverside, Sligh, Aspenhome, Twin Star Home, Hooker Furniture, BDI, Martin Furniture, Parker House, Furnitech and Office Star Products.
There are also newly emerging resources that entered the category recently — including A-America, Bernhardt, Standard, Lifestyle Enterprise, Jofran, West Bros and Intercon — which re-entered the category this past fall after a several-year absence.
Universal Furniture also expanded into the category in October with a Program called Work From Home that offered about 15 small scale writing desks — some new and some existing — that start around $699 and offer 54- to 60-inch work surfaces.
Committed producers
These companies, too, are committed to the category, given the demand continuing to take shape in the marketplace.
In October, Intercon showed several groups featuring executive and writing desk options and companion storage pieces built off top performing case goods collections. It moved forward with four of five shown — Highland, Drake, Foundry and San Mateo — and plans to produce the fifth, Kona, in the near future based on dealer interest.
“The reaction was great,” said Tony Ricci, vice president of sales. “People understand the Intercon value, which easily translates into home office for us.”
With executive desks retailing from $699 to $999 and half-ped desks retailing from $349 to $599, the desks offer features ranging from English dovetail construction and steel ball bearing drawer guides, to locking file drawers, wire management, fold-down drawers for keyboard use, pencil trays and flush-mounted A/C and USB power outlets.
“I don’t think we had been in the category to this capacity,” Ricci noted, adding, “Everybody that shopped the category that is an existing customer or a prospect was pleased with what they saw, and we had commitments from everybody that was shopping the category.”
With shipments expected in late spring, the company also is developing additions to the line to show either at the April Las Vegas or June High Point markets.
Scale and sourcing
A-America sprung into the category at market with six home office groups featuring smaller scale writing desks and companion file and/or bookcase storage. Of those, four are going into production, and the other two are expected to be relaunched and shown with the others this spring. Desks are targeted to retail from around $349 to $499.
“Right now I am bullish on home office,” said Christian Rohrbach, senior vice president of sales and merchandising, referencing the ongoing work from home trend. “I believe there is a benefit to companies large and small around the world. … Keeping less people in the office will limit the amount of sickness and sick days, and that turns into revenues.
“It will actually help the bottom line even when we get back to normal in six months to a year. I think we will continue with some form of work from home. It has become acceptable for executives to allow this.”
Jay Peters, vice president, merchandising at Standard Furniture, said that the company’s Mexican sourced home office line launched in October did very well. Those half dozen groups — featuring writing desks up to 60-inches wide that retail from $299 to $699 — are all expected to go into in production, and more are expected based on reaction to line additions shown at the most recent High Point First Tuesday event in January.
“We have been shipping the Mexico product since early October,” Peters said in mid-January. “I just got back from Mexico four weeks ago, and we got a second round of samples. We got half for First Tuesday (January), and we will get the rest for February (First Tuesday).
Especially for students
While executive office groups are targeted to working professionals, the smaller scale desks are suitable for both professionals and students alike as many are small enough for youth bedrooms. This aims to serve another big part of the market, ranging from middle and high school students to college students studying at home.
Lifestyle Enterprise’s new desk and chair program is largely targeted to students based on the size and scale of the 48-inch wide desks.
This fall, it showed seven new desk and chair combinations, with desks expected to retail around $199.
“We are targeting more students, and since the kid’s room is not that big, the scale is a little smaller,” said Derrick Ng, president, noting that based on demand, all seven groups made the cut and are expected to begin shipping this month from Malaysia and hit retail in mid-April.
“We are getting more and more response and orders for next summer back to school (season),” he added, noting that the demand is strong even if kids start going back to physical classes. “There is a hybrid of going back to school and school at home.”
Based on the popularity of the groups, some of which ship flat pack depending on whether the desk has a drawer (desks without a drawer ship flat-pack), the company is even planning some youth bedroom extensions of the line.
For the professionals
But more often than not the home office additions of late are tailored to working professionals looking to accommodate their work at home schedules.
Parker House showed four new home office groups, including a new larger collection called Tempe that offers an L-configuration featuring a desk and return that can be positioned on either side of the desk.
The three smaller groups included a desk, a file cabinet and bookcase. Two included writing desks, and the third had a larger scale desk featuring an elevated portion for a monitor. The same group featured a rolling file cabinet with a lift-top surface.
All four of these are going into production, said Holly Lightfoot, director of merchandising.
In addition, the company launched 11 new office chair frames available in a variety of fabric options.
Besides showing these groups to those who were not at the October market, the company also plans to introduce more home office groups and chairs at Premarket in April. These also will be shown at the High Point Market in June.
“There is definitely a renewed need for home office,” Lightfoot said, noting that many companies continue to allow their staff to work from home.
Aspenhome said it, too, remains committed to the category as it has not seen any slowdown from the “off the charts” demand in 2020.
The company said that early last year, for example, it saw an enormous spike in demand for writing desks, adjustable height desks, and smaller work stations as “families scrambled for immediate workspace in the home.” This included spare bedrooms, which the company said are being renovated for more permanent workspaces as the work from home trend continues.
During the second half, it reported an equally large spike in demand for home office collections, including executive desks and credenzas, L-shaped desks and modular walls.
“We’ve been blessed with decades-long relationships with many of the best home office factories in Asia,” said Jason McQuillan, Aspenhome sales manager. “These partners are working with us to bring more to market as fast as possible. Between 2020 new introductions on the way and 2021 products in development, we’ll have upwards of an additional 200 SKUs added to our home office lineup.”
Female professionals
As they expand their assortment, Aspenhome and others also will address the needs of different segments of the market, including female professionals.
John Iasiello, president of Riverside Furniture, said that due to light attendance in October, the company will relaunch product it showed at that market in the spring. But Riverside also will bring out more contemporary forms that focus on the design preferences of some female professionals. The mix will include contemporary and transitional writing desks and L-shaped desk as well as some freestanding contemporary executive desks.
Hooker Furniture, which had success with its Work Your Way executive office program in October, plans to add about five secretary/computer cabinets to each of the five collections going into production. While slightly shorter in scale than some traditional secretaries — 55 to 60 inches tall compared with as high as 90 inches for more traditional Chippendale secretaries — these will also be designed for today’s homes.
“Because of their multi-functionality, they can live anywhere,” said Alexandra O’Hare, vice president, merchandising and strategic initiatives, noting they can be placed anywhere from a den or dining room to a child’s work/study space. “They are beautiful pieces that are not highly decorative but will blend seamlessly into multiple design styles. They also deliver additional work storage and file storage.”
Such functionality, she said, is important for people trying to accommodate smaller work/study areas in their homes.
“The COVID-19 era has made us rethink everything we do, whether it is us working from home or children studying at home; it is about juggling all that in the home,” she said. “These pieces serve to help provide that secondary work space for modern families.”
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