With an annual surplus of € 9.9 million (2016: € 9.5 million), 2017 proved to be another successful year for the Sedus Stoll Group.
Turnover was up and there was also a similarly strong increase in the order volume of 1.4% by the end of the year to hit a total of € 191.2 million (€ 188.5 million). Incoming orders rose by 6.6%, a figure which is more dynamic than the overall office furniture market and, as such, the Sedus Stoll Group expanded its market share even further.
Holger Jahnke, Speaker of the Board Sedus Stoll AG
The Sedus Seating product area (office seating, furniture for communicating and contract furniture) reported a total growth of 3.4% in orders to € 100 million compared to the previous year. At 3.5% and 3.1% respectively, the growth rates at home and abroad were similar.
In the Sedus Systems product area (office furniture, desks and cabinet systems) the order volume grew by a total of 16.8% to € 76.2 million with a growth rate of 18.8% at home and 14.5% abroad.
In contrast, a 9.5% drop in orders was recorded at Klöber (office seating, conference and lounge furniture).
2018 has also got off to a great start. By the end of April, increases in incoming orders of 8.2% and in turnover of 8.4% had been recorded to complement the already high order volume.
The economic upswing in the office furniture sector remains clearly evident this year as does positive order development in the Sedus Stoll Group. The main driving force behind this is an issue which affects virtually all companies today: the organisation of their knowledge-based and creative processes.
People and their ideas are the most precious productive capital and also central to a company's success. The clear shift from manual tasks to mental labour and knowledge-based work cannot be stopped and the generational change in office settings is now in full progress.
As a technology pioneer and office furniture expert, Sedus has dealt intensively with the "Office of the Future" by market observation and research, especially on the topic of knowledge sharing and learning environments. Holger Jahnke, Speaker for the Sedus Stoll AG Board: "Future-proof office landscapes must be flexible in order to accommodate changes in activities and requirements. Our flexible and intelligent installations provide the ideal setting for concentrating, communicating, collaboration and contemplation. We help companies to make future- proof investments. To this end, we require an analysis of working processes and methods as well as an understanding of the goals and identity of the company in question.
Only then we can focus on creating a tailor-made plan. It goes without saying that our service also includes user instructions, accompanying services, products and availability guarantees. We call this the "Sedus Future Proof" package and it includes professional advice, comprehensive services, products which can be used in the long term and the confidence of not just being well equipped for the future, but also well positioned."
2018 outlook: Sedus has reinvented the swivel chair
At this year's upcoming international office furniture trade fair Orgatec 2018, Sedus Stoll will be presenting several product innovations, at least two of which represent milestones in the company's history.
With its legendary "Federdreh", the very first spring-mounted and internationally patented swivel chair (1926), the first swivel chair to feature castors (1929) and numerous pioneering patents, including, for example, the "Similar" mechanism (1973) and the "Similar-Swing" mechanism (2012), Sedus has set international standards which continue to prevail today.
In October of this year, Sedus will be launching two swivel chairs which, up to now, have not been technically possible. The designers and engineers at Sedus were able to make the impossible possible in these masterpieces thanks to the use of state-of-the-art high-tech materials and methods and their single-minded belief in their innovative strength.