the difficult color

APR2213 //

There is more to green than meets the eye. It is a color whose history makes a notable irony of green’s contemporary meaning and application. Green has vexed artists and colorists for centuries. All this was nicely encapsulated in a throwaway line from Robert Altman’s Gosford Park when Lady Trentham says, “Difficult color…green.”

Green, in a range of contemporary applications from sports cars to sports shoes.

Green, in a range of contemporary applications from sports cars to sports shoes.

Mr. Altman’s movie was not about green in particular. The line, an improvisation of Maggie Smith in playing the Countess of Trentham, vocalizes the indifference green has endured. Directed at a house guest’s choice in evening attire, Lady Trentham’s one liner underscores the many and varied reactions that green stimulates.

Where yellow is a color of royalty in ancient Chinese culture, green had the same meaning among Aztec chieftains. Virtue and beauty were meanings assigned to stones of jade in China. In the Scottish highlands, the wearing of green was regarded as a mark of honor. Nearby Ireland has deep associations with the color green, some say due to the vast green hillsides and in connection with its patron, St. Patrick.

Perhaps green’s reputation as the color of renewal and harmony began in the Irish countryside. Or in the religious associations of green with resurrection, eternal life, love, and, in Celtic mythology, with fertility. For all these meanings, small wonder why green was selected to represent the ecological movement in the 70s.

The early means of formulating green paints and dyes would make any association with ecology seem extraordinary. Apparently green has always been a difficult color to create. Using the chemicals of their day, artists often discovered their green formulations had faded, changed color or, even worse, burned holes in their canvases. One source mentions the green wallpapers of the 18th and 19th century contained arsenic. The toxic off-gassing was said to have caused many deaths.

That nastiness was overcome long before Kermit the Frog’s wearing of the green made him the beloved character he is. His is a color of nature, reminiscent of the world around us with its splendid shades of green. Human eyes see more shades of green than any other color. For that reason night vision goggles render images in greens.

Is the reason our opinions of green vary so greatly because our optic capacity differentiates so many variations of this color? Idiomatic expressions of green can be unflattering. We speak of those who appear too new to know what they are doing as greenhorns. Someone who looks ill is said to be green around the gills.

On the other hand, it seems challenging to give green lots of credit. Yes, we have green lights that mean go, but they are often quickly followed by yellow that means caution, look out, something is happening up ahead. Projects may receive a green light, only to then be quickly postponed or rescheduled or some other form of corp-speak for “we’ve changed our minds.” When a business does well, do we say that it is in the green? No – we say it is in the black. Our nickname for cash is greenbacks. With so many people using debit cards instead of carrying cash, is that a term headed for obsolescence?

That returns us to green as a color in nature. There is no controversy in our connection with green in leaves, grasses and plants of all kinds. We have green spaces in our cities, creating an oasis that calms or hosts ball games and picnics. Even in Rockefeller Center you can tuck into supper outdoors under potted trees at the Sea Grill.

Growing up in Florida provided many opportunities for eating outside with my family. Beyond our dining room was a table and chairs on a small patio surrounded with hibiscus shrubs. They had pink and red flowers amid big heart-shaped leaves of a deep green, as I remember them. Picnics at the beach bring to mind the deep blue-green of the Atlantic tumbling in wave over wave. Another memory of green is the palm trees on the lawn, with a different, lighter shade of green on the fronds and darker greens on the stems.

Where I live now, our home is surrounded by maples, poplars, dogwoods and, of all things, scrubby sassafras trees. Many different leaves in different shapes and different shades of green, all of which transform into golds, reds and yellows in the Fall.

So the greens I see and enjoy might be quite different from those you enjoy. Be it optics, associations or memories of bygone days, we will sometimes agree to disagree on the subject of green.

__________

Resources for this article include: “Color Speaks” at tuned-in.com; “What Does the Color You Choose Say About You?” at psychologytoday.com; “The Toxic Side of Being, Literally, Green” at nytimes.com; “Green” at colormatters.com; and “All About the Color Green” at sensationalcolor.com.

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allsaints we are not

MAR2313 //

“Is this where I buy my post-apocalypse, anti-zombie wardrobe?” It seemed a logical question, standing there amongst salesclerks draped in black leather, urban-directional clothing on steel racks and columns sheathed in riveted plating.

Asked of a particularly deft salesclerk, he managed a quiet chuckle in response then shared a story about the unoccupied shops above the store. He told us they look as if the shopkeepers rushed out with their goods and abandoned everything else. “It’s apocalyptic,” said this employee of the London-based retailer, AllSaints.

Devotees of the AllSaints look call it "vintage industrial" or "rocker/biker chic", while the less enthused say it appears "vampire-ready" or "dark and brooding". Love it or not, expect a $1,400 ticket for the woman's outfit, $1,100 for the man's.

Devotees of the AllSaints look call it “vintage industrial” or “rocker/biker chic,” while the less enthused say it appears “vampire-ready “or  “dark and brooding.” Love it or not, expect a $1,400 ticket for the woman’s outfit, $1,100 for the man’s.

The apocalypse visual has been applied by more than a few to the look pervading the store interiors and the high street fashions of AllSaints. The retailer is making inroads among the young and narrow-hipped set in the US and elsewhere. As is the curse among tightly scripted design visions, a nearly even split exists between defenders and detractors.

AllSaints Goes Marching In

A wall of sewing machines behind the glass storefront at 700 North Michigan greets passersby on this well-known Chicago street. Later we learned many of these machines were shipped in from the UK, some with notes tucked inside from their previous owners. One former owner wrote, “Please take good care of my old Singer.”

Fashion forward retailer or sewing machine repair? Go behind the glass at 700 North Michigan to find out.

Fashion forward retailer or sewing machine repair? Go behind the glass at 700 North Michigan to find out. (photo: conciergepreferred.com)

The AllSaints windows part with Michigan Avenue convention. No mannequins, fresh color, nor obvious messaging. The street side presentation was a code whose translation could be accomplished only by going behind the glass, seeing what was there and what it meant.

Sewing machines for the Chicago store windows came from all over, some with handwritten notes from the previous owners. (photo: nomenu.com)

Sewing machines for the Chicago store windows came from all over, some with handwritten notes from the previous owners. (photo: nomenu.com)

Consequently, we entered AllSaints. What began as a quick drop-in transformed into a peek inside the marketing mindset of a global fashion retailer, one of the world’s fastest growing. Ironically, it is the same one whose leading investment firm recently fired the man who expanded and grew the business.

What an interesting detour this became, considering the impromptu interview, a few photos and some poking around on the Internet. Masked by high street fashions up front, a roiling struggle has taken place far from view.

Control the Message

Calvin Klein lived by this. He visited his own boutiques to test the staff’s adroitness at communicating his vision and fashion direction. Apparently AllSaints lives by it, too.

The interior of an AllSaints store provokes a love it or leave it response amongst shoppers. The retro-tech, Jules Verne-meets-deconstructionist ambiance finds highest acceptance among those who love the clothes.

The interior of an AllSaints store provokes a love it or leave it response amongst shoppers. The retro-tech, Jules Verne-meets-deconstructionist ambiance finds highest acceptance among those who love the clothes.

Alfie (not his real name) told us about the urban, 18-30 year-old target market, that the company only sells products it designs and manufactures, that care in the details makes the garments unique and durable, and, finally, that the Spring/Summer theme was ‘Texture Clashing.’

Alfie hit all the marks. He added a number of details about the designs, materials and how production put many people back to work in factories that had been shuttered, or nearly so. Media information from AllSaints touts equipment and techniques “unique in the world,” how this combination produces materials that have a look and feel possible only through these “secret recipes” and the “temperate conditions of the surrounding area.”

As I went on a photographic walk-about, Alfie imparted another set of significant details to a staff member who joined me that day. New hires receive a wardrobe allowance to be spent on assembling the correct seasonal look. All of the stores have a stylist on the payroll who helps employees create the AllSaints look. What remains from the initial allowance is for refreshing theses wardrobes through the seasons, under the guidance of the store’s stylist.

Whether other high-end stores do this is uncertain. At AllSaints it creates continuity between what is on the racks, the mannequins and the staff, as if there is some dress code in force. The staff certainly looks the part. They appear to belong, harmonized with the environment.

Heavy iron cast with AllSaints logos is interspersed with the real things. Most of the vintage equipment has been modified to support racks and shelves for clothing displays.

Heavy iron cast with AllSaints logos is interspersed with the real things. Most of the vintage equipment has been modified into racks, shelves for clothing displays.

Some have criticized this, writing about the inability to tell the salesclerks apart from the hipster shoppers. Others have gone further. Irene S. wrote about “a customer service army disguised as highly, highly attractive models slinking in every corner.”

On the other hand, with my wool overcoat and penny loafers, I was thankful that the coat’s dark gray color camouflaged me. Nobody was going to mistake me for belonging in an AllSaints store.

Owning the Look

Variously defined as “steampunk-ish,” “rocker/biker chic,” “a seriously good thing,” and “vintage industrial,” AllSaints does not try to be everything to everyone. Detractors say that the UK sizing leaves out “regular-sized” Americans, that salesclerks from Boston to NYC, Chicago and Seattle are helpful on a ‘hit or miss’ basis, and the policy of store credit on refunds is a real turn off.

Of the style, those less enamored define it as “vampire-friendly,” “dark and brooding” or as vernacular interpretations of Helmut Lang or Rick Owens. The AllSaints website has been cited as not user friendly and sometimes purchases are very slow in shipping. The price of merchandise receives comments of every stripe: acceptable; endurable; or unbearable.

This is the season of Texture Clashing at AllSaints. Serving as our guide, Alfie described the layering and mismatching that expresses the theme. He said some customers balk at paying full retail—just remember AllSaints has strong discounts during sales.

This is the season of Texture Clashing at AllSaints. Serving as our guide, Alfie described the layering and mismatching that expresses the theme. He said some customers balk at paying full retail—just remember AllSaints has strong discounts during sales.

That said, the garments and accessories, in my view, were competitively priced. For men, walking out with one complete example of the AllSaints look would cost about $1,100 (jacket, shirt, tee, jeans and boots). For women, figure about $1,400 (jacket, cardigan, jeans, boots and jewelry). All of which prompted another story from Alfie.

“We can tell the customers who are buying with money they earned versus those who are buying on their parent’s credit card.” He said the prices were a too steep for him right now as a college student, but he would be a steady customer after graduating and finding work using his degree.

The college student accompanying me that day said the very same thing. Again, I found it a good moment to take more photos, as that specific college student is claimed as a deduction on my tax return.

AllSaints by the Numbers

Over 100 branded shops and in-store concessions exist in the UK, US and Europe to provide customers with AllSaints goods. The company’s website provides another means of delivering “sharp, directional clothing” that occupies “a unique position in the fashion retail sector,” as espoused by company media releases. The collection includes men’s and women’s graphic tees, jersey, denim, casualwear, leathers, tailoring and accessories. (Jersey is Brit-speak for wool or cotton knit sleeved pullovers.) About 2,500 employees worked at creating £200m in sales for AllSaints, according to their majority owner’s website.

AllSaints style comes from a perspective on fashion that, in Anna Wintour words, takes cues from the street and raises them up, rather than starting at the level of couture, then drifting down.

AllSaints style comes from a perspective on fashion that, in Anna Wintour’s words, takes cues from the street and raises them up, rather than starting at the level of couture, then drifting down to what we see on the street.

Befitting this retailers confusing ownership tussles of recent years, there seems to be disagreement over who founded AllSaints. In some media, Kait Bolongaro and Stuart Trevor are said to have conjured up the AllSaints vision in 1994 and opened the first of 10 stores under their supervision in 1997. Then, starting in 2004 and concluding at the end of 2005, the retailer was bought out, partner-by-partner, by British fashion financier Kevin Stanford.

Stories in the British media during the last three years make no mention of Bolongaro and Trevor, citing Stanford as “chairman of AllSaints, the high street store he founded in 1994.”

Maybe it makes little difference. Seven years later, after borrowing heavily from Icelandic banks to fund AllSaints’ global expansion, and selling 85% of the business to investors so as to avoid bankruptcy, Kevin Stanford was fired. He now joins the others as previous employees of the firm, although he still owns 15% (as best we can tell).

Friction Behind the Fashion

In 2006, after he completed his acquisition of AllSaints from Bolongaro and Trevor 2005, Mr. Stanford sold a 35% stake in the business to the Baugur Group. Led by Jon Asgeir Johannesson, Baugur’s holdings on London’s high street rivaled Mr. Stanford’s. Though ran from London, Baugur was an Icelandic firm, funded by Iceland’s investment banks.

Increasing the number of stores in Europe and beyond might have been what Kevin Stanford had in mind when he sold 35% of AllSaints to the Iceland-based Baugur Group in 2006. Within three years, Baugur filed bankruptcy papers and it emerged that Mr. Stanford had £344 in debts to Icelandic banks.

Increasing the number of stores in Europe and beyond might have been what Kevin Stanford had in mind when he sold 35% of AllSaints to the Iceland-based Baugur Group in 2006. Within three years, Baugur filed bankruptcy papers and it emerged that Mr. Stanford had £344m in debts to Icelandic banks.

While the living was rich and the borrowing was easier, Mr. Stanford and Mr. Johannesson became fast friends, sharing interests in racing, cars and fashion. The British media chart a number of intertwined schemes that involve these two, their businesses and their Icelandic banks. Much of this was just business as usual until the foundations quickly crumbled beneath all of them.

Set in motion by the tremors on Wall Street, the ripples that reached Iceland—an island about the size of Kentucky with approximately 300,000 residents—had developed into tidal waves.

The banks collapsed. The Baugur Group collapsed. When Baugur went down, its investments were damaged, though not as much as the ensuing recession would cause. Not only were Baugur’s UK assets ensnared, so too was one in the US: Saks Fifth Avenue. Baugur held an 8% stake, although it seems to have had little effect on the legendary retailer’s business.

Multiple charges against Mr. Johannesson, once considered the “poster boy” for Iceland’s rise to global banking prominence, are winding their way through Icelandic courts.

Mr Stanford, too, has had his share of troubles. About the time Baugur was collapsing in 2009, it emerged that Mr. Stanford owed one Icelandic bank £344m.

AllSaints Changes Hands Again

While AllSaints had done the unexpected in creating new work for low-tech, old world factories in tiny villages, the benefactor itself turned out to need as much help—or more.

The sequence of events has a happier ending for AllSaints than some of the other businesses owned by either Baugur or Kevin Stanford. Personally ousted from his leadership position at AllSaints, as of now Mr. Stanford faces no criminal charges.

Colors of the moment break up the generally black, gray and brown offerings that seem to define AllSaints. Seattle and San Francisco customers suggest these darker tones fit well into their often overcast, foggy, rainy environs—which can be similar at times to London.

Colors of the moment break up the generally black, gray and brown offerings that seem to define AllSaints. Seattle and San Francisco customers suggest these darker tones fit well into their often overcast, foggy, rainy environs—which can be similar at times to London.

March 2009 The Baugur retail group files for bankruptcy with £1bn in debts. Following Baugur’s filing, their banks eventually received AllSaints. The banks later collapsed as well.

May 2011 Lion Capital and US-based Goode Partners purchase a £105m, 76% stake in AllSaints from the administrators over the two defunct Icelandic banks. Lion’s media releases state the firm’s eagerness to work with Mr. Stanford (who kept 15% of the company) and plans for further expansion of AllSaints into a £1bn business, including a push into the US. (The remaining shares of the business were divided among a number of investors.)

January 2012 Lion Capital suspends Kevin Stanford from his role as chairman, ending his day-to-day involvement.

March 2012 Goode Partners sells its stake to Lion Capital following months of disagreements between Goode and Lion over how to deal with the retailer’s management.

October 2012 Lion Capital fires Kevin Stanford following a long-running dispute with the private equity firm. Lion was reportedly trying to buy the owner’s share of AllSaints. Lion Captial’s founder Lyndon Lea takes an active role in managing AllSaints according to reports in the British media. (Other fashion holdings of Lion Capital include American Apparel, Jimmy Choo, John Varvatos, Alain Afflelou and La Senza.)

What AllSaints Means

There is a fundamental truth and vision connected to AllSaints that makes it a good lesson for our industry. The backroom wrangling is of interest as a wonky pleasure, but it is also instructive. Taking someone’s money creates a business partner. Taking lots of their money can create a steamroller. Despite it all, the look and feel of the goods has not suffered.

Will AllSaints become a global fashion powerhouse, with annual sales of £1bn, under the stewardship of Lion Capital? Sharp focus on a specific design vision and exceptional standards of quality in production as practiced at AllSaints may not be fondly received by private equity ownership. Telltale signals of the change will be when AllSaints stores are wedged between the Gap and PacSun at suburban malls.

Will AllSaints become a global powerhouse, with annual sales of £1bn, under the stewardship of Lion Capital? Sharp focus on a specific vision and exceptional standards of quality in production as practiced at AllSaints may not be fondly received by private equity ownership. Telltale signs of change will be when AllSaints stores wedge in-between the Gap and PacSun at suburban malls.

Stores can be visited in most of the expected US cities and elsewhere in the world. Somewhere, the people running the business took care of the business throughout the corporate ups and downs. That included remaining true to the standards of design and quality established almost 20 years ago.

Why take any of this on the word of someone else? Next time you see a storefront stacked with black Singer sewing machines, walk inside. Look around. Let me know your impressions of AllSaints—after you get your anti-zombie wardrobe.

After AllSaints, stop by your Hyundai dealer for one of these anti-zombie roadsters—your days of tipping the valet are over.

After AllSaints, stop by your Hyundai dealer for one of these anti-zombie roadsters—your days of tipping the valet are over.

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what about yellow?

MAR2013 //

When I worked on the corporate side, my office was across the hall from the product designers. We lunched together, sometimes traveled together and riffed on those who tried and failed to understand design. Favorite targets were the copywriters trying to imagine how designers work and speak among themselves.

To this day I remember the brochure that involved an imagined discussion of color, with someone scripted as asking, “What about yellow?” That one became a catchphrase. It never got old.

All these years later, those three words came to mind as I contemplated what to write about yellow. With few preconceptions about yellow, I felt I could approach the question with an open mind. Still, yellow seems a fine color in the abstract, just not my first choice.

Shoes, board shorts and kitchen towels have practical uses. Clothing and pillows can be practical, but also fanciful. A sports car pegs the needle of fanciful while barely registering on the practicality meter. Color crosses all the boundaries, especially yellow. How else can sports cars and dish towels have something in common?

Shoes, board shorts and kitchen towels have practical uses. Clothing and pillows can be practical, but also fanciful. A sports car pegs the needle of fanciful while barely registering on the practicality meter. Color ignores boundaries, especially yellow. How else can sports cars and dish towels have something in common?

Yellow in History

Because only truth exists on the Internet, I knew it was there I could find out everything true about yellow. In summary, yellow is polarizing. It is lives at the extremes of the psyche. As a point of interest, the older the society, the more respect is given to yellow. From SensationalColor.com about this color:

Yellow was the color of emperors in the Ming and the Qing dynasties—a yellow bias not seen elsewhere in the world.

Yellow chrysanthemums symbolized a pledge of courage by warriors during the 55-year Japanese War of Dynasty starting in 1357.

Yellow is the color worn in Hindu celebrations of the Festival of Spring.

Yellow symbolized food for the Aztecs because it was the color of corn, their primary food.

Yellow in Greek culture means sadness; in French culture, jealousy; and in tenth century France, yellow was the color painted on the doors of criminals and traitors.

And in the US, we paint our taxis and school buses yellow. Transportation graphics fall well short of symbolizing courage or royalty. Here, we favor yellow for practical applications where visibility is high on the selection criteria.

This has an ironic quality to it. I remember reading an article in The Economist while en route to Salt Lake City from Seattle in the early morning hours of a New Year’s Eve not long ago. This is a time of looking to the New Year with hope, with positive thoughts, that things will always get better. Interestingly, the writer used this moment to assert his belief that Americans are a hopelessly optimistic people and how this outlook defines the American approach to dealing with the rest of the world.

Yellow, say some, is THE color of optimism, of promise for a positive future. This would seem to make yellow the ‘All-American color.’ Why, then, do we rank yellow so low in color popularity?

Perhaps because we cannot help ourselves. Yellow’s history shows that its significance changes from culture to culture. As a nation of immigrants, the simple truth might be that we in the US cannot agree on a national meaning for yellow.

Union of Yellows

We will wear yellow, drive in yellow, sleep on yellow, dry with yellow and dine yellow. When going yellow in the US, it is an exercise in moderation. We embrace yellow without going bananas over it. (You had to expect a story about yellow to have at least one banana joke—SW.)

DuPont tracks how many new cars are sold in which colors by model year. They use their sales records, which are reasonably trend worthy because DuPont is the leading supplier of automotive finishes worldwide.

In 2011, yellow was selected for 3% of colors on new cars in North America. The luxury segment accounted for a full 5% of the total number of yellow cars. That might have something to do with the Gatsby effect.

To my surprise, the second-guessing of Mr. Fitzgerald’s use of color in his novel about one Jay Gatsby has resulted in dozens of papers and articles. Nearly every meaning associated with yellow has been applied in one way or another. Some writers lean to the cynical.

Yellow represents corruption or a lack of moral values.*  Gatsby’s car is yellow because he bought it with drug money. The girls at his parties wear yellow to show their lack of values. And the yellow rims of Dr. Eckleburg’s eyeglasses surround his eyes and cut him off from the world. — from Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby.

(*Refer to tenth century France, above—SW.)

Another writer suggested yellow as a color of wealth and privilege, hence a favored color for the possessions of the main character. Daisy wore yellow for that reason, if we bend toward this writer’s interpretation.

Thus a celebrated American novel by a quintessential American author fails to unite a nation in a single meaning of yellow. That we chose yellow for more of our luxury cars than any other kind might mean some of us have an inner Gatsby struggling to get out. Hopefully it is not because we bought the Porsches with drug money.

The Yellow Palette

Our yellow mosaic assembles the modest, the attainable and the incredible: the Racing Yellow on Porsche’s Cayman; the lemon and the yellow-green of kitchen towels; the yellow-orange of women ready-to-wear; the mustard on high-end shoes, the bright yellows on board shorts and the yellow-gold on pillows.

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extra color, hold the salt

MAR1413 //

“I’m not good with color.” Whenever I hear someone say that, I wonder what this person eats. Growing up, if I heard it once, I heard it a thousand times, “We eat with our eyes first.” Our food was supposed to look good on the plate, with an appealing color story. Were these color-inhibited people deprived of color in their food as children?

We eat with our eyes first: food should look good on the plate, with an appealing color story. It starts with the colors of nature and the inventiveness of our chefs, bakers and candymakers.

We eat with our eyes first: food should look good on the plate, with an appealing color story. It starts with the colors of nature and the inventiveness of our executive chefs, pastry chefs and confectioners.

Of course, we have to overlook the store-bought baby food served to many of us. Although the carrots and peas could have some decent vibrancy, there was too much murkiness under too many of those lids. Still, anything was an improvement over the blandness of formula, warm or not.

Maybe the first food-related color we recall was at the candy counter. I well remember those huge glass jars filled with red jawbreakers, rainbows of bubble gum balls, rich brown-paper wrapped Tootsies, the soft pastels of the Smarties and those crazy pinwheel lollipops. Never my favorite, I settled on a few occasions, only to later do my best at making them stick to the walls at home.

Color was everywhere, especially those fancy drinks the grown-ups ordered from time to time. I recognized the soft green celery sticking out of the glasses filled with something red, the strong smell of tomato juice and how they calmed down the adults. Also in memory are the amber and brown colors in the short glasses my uncles knocked back, as their wives enjoyed what looked like water, came in a funnel-shaped glass and smelled like paint thinner.

Color was at school, too. Those great sets of 64 crayons, the construction paper and the snow cones. I went to grade school in Ft. Lauderdale. We had snow cones on Fridays. Usually red, sometimes blue or green.

No snow cones when we moved north. There was only snow, without the bright colors. That said, at night the snow did take on a blue-white luster under a full moon’s light.

When the snow melted away, we could have our lunches and suppers outside, where the colors of the table mingled with the colors of nature. That change of seasons and its timing is precisely why we are thinking about color now.

As I have done before, this is when I write about color outlook for Spring and Summer. With NeoCon around the corner, now is a good moment for charting the trends, especially for those writing showroom orders. Visiting car shows, strolling through some shops and generally observing my surroundings have inspired this year’s installment.

I thought I would break it down this time and provide a color insight every few days. This is a gesture to those who have gently suggested I write shorter posts. Are a couple thousand words really eating up the batteries in those iPads?

Today, it is the colors of food, which I clarify in case the preamble was too vague. These splendid color ranges are represented with images gathered from travels near and less near—I cannot legitimately say ‘far’ as things have kept me close to base these last months.

The images are: the veg section at our local market; a fruit laden divider in a Chicago café; a slice of key lime pie from St. Louis; trays of freshly made sweet bits in Louisville; a display case of cupcakes in Water Tower Place; wild salmon entrée from a favorite neighborhood eatery, and, again at Water Tower, the self-service counter.

Enjoy this and the color posts to follow. Give in to color in what you eat today and it will doubtless taste better. Let me know the choices you make—they might be ones I would like to try!

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five features needed in sit-stand furniture

JAN2313 //

“If there is one hot thing in this industry right now, it has to be sit-stand desks.” In making that comment recently, this editor of a well-respected publication acknowledges the interest in sit-stand has grown faster than anyone expected. Or is it an overnight smash that has been decades in the making?

Ernest Hemingway wrote at a standing desk. A recently unearthed quote of his explained why. To paraphrase him in less earthy terms, he said that writing and traveling expands the mind and waistline—standing while working maximizes the former and minimizes the latter.

Winston Churchill did much of his work standing. (Image via Movieline)

Winston Churchill is said to have dictated while pacing, feeling that the movement of his body gave depth to his thoughts and life to his words. We know that he was a dinner table negotiator, having likely plotted to make the target of his efforts more receptive through ample food and drink. Though his weighty profile is well established, it might have been still more profound if not for his walking while working.

Donald Rumsfeld was photographed working at a fixed-height standing desk on more than one occasion. Accounts published during his time at the helm of the Department of Defense referred to his standing for eight to ten hours a day. Also noted was his preference for sitting while lunching or dining with others, although the source was unsure of his habits when eating alone.

Whether these and others who made the choice to stand or walk while working did so based on any research findings is an open question. Most likely, they tried it, liked it and kept at it. That reasoning is also true for many who stand while working today. There is plenty of science—more than ever—substantiating health benefits from sitting less at work and standing more.

The science is not the only motivation. The furniture itself has a certain cache. Anyone standing in their cubicle, blasting through the day’s agenda is bound to be an attraction. An eventually visible benefit will come from burning a few hundred extra calories while getting more done without working any harder.

Ascend is a complete series geared to sit-stand executive offices. From Harden Contract. (Image via Harden Contract)

For those denizens of private offices, who can calculate the added panache coming from a suite of finely crafted furniture embellished with sit-stand capability? What better way to shorten meetings with those pesky drop-ins than to run that worksurface to its highest position and keep everyone standing.

Whatever the purpose for owning it, what are some important usability features of sit-stand furniture?

Insure users understand adjustable features

Amazingly, some users have adjustable devices in their offices but do not take advantage of any of the benefits. Why? When they are not the original users of the equipment, they may know nothing of how to tailor their furniture to their work. Designing in some clues as to the locations and functions of levers for adjustability is a good first step.

Simple is better

It might take some arm wrestling with R&D, but a non-electric, non-cranking, easily activated pneumatic adjuster is the best way to provide height adjustment. Users can quickly move it up or down, without the wait while the electric motor winches its way along. If marketing refuses to get over it, make electric lifts an upgrade. Forget about hand cranks.

Airtouch tables have a design that suits their functionality. From Steelcase. (Image via Steelcase)

Avoid standing alone

There is value to considering what besides the work surface is going to be making the vertical journey. A couple of drawers are nice for pens, post it notes and car keys. What might be great is a convenient place to plug in charging cables. Just as great would be a credenza of about 36” high and 54” wide for larger odds and ends or a printer/scanner.

Attaching accessories

There is an option in how to create a sit-stand situation. As opposed to a worksurface that raises and lowers, a specific kind of articulating arm provides the same functionality. This arm can accommodate as much as a keyboard, a monitor, a laptop and a tablet. Such arms attach to desks, worksurfaces or counters, making sit-stand a practical reality for a minimal investment.

A full range of accessories makes standing while working ergonomically proper. Monitor arm, keyboard arm and sit-stand desk from Ergotron. (Image via Ergotron)

Neighborhood living

An architect being questioned about the workability of the lower panel heights with sit-stand desks made an eloquent defense. First, all working in clusters of lower-height workstations can easily see one another. It means they usually speak in lowered voices as a courtesy. And when working at standing height, the large monitors many workers have provides some line-of-sight screening.

Of course, a feature that would make any sit-stand furniture or accessory sell like mad would be its ability to do the user’s work all by itself.

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hat tips 2012

DEC3112 //

“It is true of the Nation, as of the individual, that the greatest doer must also be a great dreamer.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Berkeley, CA, 1911
(Via In His Own Words by Theodore Roosevelt Association.)

In this, the second annual presentation of the Please Remain Seated Hat Tips, I recognize the doers who have turned dreams into progressive realities for their businesses and organizations. To dream or to be a dreamer sounds frivolous these days. Whatever contributes most immediately to the bottom line takes precedence before fledgling ideas or subtle notions that, if nurtured, can become game-changing initiatives. Perhaps true in many businesses, but not all. Especially not among those earning this year’s Hat Tips. Cheers to the doers and the dreams they brought to reality.

Three Showrooms in Chicago

 

When in Chicago, take leave of the Mart and visit these showrooms. Warm greetings, deep product knowledge and splendid furnishings await. At Haute Living, Jeffrey Smith and John McGillicuddy stand ready to share a meticulously curated experience that emphasizes American design. If Haute Living furnishes the town house, see Jacque or Maria at Montauk Sofa for the lake house.

The sofas, chairs and modular seating can be customized in many ways. Any of them pass the perfect comfort test during relaxing weekends or unwinding after a long day’s work. For serene designs befitting a penthouse above the clouds, walk no further than Mobili Möbel.

Tour works from Italy’s Gordon Guillaumier for de Sede and from Holland’s LeoLux under the sure tutorage of Sunny Accarino. One of Europe’s premier design houses confided that this Chicago store is their number one U.S. dealer. For each of these unique showrooms, a Hat Tip for creating an extraordinary specification and service experience.

JustStand.org

Now would be a good moment to stand up, especially after sitting for while. To understand why, visit JustStand.org. The information compiled on this site will move anyone toward moving around more when working. Supported in part through Ergotron, a global business dedicated to healthier workplaces in corporate, education and healthcare settings, JustStand has members from around the world. International advocacy for the sit-stand cause was evident at the 2nd Annual JustStand Wellness Summit 2012 held in July. Thought leaders from around the world arrived ready to share research, ideas and success stories for healthier, more active workplaces. The day’s program was webcast live, then archived on JustStand.org. A tight-knit team works nearly year-round on this event so that it comes off with flawless precision. What they have started is becoming a reality beyond their dreams. In recognition of this important effort and the significant workplace health message it conveys, a Hat Tip to JustStand.org.

Steelcase Online Store

Not too many years ago, a pox would descend upon any entity attempting to market and sell office furniture online. That was when buyers could not make a major online purchase of furniture or appliances before seeing and touching them. Changing times have buyers making all sorts of big-ticket purchases online. While the surging work-at-home trend might not be of Steelcase’s invention, the online store has benefited from selling for home use what many workers enjoyed using at the office. Steelcase has three virtual storefronts, each providing buyers with a product offering that is streamlined for online ordering, with a ‘Shop Our Brands’ link that connects them all. The Steelcase Store maximizes technology to relate with online shoppers by surveys, by evaluations and by ongoing adjustments to the offering and the site itself. What might best explain the success of the Steelcase Store is the established process for connecting online customers with a dealer when needed, or helping dealers transition walk-in customers to the Steelcase Store when appropriate. What matters most is sorting out the choice that most efficiently helps the customer isolate the best combination of product choices and installation methods. Also worth mentioning is the forward-thinking product offering from Turnstone. It is suited to the times with loads of style and versatility, not to mention being well built and well priced. For actions to create an engaging online shopping experience and product selection, plus daring to dream that the time had come for office furniture e-commerce, a Hat Tip to the Steelcase Store (Steelcase, Turnstone and Coalesse).

SHP Leading Design

Baseball scouts dream about five-tool players. These are elite players who are exceptional as power hitters, as high average hitters, in base-running speed and skill, in rocketing the ball to the play and in fielding abilities that win games. Anyone scouting the elite players among architecture and design firms could use SHP Leading Design as a model. From its founding in 1901, SHP has grown into a four office firm that serves its clients from concept through design/build and facilities management. Combined with their unmatched pioneering in BIM, IPD and sustainability, SHP Leading Design is progressively redefining expectations of A/E roles and services. The firm’s accomplishments have not just brought sustainable features into buildings of all kinds, but also a new way of doing business that offers 3D modeling, risk sharing and delivery of the project on time and within budget. This has happened only by an ability to dream of a specific future and a willingness to act on that vision. A Hat Tip to SHP Leading Design, recognizing the many dreamers and the doers on their staff.

In the course of 2012, I spoke with a number of fascinating people. They are the ones looking at opportunities in a new way, taking a different point of view and making a difference. What they are doing, what they are advancing, celebrates the momentum that will move our industry forward. To one, to all: my thanks for your wisdom, your insight and for enlightening me about your work. Having an opportunity to meet those who are crashing through the status quo everyday inspires me. Hopefully it inspires you, too. Happy New Year.

Acknowledgements

Haute Living – Jeffrey Smith and John McGillicuddy.

Montauk Sofa Chicago – Jacque Kent and Maria.

Mobili Möbel – Sunny Accarino.

Studio Gordon Guillaumier – Gordon Guillaumier.

JustStand.org – Jane Rodmyre Payfer, Michelle Judd and Carrie Schmitz.

Steelcase Store – Luke Rumley and Laura Van Slyke.

SHP Leading Design – Brian Hilvert, IIDA, LEED AP; Ramune Bartuskaite; Fil Anastasio; Charlie Jahnigen, AIA, LEED AP; and Aaron Phillips.

Friends and industry acquaintances who make Please Remain Seated possible through advice, comments and interviews, as well as rocking chair lunches and five-star suppers.

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they meant it before they retracted it

DEC2212 //

Another business is hit by a communications kerfuffle. When Instagram rolled out new Terms of Service on Monday, the Facebook-owned photo sharing app rolled them over their own users’ toes.

Earlier this year, FB paid $1 billion for Instagram, a business barely two years old with 80 million users at the time it was acquired.

As the Internet pulsed with rebellion over Instagram’s newly asserted right to make money providing advertisers with user-uploaded images, a Wednesday post on the company blog claimed it was all a misunderstanding.

The post, which appeared over the name of Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, claimed users were misinterpreting the legalese in the new TOS. He contended that users were applying the wrong meaning to obscure legal terms such as ‘agree’, ‘display’ and ‘use’. As any benevolent monarch might, he graciously dismissed this as a consequence of the illiteracy that surely must exist amongst Instagram’s millions of users.

On Thursday, another post from Mr. Systrom told of a return to the previous language about advertising. Actually, they merely excised the text they had added. So the new legalese was removed, leaving only the old legalese.

His closing words in Thursday’s post leaves the impression of his outright shock that users would object to anything Instagram might seek to do. He thanked users for being a source of free content for future monetization and for being a crowd-sourced R&D department.

What nonsense, I say.

First, have a look at the Terms of Service. Legalese? Hardly. We have all waded through genuine legalese and know the difference.

For example, try reading draft legislation. For that matter, try reading the bills once signed into law. Those Supreme Court opinions can be a little tricky. But Instagram’s TOS? Not that tough. A high school freshman could read and understand it.

To borrow from a long ago interview of President Richard Nixon by Sir David Frost, it goes against the common understanding of hundreds of years of language to accept Mr. Systrom’s assertion that users, the media and certain members of the United States government misunderstood.

As communicators, there are probably a few things all of us want to know for our file marked Don’t Let This Happen to Me.

1. Who approved the copy?

If the wording was as obscure as Mr. Systrom would like us to believe, how did it get approved? It had to go through a number of hands from first draft to final posting. Maybe everyone closed their eyes, held their noses and hoped for the best. Either that, or they veiled their intentions in cloth too sheer to conceal their plans.

2. Who vetted this concept?

Imagine the pitch for this Edsel of an idea. It’s aboard a chartered yacht anchored in tranquil waters near an exotic isle. After a luncheon of lobster and cracked crab, as the wine steward uncorks more bubbly, someone says, “That ad revenue thing – what’s the worst that could happen if we…”

3. Who conjured up the cover story?

So Instagram posts the new TOS, telling users that it is no biggie, give it a read sometime and just keep on loving them. All was calm until the first user actually followed the instructions. Soon thereafter that user exclaimed: “Hey – what’s up with this?” Cue the Twitter-storm. In response, Mr. Systrom wrote that, essentially, they were just kicking this around, thought they would throw it out there and hope for comments. (Questions? Reread #2 above.) Strange. Usually language posted for comments is labeled as such.

4. Who said, “Tell the users they read it wrong?”

Maybe bad advice was taken because bad advice was given. The thought appears to warp reality. Would Instagram enjoy debating the meaning and usage of the word ‘is’?

In the 90s, a sitting U.S. president set the standard on this one by doing verbal pirouettes around some unpleasantness. Or, Mr. Systrom could talk to an empty chair for a few minutes.

He suggested in his Wednesday post that some tweaking here and there would disperse the overhanging stink generated by this troublesome passage.

To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.

– Instagram Terms of Service, Rights, December 17 version.

Apparently Instagram couldn’t figure out how to edit the bumbling out it. So they deleted the entire passage.

Stay tuned, Moms and Dads. Instagram implicated your approval for kids you still have living at home – specifically the ones between 13 and 17 years of age.

If you are under the age of eighteen (18), or under any other applicable age of majority, you represent that at least one of your parents or legal guardians has also agreed to this provision (and the use of your name, likeness, username, and/or photos (along with any associated metadata)) on your behalf.

– Instagram, Terms of Service, Rights, December 17 version.

It might be worth examining the operative words in these passages. They are ‘agree’, ‘display’ and ‘use’. Reliable, solid words are these. Not legalese in the least. Words whose meanings are known to all elementary school graduates. Not sure how anyone can misinterpret these words as employed here. The word ‘represent’ is a humdinger, but even the mildly inquisitive can nail it using any free online dictionary.

5. Who provides Mr. Systrom and FB with PR advice?

Mr. Systrom heaps praise on Instagram’s users, thanking them for letting him know their thoughts – some users saved time and simply deleted their accounts. Now, he says, the business has listened, internalized and acquitted themselves through action (or strategic retreat – take your pick).

Businesses in desperate straits after a public faux pas generally march down Absolution Trail.

This begins with noisy proclamations of how much they are listening to their users, customers or members. Translated from the original Greek, this means they have known all along what customers did and did not want. Now, they are acting on fragments of this knowledge – having exhausted all means of avoiding said action.

Next step: they extol the changes being made to better serve customers and members – such freshening the color of the company logo or making something that was free for everyone into something that is free for a few. Airlines have this one covered. Another box checked.

Finally – drum roll please – they are going to improve day-to-day communications on everything they are doing for their customers. Prepare smoke and mirrors. Roll cameras. Yawn.

Embedded within this strategy is the evergreen idea that a business simply needs to repackage itself in the most inoffensive manner possible. Forget making real changes – these take time and cost money.

Watch for a relapse if the glossy new package fails to deliver results over time. Usually two quarters, sometimes three. The old ways then begin worming their way back.

New corporation same as the old corporation, to borrow a phrase. This happens, despite having listened a bit, changed a little, made a video and satisfied themselves that the original problems never really existed.

Unless a business addresses what they value and acts accordingly, any pretense of change soon crumbles, allowing the familiar patterns to reappear.

6. Is it necessary for Instagram to stand up to Facebook?

We should remember who owns Instagram: Facebook. In the words of another writer, FB is the social network everyone loves to hate – which they do so much of with posts on FB. (Irony is never in short supply online —SW.) It is a social network that isn’t highly trusted, with one privacy mess after another. Whether officially declared or not, FB believes that if you want your privacy protected, stay off their network.

Add to this shareholder pressure to make money by every means possible, especially after the way the stock has performed after its steroid-injected IPO ($38/share on May 18; $26/share on December 21).

The social networks were much more popular with their users when being social was more motivating to them than making money.

Forward from Here

Instagram has apologized for not communicating clearly. They withdrew the phrasing they deemed confusing legalese. They have left open the door to revising the TOS again in the future when they figure out how to monetize their user’s photos without it looking like that is what they are doing.

Be assured that a way will be found because a way must be found. In the meantime, the great hope is Instagram becomes more sophisticated in customer communications when caught with their corporate hand in the cookie jar.

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what would calvin klein say?

OCT2912 //

Calvin Klein spoke at a university-sponsored event in my hometown the other night, so I decided to drop in and see what he had to say. Mr. Klein led a rapt audience through his career from 1968 to 2006. He use an unexpected medium as he illustrated the beginning, the growth and the transformation of his business into an iconic fashion house.

Instead of marking the years by showing fashion, he did it by showing nearly forty years of the product advertising that rocketed his business into the global consciousness and at times shook the planet itself.

Mr. Klein’s approach might be instructive for our industry.

“I had a point of view toward design that applied to everything I did,” he said. Subtle, sophisticated, with a clarity about what American design is — or can become — explains in part what anchored the philosophy he applied to clothing for women and men, fragrance and home furnishings. Most important, he said, is having a point of view that is uniquely your own.

via evolutionofbrands.com

He explained another aspect of the philosophy that served him well from his early days until his retirement. He said, “The product has to absolutely perfect, as does everything around it. Everything has to work together. There has to be a strong message and that message has to be consistent.” That strong message has to come from deep within oneself, a point that he made clear.

Calvin Klein before an audience of students, faculty, guests and citizenry.

Mr. Klein said that in 1968, as more women entered the workplace, he saw his that clothing with style and practicality for working women was not available at any price. His early designs targeted that marketplace, which paid off handsomely.

What to wear after work and on weekends was another beachhead established by Calvin Klein. He launched part of this collection by having Brooke Shields insist that nothing got between her and her Calvin’s. The rest, as they say, is history.

Via tentenz.net

As if capturing the imagination of a jeans-wearing nation wasn’t enough, Mr. Klein decided to apply his talents to clothing for men. Just like the sensation caused by his ads with Brooke Shields, his campaigns for men’s clothing were ground breaking. He also redefined media placement for fashion in the process.

“Outdoor advertising – I’ve always liked it but I was told that designers don’t do it. When we started the first campaigns for men’s underwear, we bought poster-size ads in the bus stop shelters – people would break the glass to steal the posters,” he said gleefully. “I can’t tell you how much glass we replaced, but I was delighted to pay for each and every pane.”

via miista.com

Advertising played a key role in rejuvenating sales of the fragrance line under the Obsession master brand. Mr. Klein explained how he received a call from the licensee responsible for making and distributing the line. “They said, ‘You’ve got to do something – it isn’t selling.’ What they meant was it wasn’t selling as much as they needed it sell.”

Around that same time, into his office walked a model by the name of Kate Moss who was pretty much unknown in this country. With her was her boyfriend, who happened to be a photographer. Mr. Klein seized an opportunity. “I sent them off to an island, and told him to take pictures of her while there – he was so crazy for her that I knew he would bring me something amazing.” One of images was a nude of Ms. Moss, in a prone position on a sofa, looking into the camera. Mr. Klein used that photo in a new ad for Obsession and again, the rest is history.

What all of this means for our industry can be summed up in three ideas.

Developing a unique point of view – Try this. Show a dozen images of seating and casegoods products introduced in the last year to a colleague and ask for the manufacturer’s name of each one. He or she might get a few correct, but mostly it is a sea of sameness. Some product managers might argue that the industry does not reward innovation, that a great number of design triumphs become sales fiascoes. Fortunately, Herman Miller’s management thought differently when they gave the green light to Aeron all those years ago. In concept and design, Aeron changed everything, even ushering in the techno-chic genre. This was not Herman Miller’s first trip to the podium to accept design icon accolades. Remember Action Office? What about Ergon? In each instance, visionary design within a nurturing culture engendered products from a unique point of view. In short, can we put a stop to product introductions that go boldly where many others have already gone?

Media is a solution – Ask any marketing chief or marketing manager which budget is the first one cut when sales fall. Or, take the example of the sales manager who holds sway over the advertising budget. When flush with business, this manager says, “Business is so good, why spend on advertising when we can put it to the bottom line?” When the floor falls out, this same manager says, “Business isn’t strong enough, we can’t possibly spend on advertising now – we need to make this quarter look as good we can.” Unfortunately, few manufacturers maintain a consistent presence in industry media. Floor covering, lighting and textile makers lead the pack. For whatever reason, some of the people with marketing responsibilities have little faith in, or understanding of, marketing itself. While Calvin Klein had little or no formal training in marketing, he had great faith in the tools of media to communicate his point of view. Ultimately, he became as well known for innovative media as he did for innovative products. In short, let it be known that marketing tools are more effective applied with consistency over time – rather like eating right, sleeping enough and exercising produces better results than a steady diet of energy drinks.

Making everything work – the product and everything around it – A number of business have paid substantial sums to create visual identities that project the essence of the business, its products and its future. These identities are thoughtfully articulated in guidelines, standards and templates to maintain their integrity in any application. This notion is central to the point of creating the identity: everything works with the products as a cohesive unit. Enter the well-meaning manager, one who might be a freshly minted MBA; someone on which the job was bestowed after having had some promising ideas; or the energetic yet unimaginative new hire who was previously stocking shelves at big box stores. Next, stay tuned for the surgical dismantling of the aforementioned identity. All in the name of leaving a clumsy set of smudgy fingerprints on something that was probably better left alone. Weak brands permit this and the damage that ensues to happen, primarily out of shortsightedness. Brands with clarity of focus take the long view. They prevent ego-tinged, on the fly tampering with point of view, identity or message. Forty years of Calvin Klein advertising speaks for itself on this point. In short, because the business hopefully remains no matter how many marketing wunderkinds come and go, impose a structure around them that prefers longevity over quick fixes.

__________

Note: I have attempted to accurately quote Mr. Klein based on notes from his conversation. Any misinterpretation or misstatement of his views or experience is purely unintentional.

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Posted in Advertising, Brand, Contract interiors, Opinion | Tagged , ,

a solid case for selling online

AUG2712 //

Selling office furniture online is an idea whose time may have come, even if it is not a topic of energetic conversation. Perhaps a checkered past is to blame. It was tried in the early years of the Internet and faltered for a variety of reasons. The world has changed since then. Only recently has the virtual frontier become a partner willing to help make virtual storefronts work for office furniture sellers and buyers.

Listen for the music

An old leadership parable suggests that leaders should never get so far ahead of the parade as to not hear the band playing. In some ways, this explains the failures of previous efforts at selling office furniture online. Several attempts received quiet burials in the early days of e-commerce — victims of fumbling entrepreneurs who misunderstood consumer behavior or who miscalculated the market itself, or both. Most survivors of that era succumbed in the post dot-com downturn. Now a unique moment has arrived where unimagined success can launch from the ruins of these failed efforts.

Four-person workstation from Turnstone starting at $3,043.00 as shown.

Easy does it

Long gone are the creaky interfaces and poky downloads that made buying on the web an exercise in frustration. Today’s online consumer forces expeditious response and urgent simplicity upon the Internet as if it were a personal service.

Those raised with the Internet as an entertainment resource and a vehicle of self-created stardom enter into a workplace of thirtysomethings for whom the Internet was a homework shortcut and a bargain-hunter’s paradise. For those who grew up with Walter Cronkite explaining the way it was, the Internet has evolved from something strange to something not quite understood to something that needs regulating, and, finally, back to something strange. Different as their perspectives may be, influences from each of these groups have conspired to make online shopping transactions easier than ever.

As a result, just about everything is sold on the Internet. Worldwide, the leading online purchases are books, clothing, DVDs/video games and airline tickets. An airline ticket can be tricky – trips with multiple stops, days of travel that cost the least, advance purchase discounts and the like. The airlines have made it reasonably simple to purchase tickets online even if a number of steps are involved. Amtrak has done the same.

Structurally, online consumers have improved access to data. Mobile devices make shopping possible anywhere, even comparing prices between store A and store B whilst standing in store C. Improved bandwidth shuttles images that look better and videos that explain more, not to mention ordinary websites, at the speed of consumption. Continuing to grow are ways to get connected: at home; at work; in the car; via cellular networks blanket much of the planet; and, the findable WiFi hotspots with randomly changeable signal strength in many public spaces or places — not to mention onboard Delta flights that operate in cloudless, turbulence-free skies.

Think Stool with 3D Knit Back, $899, and Airtouch height adjustable table, $1,499, both from Steelcase.

Consumers less wary

Consumer behavior has shifted, helping open the door for purchasing furniture online. An Experian study conducted in 2008 revealed growing trust of the Internet for home furniture and appliance purchases. The study suggests consumers are less concerned with seeing the product in person before purchasing, less fearful of making large purchases online and less apprehensive about customer service from online merchants.

That consumers are willing to buy without the ‘touch and feel’ of the product beforehand opposes conventional wisdom. Just because this finding was revealed in connection with home furniture does not impact its relevance to office furniture purchases. The question became one of finding what it would take to cause these behaviors to crossover to business purchasing.

What it took was creating online relationships, streamlining online transactions and reaching the right audience. They know what they want, are unlikely to go to big box stores and rarely find their way to a contract dealer. They live connected to the Internet throughout their waking hours, trust their online purchases will perform out as expected and will hold accountable any entity that falls short of their expectations.

Seeing potential

Steelcase is answering the call with three online storefronts selling everything from basic work-a-day furniture to upscale upholstered goods. Because of their global presence, one can truthfully say the sun never sets on the places where Steelcase does business. Adding another layer to this reach is the ongoing operation of the online store.

Shared table for six from Turnstone, starting at $6,625 as shown.

Niche customers

Having use of a comfortable, high quality task chair in the corporate realm conditions one to want the same in a home office. This is also true of desks and tables. Shopping at a big box store may provide furniture to meet the need in a most reductionist manner, which is good enough for some customers. But those involved with online selling at Steelcase know that customer is not their customer.

“The online store fills a niche,” said Laura Van Slyke, from Steelcase Corporate Public Relations. “For many online store customers, the Steelcase products they enjoy at work are the same ones they want for working at home. These customers know the difference between the chairs they can buy at a big box store compared with the value a Steelcase chair provides. They want research-driven design, good ergonomic principals and quality materials that last.”

“Our customer has a home office, or may be participating in a corporate work-at-home program,” said Luke Rumley of Steelcase Store and Retail in describing the likely customer profile of the online stores for Steelcase, Turnstone and Coalesse. “We also attract smaller businesses furnishing a specific room such as an office or a conference area.”

Harmonizing virtual with material

Mr. Rumley explained how the smaller order size and straightforward ordering choices online create a boundary with bricks-and-mortar Steelcase dealers. “We share leads, and we would transition a customer looking for a floor full of furniture to a dealer who could provide layouts, materials choices and a full selection of product options or add-ons.”

The reverse is also true. “A dealer with a customer looking for a chair and a work table may bring that customer to the online store,” said Mr. Rumley is explaining how the online and dealer components complement each other.

When a prospective customer is unfamiliar with the brand, or unsure of what products might be best, a referral to a dealer or a showroom near the prospect informs the selection process.

“We will recommend that a customer see the products before buying,” said Ms. Van Slyke. Spending a few minutes giving chairs a test ride or inspecting the look of a table does more than insure a happy customer. It brings a real-world connection to a virtual relationship, one that stands to create ‘fans’ as well as repeat business for Steelcase.

Denizen secretary from Coalesse available direct from the online store, $4,489.

Selection and service

The current product offering goes well beyond that of the start-up store four years ago . “Three or four chairs were available then,” said Mr. Rumley.

The look and feel of the user interface for the Steelcase Store is inviting and very easy to use. An ongoing effort behind the scenes aims to continuously evaluate the customer experience and make tweaks to the site accordingly. The feeling is that the relevant benchmarks for the Steelcase Store are those established by its customers.

One need not be familiar with Steelcase, nor office furniture of any kind, to get down to business with desks and seating. In all three storefronts, pre-selected combinations with a chair and a desk or work table make it almost impossible to go wrong. Even in the online environment, options are presented and explained to make seating or casegoods a bit more personal and individualized.

The shared shopping cart allows customers to select their Steelcase, Turnstone or Coalesse products and pay for all of them in one transaction at the checkout.

Currency Home Habitat Desk from Steelcase, available for $1,045.

Hypothetically ordering

As an independent and unofficial trial, a Please Remain Seated secret shopper visited the online store. In less than twenty minutes, the PRS shopper was able to purchase replacement furniture for most of the office. This included a conference table with six chairs, a Currency L-unit, a Think chair, two Think stools, and a pair of Airtouch adjustable height tables. The grand total came to $10,016, suggesting that the price is right at the Steelcase Store, as well as the expediency. That amount of money to furnish an office is well within what one might expect to pay, especially for new products.

So, there is value inherent to the transaction itself and in the reality of efficiently completing the whole thing online. This alone could be the reason that today’s approach to selling office furniture over the Internet is succeeding.

References

1 Nielsen. The Nielsen Global Online Survey. 2007.

2 Experian. The Consumer Behavior Report. 2008.

Acknowledgements

With appreciation to Laura Van Slyke and Luke Rumley at Steelcase.

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four months in review

JUL2112 //

Since March of this year, I have been on a journey of conversations and ideas. Not that I have traveled all that much, but the journey has been a succession of interviews for three projects that have happily filled my agenda for the last four months. Hearing what people have to say about their work and understanding what it has meant to them is one of my great interests.

For an article I wrote about relationships between interior designers and office furniture dealers, I had a chance to speak with two individuals who are pacesetters in their markets —perhaps even in the nation. Nanci Scoular of SideMark and Alan Pizzitola of Business Interiors were fascinating interviews. What I came to understand was how people skills make the difference in these two dealerships. Of course, product knowledge, follow-though, and problem solving are no less important. The idea is that valuing the relationships and building connections with each client establishes a basis for a good partnership between businesses.

These partnerships are also being affected by technology. The transition from AutoCAD to 3D modeling (or BIM) is gathering momentum. There is growing interest in a team-oriented process called Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). Taking a closer look at resources expended to produce a product and the environmental consequences of that expenditure has elevated the profile of something called Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). In preparation for a NeoCon seminar about these subjects, I had the opportunity to speak with a number of thought leaders. What interested me most is how these technologies will drive fundamental changes in the industry and how each of us can apply these fundamentals to our everyday work.

Doing everyday work provided inspiration for my involvement with the active workplace culture. Last summer I found a New York Times story that warned of the health risk of sitting too much at the office. One thought led to another, and I found myself waist-deep in research findings, product offerings, and initiatives regarding more time standing, walking, or even cycling while at work. My interest took me to a series of interviews and contacts with people at the forefront of this issue. I had been writing about it, and consequently I was asked to take part in a panel discussion during the JustStand Wellness Summit on July 10.

Of course, saying “yes” to one thing often means saying “no” to something else. In my case, I have been away from writing Please Remain Seated for four months. I have a number of articles in mind, some of which stem from the events I have been engaged in recently. My plan is getting back to posting twice a month.

The feedback that I get from readers is that they like finding some “meat on bone” in these articles, or what we might call some depth of reporting or research. I am glad readers enjoy that, because I enjoy getting close to what I am writing about and then sharing what I learn with you.

Consider this an open invitation to check out what I was doing during my sabbatical. The links follow. Thanks and as they say, watch this space.

 Links

 “How to WOW Interior Designers”:  Cover story, OFDealer ezine, May/June, 2012.

IPD, BIM, & LCA: A New Alphabet for Success:  M127 CEU Seminar, NeoCon 2012, June 11, 2012

Establishing Sit-Stand Wellness Cultures in the Large Enterprise:  Panel discussion, 2nd Annual JustStand Wellness Summit 2012

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