Dear Stephen,
What’s the big deal with ancillary furniture today? When I started my career, everyone transitioned from working at a traditional desk to a panel system. In those days, we even called them “cubicles.” And suddenly, every furniture company that made panels then had a panel specialist. Since the pandemic, companies have been directing design firms to redesign office space in a welcoming, more ‘worker-friendly’ environment so that employees are enticed to come into the office. The same goes for ‘waiting rooms,’ which are now more often called ‘reception areas’ meant to look like luxurious hotel lobbies. Work environments now also have fancy pantries… don’t dare call them kitchens!… that are conducive to working while eating. Anything to get employees back in the office. This has kept design firms busy with re-imagining what their clients’ offices could look like while keeping office furniture manufacturers busy developing new product designs. A win-win for our industry, right?
Many companies were already built for these products, such as #Davis, #AndreuWorld, #Arper, and #Vitra, but other companies have acquired divisions, including major manufacturers, such as #Haworth, #Steelcase, #Teknion, and #MillerKnoll. In some cases, acquiring smaller brands in the market and turning them into ancillary divisions of their own companies, #StudioTK would be an example of that. Meanwhile, still other companies including these major manufacturers continue to create new products to meet the needs of ancillary design specifications.
Here’s my question:
I work for a major manufacturer, we have A&D reps, dealer sales reps, global account managers, and now we have ancillary specialists as well! What’s the best category of office furniture to be working in today? And what exactly is considered ancillary anyway?
Signed,
Ancillary Annie
Dear Annie,
Yes – ancillary is the new darling space in the office furniture industry! With all these new departments, divisions, and products in the ancillary space, I would declare, #ancillary is on fire! It’s not brand new, however… it’s a category that’s been growing faster since the pandemic, and it’s because most companies want their employees back to work five days a week instead of working from home or hybrid working. (That includes the office furniture manufacturers as well!)
Back to your question, design firms tell me ancillary refers to anything that’s not primary furniture, meaning the desk itself that someone works at, that for instance is primary and not ancillary. Ancillary furniture is most often referred to as ‘conferencing,’ ‘lounge areas,’ or ‘pantries.’ Again, anything that’s not the primary workspace is considered ancillary. Work surfaces are not ancillary, but a guest chair would be considered ancillary. This reminds me of when companies started selling ‘systems’ instead of ‘desks’ 50 years ago. Similarly, ‘workstations’ are now called ‘benching.’ And so it goes with any attempt to categorize ancillary vs primary.
Ancillary areas are so important right now because, like you said, design firms are re-imagining offices using a lot of general meeting space and lounge areas. The office environment is now mimicking a hospitality environment so that people will want to come to work, rather than stay home. One could almost say that companies are making their offices look and feel like home or better. Here’s an example: many companies now have a VP of Ancillary and a team of specialists in sales that report to them and that’s because it’s a growing part of the business. And if you’re wondering why the big guys are applying so many resources to ancillary, the answer is simple: it’s more profitable! Primary office furniture has become a commodity and the bidding wars on even smaller projects are vicious so why not balance that out with nice profits on the meeting rooms and the lounge areas.
Ancillary is a hot category and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, if ever. So, if that’s your gig – hold onto it. And, if you’re looking for a hot area to sell in, ancillary is your category.
Signed,
Stephen