4 Traits of successful office furniture manufacturers

When sales soften many office/contract manufacturers follow the same playbook. Most companies drastically reduce fixed and variable costs, which are followed by mass layoffs from the top down. Many also pull advertising and delay or kill product development and new products. If this is your game plan to ride out the latest recession, you might want to rethink your strategy.
According to an office/contract furniture manufacturer study from Velocity Partners, it has identified four key traits of successful small and middle-market companies.
1. Design furniture that differentiates and defines your brand and does not just fill a gap in the product portfolio.
2. Eliminate or sell any product lines, services and other activities that do not add value to the brand or company.
3. Focus on market segments that provide opportunity for growth and differentiation. Sell a solid brand and products in a new market segment today.
4. Focus on matching the right: designs, A&D specifications, end-user customers and products.
Velocity Partners reviewed the 2001-2002 recession through post-recession performance of 12 North American office/contract furniture companies with sales between $15 to 30 million that were profitable in 2000.