Contract furnishings provider, Hightower received multiple awards at NeoCon 2021, including IIDA's 'Best Small Showroom' (under 4,000 sf) and 'Best of Competition' for its newly designed Chicago showroom.
Humanscale welcomes Elizabeth Margles to its Marketing Division in the role of Chief Marketing Officer. Margles comes to Humanscale with twenty years of experience in design, fashion and retail and a background in public relations and advertising.
The exclusive relationship with Kontrol's BioCloud® Technology will provide real-time detection of airborne pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 to help make workplaces safer as organizations return to the office.
Staples Inc. suffered its worst stock decline in almost seven months after the company posted disappointing results and announced plans to shutter 70 stores in North America.
Same-store sales in the region declined 7 percent during the fourth quarter, the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said on Thursday. Earnings came in at 25 cents a share in the period, excluding some items. That was a penny less than analysts estimated.
Just across the street from the Whitney Museum in New York's Meatpacking district, Swiss design manufacturer Vitra has popped up in a temporary store. The 7,500 sq ft warehouse-like location is home to the brand's accessories collection, as well as Artek furniture ranges and new novelties from Jasper Morrison's collection. Doubling as Vitra's temporary US headquarters, the store also stars Konstantin Grcic's functional, flexible 'Hack' office systemin a boundary-busting experiment in creative, contemporary working.
Until end of May. At 100 Gansevoort St, New York, NY 10014
For as long as time, people have been reinterpreting Ikea furniture with their wildest imaginations, creating everything from an Ikea Eames Lounge Chair to a boisterous coworking space to all kinds of oddities in between. And now, the Swedish retailer wants to be a part of that action.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ikea plans to start selling a modular sofa in 2018 that’s intended to be “hacked” with add-ons—like apps on a smartphone. For those following Ikea closely, the Delaktig sofa would be the first product from the much-teased “top secret” collaboration with British designer Tom Dixon.
Billed as a mid-range option priced between $399 and $899, the flatpack Delaktig sofa is made of an extruded aluminum frame that’s 40 percent recycled and a wood-slat base. The design will allow for easy clip-ons like a lamp, side table, armrests, and more. It would also welcome whatever hacks third-party designers can think of.
Design Within Reach, the largest retailer of authentic modern furniture and accessories in the world, today announces the opening of its newest retail space in Portland, Ore., located in the North Pearl District's Stagecraft Building, a circa 1890 two-story brick warehouse that originally served as a distribution center for pottery and housewares.
As part of its triennial, limited-edition, and often experimental “PS collection,” Ikea has released a 3D-knitted armchair that is both lightweight and durable. Fabricated using a process that, according to Dezeen, is most commonly associated with Nike’s Flyknit line of shoes, the mesh-like material covering the frame of the chair offers flexibility and support without relying on bulky foam.
Because the process relies on computer-operated machines to weave pieces based on a digital design, the manufacturing process becomes more streamlined, and can also be easily integrated into a supplier’s existing operations, explains Sarah Fager, the chair’s designer: “It's a really smart way to produce things, since it's fully automized.”
Herman Miller, America's most famous design brand, opened its only retail store in North America this week, and there's plenty to ogle within the 6,000-square-foot space. Filled with furniture, lighting, and accessories—manufactured not only by Herman Miller but also by independent designers and sourced from the Chicago auction house Wright—the store is designed to embody the Herman Miller lifestyle.
"It's important that we don't envision us as just a furniture store, but that for the consumer, can we help you imagine a modern way to live?" Herman Miller's executive creative director Ben Watson told Co.Design earlier this year. Organized into room vignettes—think fully furnished living rooms, dining rooms, kids rooms, and more—the store achieves just that.
Global design manufacturer Herman Miller, Inc. today announced the opening of a Herman Miller-branded retail store anchoring the company's New York City flagship. Open to the public as of Tuesday, November 22, 2016, the store occupies 6,000 SF on the ground and second floors of Herman Miller's multi-level presence at 251 Park Avenue South in Manhattan. The store is part of Herman Miller's transformation into a premium lifestyle company, and will offer consumers the opportunity to connect with Herman Miller through a new channel.
Staples Inc. sold its U.K. business for “nominal proceeds,” a move that experts say may be followed by other embattled retailers that want to shed unprofitable businesses to focus on their core lines.
The deal, announced on Thursday with Northbrook, Ill., Hilco Capital Ltd., a restructuring and turnaround investor, allows Staples to get rid of underperforming assets without having to search for a strategic buyer that might never materialize or deal with the distraction and expense of winding it down, experts say.
Staples’ U.K. business generated $302 million in sales over the last fiscal year but just $177 million during the first nine months of the current year, and consisting of more than 100 locations. The operating loss narrowed to $6 million from $17 million last year.
Staples (SPLS) this morning reported third-quarter profit and revenue that fell from a year ago as the office supplies retailer attempts to adjust to an increasingly digital work environment. Revenue declined 4% year-over-year to $5.36 billion in the most recent period, missing the FactSet consensus of $5.40 billion. Comparable-store sales were down 4% in the period, while analysts were anticipating a decline of just 3.2%. Comparable sales, which combines comparable store sales and Staples.com sales growth, and excludes currency impact, were down 3%. This decline was driven by weakness in ink and toner, business machines, technology accessories and mobility, the company said in a statement.
Retailers are now operating in the era of the so-called ‘digital native’, which presents a significant opportunity for brands executing interactive digital design as part of the shopping experience. See here for a recent Design Week/IBM exploration on How to Execute the Perfect Interactive Experience within retail.
West Elm's new office in a converted warehouse on the Brooklyn waterfront looks, in a word, Brooklyn. Exposed wood beams? Check. Polished concrete floors? Yes. Brick walls? Of course. Swanky furniture? Naturally. The space embodies the warm-modern sensibility that has brought the brand financial success in the past few years. But look more closely at the composition—handmade goods, office furniture, and artwork all manufactured by West Elm and its partners—and you'll see a physical representation of the brand's growth and evolution, from a residential retailer into a design behemoth as it spins its trademark domestic aesthetic into the world of offices and hotels.
Staples (SPLS) fell to lowest in almost 20 years on Tuesday as the office-supply giant closes stores and watches its customers patronize online rivals.
Shares fell to $7.75, the lowest since December 1997, and are now down about 19% so far this year. On Wednesday Staples rose $0.05 to close at $7.80 Over the past year, Staples' stock had shed an astounding 36% compared a 6.6% gain for the S&P 500.
Enthusiasm on Wall Street is hard to find in the wake of Staples' failed bid earlier in the year to merge with smaller rival Office Depot (ODP) . The aftermath has left it vulnerable to growing competition from Amazon (AMZN) , Walmart (WMT) and others in office supplies. As a result of that vulnerability, Staples' recent ugly financial performances may worsen.
Staples saw same-store sales at its more than 1,600 stores in the U.S. and Canada fall 4% in the second quarter. Execs pinned the blame on weak store traffic. Operating income for the North America stores segment fell 57% year over year to $12 million. Sales plunged in tablets, tech accessories, ink, toner and office supplies. To add insult to injury, same-store sales for Staples.com rose a meager 1%.
Design Within Reach has opened a beautiful new Studio in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., just a few doors away from its previous home on M Street. The new Georgetown Studio presents the largest stage for authentic modern design in the Metro DC area and local shoppers can expect to see DWR shopping bags popping up on the arms of clientele since the location will be home to the first-ever in-Studio Chilewich shop.
When Studio-Tag opened in the Plant Building near New York City’s Times Square in April, it introduced a concept for commercial interiors as revolutionary as the tunes that John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix once recorded there. Studio-Tag is a one-stop shop for contract and hospitality interiors — with glass, lighting, flooring, textiles and furniture all in one place. Before it debuted, those products were scattered across Manhattan, and they were hardly curated. Studio-Tag changed all that inside its new 6,200-square-foot studio and gallery.
Office Depot, Inc., a global provider of office products, services, and solutions, through its Office Depot and OfficeMax brands, today announced the launch of the newly branded Workspace Interiors by Office Depot, an interiors solution provider. Workspace Interiors by Office Depot offers businesses of any size comprehensive support through every stage of an office renovation, from concept to completion. Office Depot also announced a partnership with Inscape.
Come spring 2017, a trip to IKEA may feel like a trip to the future. Don't worry, the Swedish furniture manufacturer's staples will still be the foundation of their offerings, but you'll also find the company's newest PS Collection, a series of experimental products released every few years and intended to add interest and energy to the stores. This one may just be the most experimental, and tasty, yet.
Herman Miller today announced the company's case againstLevi Cohen and Madison Seating has been settled, and all outstanding issues have been resolved.
Mr. Franklin and another shareholder, Charles Almond, are seeking unspecified damages, but their argument could, in theory, result in the court ordering that the merger be rescinded and DWR essentially carved out of the company. It is a long shot, but it would be a corporate do-over on a large scale.
Two years ago, when the legendary furniture manufacturer Herman Miller bought the once-troubled retailer Design Within Reach, it was largely seen as a triumph in the world of high-end furniture. Now, as the New York Times reports, a lawsuit against the Herman Miller claims that the $154 million merger never actually happened.
The lawsuit was brought by two of the company's shareholders, Andrew Franklin, president of the investment firm UTR, and Charles Almond, who claim that they lost money in the merger. But the details of the case uncovered something much larger: the accusation that, because of a series of technical mistakes, the merger is invalid.
Staples and Office Depot Tuesday terminated their merger plans after a Washington D.C. federal judge late in the afternoon granted an FTC injunction to block the deal. Shares of the office supply superstores plunged in late trading.
