Zeeland, MI, June 8--Herman Miller Inc. is outperforming most of its rivals in the office furniture market, but the company is betting that it can grow in areas that have little to do with high-end chairs and tables.
Instead, it's creating sound technology to solve modern workplace problems like the need for privacy, the result of the cubicle culture Herman Miller helped spawn with its Aeron chair and panel-based workspaces. It's also eyeing emerging markets like India, China and Brazil to drive future growth.
Later this year, Herman Miller plans to unveil an adaptable interior architecture system featuring ceiling-suspended lights, partitions and digital displays like television and video screens. It describes the new product, called Motus, as a "radically flexible" infrastructure designed to let big box retailers, museums and other users of large spaces rearrange their interiors faster and cheaper, without resorting to costly renovations.
Herman Miller's stock is up about 6 percent so far this year, and has been trading close to its 52-week high of $32.00 on the Nasdaq. By comparison, shares of Steelcase Inc., the nation's biggest office furniture maker, are off 5 percent, while those of Knoll, another high-end corporate furniture maker, are roughly flat. Shares of HNI Corp., another leading office furniture maker, are up 22 percent.
In its last quarter, Herman Miller's earnings more than doubled to $16.8 million on revenue of $382.4 million, well above Wall Street forecasts. It was the third straight quarter of double-digit sales growth for the company.
Herman Miller plans to seek new markets beyond its core office furniture business. "Our strategy is twofold: to grow our share of the office furniture market, and then find new sources of revenue in markets that are new to us, yet adjacent to our core business," Walker said.
