Herman Miller Inc. -  Furniture -  Category Main Page 

(616) 654 3000

855 East Main Ave.
PO Box 302
Zeeland, Michigan  49464
www.hermanmiller.com

Sales

$1.3 billion

Business Description 

Herman Miller researches, designs, manufactures and distributes interior furnishings and provides related services that support companies all over the world. The company’s products are sold primarily to or through independent contract office furniture dealers. Through research, the company seeks to define and clarify customer needs and problems existing in its markets and to design, through innovation where appropriate and feasible, products, systems, and services as solutions to such problems. Ultimately, the company seeks to assist its customers in creating great places to work. The company is a leader in design and development of furniture and furniture systems. This leadership is exemplified by the innovative concepts introduced by the company in its modular systems Action Office®, Q™ System, Ethospace®, and Resolve®. Action Office, the company’s series of three freestanding office partition and furnishing systems, is believed to be the first such system to be introduced and nationally marketed and, as such, popularized the “open plan” approach to office space utilization. Ethospace is a system of movable full- and partial-height walls, with panels and individual wall segments that interchangeably attach to a wall framework. It includes wall-attached work surfaces and storage/display units, electrical distribution, lighting, organizing tools, and freestanding components. Resolve is a more flexible systems solution based on 120-degree angles around a steel pole and uses fabric screens and canopies for space definition. The company also offers a broad array of seating (including Aeron®, Mirra™, Equa®, Ergon®, Ambi®, and Reaction® office chairs), storage (including Meridian® filing products), wooden casegoods (including Geiger products), and freestanding furniture products (including Passage® and Abak).

The company’s products are marketed worldwide by its own sales staff, its owned dealer network, independent dealers and retailers, and via the Internet. Salespersons work with dealers, the design and architectural community, as well as directly with end-users. Independent dealerships concentrate on the sale of Herman Miller products and some complementary product lines of other manufacturers. Approximately 66 percent of the company’s sales in the fiscal year ended May 29, 2004 were made to or through independent dealers. The remaining sales were made directly to end-users, including federal, state, and local governments, and several major corporations, by either the company’s own sales staff, its owned dealer network, or independent retailers.

The company is also a recognized leader within its industry for the use, development, and integration of customer-centered technologies that enhance the reliability, speed, and efficiency of its operations. This includes proprietary sales tools, interior design and product specification software, order entry and manufacturing scheduling and production systems, and direct connectivity to the company’s suppliers.

The company’s furniture systems, seating, storage, casegoods and freestanding furniture products, and related services are used in (1) office/institution environments including offices and related conference, lobby and lounge areas, and general public areas including transportation terminals; (2) health/science environments including hospitals and other healthcare facilities; (3) clinical, industrial, and educational laboratories; and (4) residential and other environments.

Ticker

MLHR

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