Herman Miller announced today it will expand its retail presence this fall with the unveiling of its first concept stores completely dedicated to high-performance task chairs and products that support the home office. Following a record-breaking summer with Herman Miller Retail – the retail arm of Herman Miller comprised of Herman Miller, Design Within Reach and HAY – reporting its strongest quarterly financial performance to date, the first stores are slated to open in late Fall 2020.
"We are excited to reveal our first retail destinations dedicated to offering customers the opportunity to explore the quality and breadth of Herman Miller's work from home solutions firsthand," says Debbie Propst, President of Herman Miller Retail. "We are currently seeing unprecedented sales across these categories. The stores are a direct response to our collective need, which has been building over time and heightened by the pandemic, for more versatile home environments and our customer's desire to test drive these highly-considered products in person."
The on-demand economy has driven a trend towards workplace flexibility for decades with 84% of the United States'remote workforce largely working from home, according to a 2019 Buffer.com study.
"The office will always remain important, but a more distributed workforce – and the impact of COVID-19 – is accelerating this paradigm shift quite broadly, thus increasing the need of our domestic spaces to support evolving day-to-day work and life behaviors," says Propst.
Each store will feature Herman Miller's iconic home office product categories, including the brand's award-winning performance seating chairs that are built with features to support long-lasting health-positive benefits — from pressure distributions and individualized adjustment capabilities, to inclusive sizing and breathable suspension materiality, which contribute to healthy circulation, postural alignment and overall comfort.
At Herman Miller every product idea begins with research, and the exploration and insights of this research ultimately leads to problem-solving, human-centered design.
"Just as the mattress industry has done a great job of educating the general public on the benefits of a good night's sleep, our goal is to drive home the science of sitting well – and how the effects of research-driven ergonomic solutions ultimately improve one's well-being and day-to-day performance," says Propst.
Continues Propst: "Herman Miller is committed to making inspiring designs that help people do great things. Optimizing the well-being of our customers is at the center of what we do. We are looking forward to helping store visitors make more informed purchasing decisions so they can sit more comfortably and live a more balanced and productive life."
The first stores are expected to open in late Fall 2020 with more announcements to follow.