Office furniture companies are experiencing a surge in demand as employers bring their staff back to the workplace. Bryan Daisy, group CEO of Frem Group, tells Andrew Gibbs how the trend is influencing the company’s growth plans.
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CHANGING work patterns are opening up new opportunities as, while working from home remains popular since the pandemic, more employers consider a mandate for staff to return to the office.
When the restrictions around Covid were at their height, business premises lay dormant as employees abided by the instructions from government to stay at and work from home.
Now, as the move back to the workplace accelerates, organisations are looking to update and enhance the working environment to encourage staff to return and to optimise the experience and environment while they are there.
And that is creating new business for office furniture manufacturers. “The change of government has led to people being a bit cautious but we are seeing people get over that now and looking to move forward,” said Bryan Daisy, group chief executive of Frem Group in Northampton.
Frem designs and builds furniture for offices, commercial workspaces and education establishments at its factories in Northampton, Wakefield and Rotherham in Yorkshire and at Royston in Hertfordshire. It is committed to keeping its manufacturing in the UK rather than seek alternative partners overseas. “We are a very proud manufacturer and we have been paying to keep manufacturing in this country and not lose it to the Far East,” said Bryan.
He founded the company with his wife Claire in 1989, originally importing furniture from Denmark. They soon realised the limitations of that business model and switched to manufacturing their own designs, providing businesses with either ready-designed standard solutions or tailor-made solutions to their particular requirements.
Frem Group’s expansion plans centre around acquisitions of suitable companies coupled with a major push to increase its market activity in both mainland Europe and the USA. Each currently provide around 10% of Frem Group’s business.
“Europe is where our focus is going to be over the next couple of years,” said Bryan. The company already has a main distributor in Germany and is looking to develop its presence and market share. “The opportunity is massive.”
Not as massive, however, as in the USA. Frem Group had been exporting furniture manufactured in England across the Atlantic but in 2019 acquired a furniture manufacturing company in St Louis, Missouri.
“We realised that our former business model was not sustainable because the growth trajectory would have taken up all of our UK manufacturing capacity.
“The US has been slow going because the Americans still love working from home – only 50% of their workforce is back at work.” But he is confident that the situation States-side will change.
“The US has the potential to become the biggest part of our operation and we have to manage that growth.”
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Frem Group has won the exclusive UK distribution rights to the Caimi office accessories collection. The range manufactured by the Italian firm includes waste and recycling bins, powder-coated umbrella stands, sleek coat racks and elegant outdoor planters.
“Caimi’s innovation and expertise in acoustic technology are well-known and we are excited to expand our portfolio with products that enrich our clients’ office projects,” said Bryan.
The Northampton-based company already sells Caimi’s acoustic products. Caimi Brevetti’s founder and chief executive Renato Caimi said: “We are pleased to bring our range of intelligent office accessory solutions to the Frem Group collection.”
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The aftermath of the pandemic is abating, to the point where Frem Group is ready to implement the next stage of its expansion plans. It acquired Royston-based seating specialist Chairplan two years ago from its previous owners who were looking to retire and, after assessing its purchase, is about to move it to new more modern premises.
“We wanted to offer a complete service and package and offer seating as well. It was one part of the business that was missing,” said Bryan. The board is also looking to take on new staff at Chairplan, increasing the payroll from eight to 25 in the next two years.
“The unit we acquired was old and not very welcoming and we always planned to expand. For staff, it is to create a better working environment, more efficient, cleaner and brighter.”
Head office on Pineham Valley Business Park in Northampton is also at capacity and forms a key part of the company’s forward planning. “Over the next three to five years we have to consider our options and whether to move to larger premises,” said Bryan. “We own our premises so we can move out as and when we want but we have to think about the growth of the business.
“The senior management team here is a mature one, more mature than I would like. I am 65 and the company directors are aged 60-65. We are bringing in a stratum of middle management that in time will take over from us and they are being involved in our planning for the future.”
Frem Group is looking to add a reupholstery service to its offer. It moved into its current premises, which it commissioned to BREEAM Very Good standard, in 2011 and has remained committed to enhancing its sustainability and environmental efforts.
“The environment is something we feel passionate about,” said Bryan. “We feel we should practise what we preach.”
A reupholstery service is part of that. “So we do not have to manufacture new products unnecessarily and we are not throwing unwanted products into landfill.”
The post-pandemic caution has largely abated and business was improving until the General Election in July last year. As market confidence slowly returns, Bryan has set his sights on a three-year expansion plan.
“There is uncertainty in our market and there has been for at least 12 months. But we are seeing more and more people going back to work and that is only good news for office furniture manufacturers.
“The office is changing in its style and that is good for us.”
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