American furniture maker Herman Miller launches e-commerce platform

Recently, American office furniture manufacturer Herman Miller launched a new e-commerce platform called Herman Miller Professional. The platform is created for small and medium-sized businesses that want to buy office furniture online, while catering to its commercial customers.

Herman Miller was founded in 1905. It has evolved from a traditional furniture company to a modern furniture design and production center in the United States. The Aeron ergonomic office chair launched by this company has the title of the most comfortable and safe chair on the planet.

To make the ordering and shipping process quick and easy, Herman Miller has compiled 450 different product combinations across the company’s family of brands: Design Within Reach, HAY, naughtone, and Colebrook Bosson Saunders. The platform also offers commercial pricing and an online chat feature.

“As a company with roots in both the retail and contract sectors, we need to continue to evolve to meet the needs of both groups, especially in the contract space where our customers range in size from a dozen employees to thousands of employees,” Herman Miller Chief Digital Officer Ben Groom said in a statement.

Herman Miller Professional is currently only available to customers in the United States, however, the company plans to expand the service to other parts of the world.

The platform launch comes as Herman Miller attempts to rebound from plummeting sales in its North American contract furniture division. Last month, the company reported results for its third quarter of fiscal 2021, in which quarterly sales of $590 million were down 11.3% from the same period last year.

Herman Miller also reported a 13.1% year-over-year decline in new orders. The company attributed the decline to demand pressures in the North American contract furniture market, where sales fell 35% and orders were down 38%.

“This platform is designed for customers who want to explore on their own and place orders quickly,” said John Michael, president of Herman Miller North America Contracts. “Because it’s designed for companies rather than individuals, customers can also take advantage of exclusive business discounts. For these customers, Herman Miller Professional provides data-driven, easy-to-use, and fast processing of small orders.”

For most companies, whether it is to cater to the development of online business or to reverse an unfavorable situation, developing e-commerce to expand sales is an important measure to promote business development at this stage.

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