ImaginativePRO Blog

HOW MUJI'S KENYA HARA'S 'ARCHITECTURE FOR DOGS' TAKES DOG HOUSES AND CANINE FURNITURE TO THE NEXT LEVEL

 

KENYA HARA, ART DIRECTOR FOR MUJI, WANTS TO RECONSIDER THE DOG HOUSE. THE CANINE WORLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.

We’ve all heard of dog houses, but you’ve probably never heard the phrase "dog architecture." This divide is something that Imprint Venture Lab and Kenya Hara, art director at Muji, want to change with their latest project, the aptly named Architecture for Dogs.

In the hands of a Redditor or a snarky Tumblr blog, the new website, full of high-concept dog dwellings, could be easy fodder for a joke. But for Hara, who doesn’t even claim to be a dog lover himself, reconsidering architecture from a dog’s point of view is a very pure way to rediscover “what architecture really means.”

Projects on the site challenge traditional notions of scale, perspective, and function, ranging from a variegated rug of aluminum tubes--a dog cooler for those hot summer days--to a pair of ramps for short-legged dogs, which double as a shared recliner for human and dog alike.

Muji's Architecture for dogs includes Hiroshi Naito's piece for Spitz is a way to amplify the cold tile effect on a hot summer day.  The aluminum tubes can be filled with ice to create a conductive, cooling sensation (Click Image To Enlarge)

Muji's Architecture for Dogs includes this piece with ramps that lets dogs sit eye level with their owners, for more soul-stirring conversation (Click Image To Enlarge)

The projects are united with care. Each is crafted to a dog’s concerns. For instance, a hammock for Jack Russell Terriers isn’t just a hammock; it’s a hammock stretched from the owner’s clothing, meaning the dog can appreciate their smell while resting. A "mobile home" for Shibas looks like a stroller at first glance, then you realize its materials are meant to mimic the natural shade of a tree and the carriage has been designed to carry the dog as closely to the ground as possible, allowing its short legs to hop out at will.

Muji's Architecture for Dogs includes Torafu Architects’ Jack Russell hammock made from old clothing converted into a hammock. You can also substitute warmer clothing in the winter (Click Image To Enlarge)

Muji's Architectue for Dogs includes Toyo Ito's 'mobile home' or a 'doghouse for walks' for Shibas (Click Image To Enlarge)

Hara tells Co.Design.

“We chose dogs because it’s a universal topic. Wolves interacted with humans, and it changed the course of their history.  Dogs are man-made creatures forced to cohabitate with humans, so architecture for dogs is a reasonable inquiry.”

Muji's Architecture for Dogs includes Shigeru Ban’s structure for Papillons made from used plastic wrap tubes that can transform from a maze to a bed to even a chair or a table for yourself (Click Image To Enlarge)

Muji's Architecture for Dogs include this MVRDV rocker dog house. The rocker bottom allows has less friction with the ground, so it can be dragged by the attached rope (Click Image To Enlarge)

Each design is downloadable as a free blueprint, and next year, the collection will be available in flatpack kit form.

Where exactly the project is headed is still uncertain. Is Architecture for Dogs a purely academic endeavor? Are people meant to actually build these pieces? Is it more a beacon for the pet industry? Is it a beacon for the architecture industry? Could the site possibly serve all these roles? We can’t say, but the overarching lesson is notable:

Dogs are a species made for humans, forced to live in houses also made for humans. With Architecture for Dogs, Hara has assembled a team of elite designers to reconsider the dog’s experience in an otherwise human world. And reconsidering dog-level design, in turn, is a means to allow humans to be more mindful of their own environments.

Muji's Architecture for Dogs includes Kazuyo Sejima’s piece for the Bichon Frise. When they climb inside, the dog completes the structure’s shape (Click Image To Enlarge)

Muji's Architecture for Dogs includes a Aterier Bow-Wow created series of ramps for the Dachshund. It’s a means for the dog to gain elevation without straining its long body (Click Image To Enlarge)

COMMENTARY:   From the look of the smiles on these spoiled rotten pooches, I would say that Kenya Hara is on the right track with his Architecture for Dogs.  As a lover of dogs, I would certainly buy some of these doggie creations.   They are not only beautiful and functional, but could be considered doggie art pieces, that would embellish the home.  The dogs certainly appear to love them, so I strongly recommend he begin building those kits.  I have a feeling Kenya and the designers will do quite well.  The worldwide pet market did over $60 billion in sales in 2011 alone. We're not just talking dog food, collars and leaches, either.  Pet owners spend hundreds, and sometimes even thousands of dollars on merchandise for their dogs (and cats, too).   Architecture for Dogs shows what can be done to spoil pooches even more.  

Courtesy of an article dated November 15, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design

FRENCH DESIGNER GUILLAUME BOUVET INVENTS THE 'AZ DESK', A DESK THAT YOUR KIDS NEVER OUTGROW

Kids grow. Their belongings do not. Enter the AZ desk.

Kids grow. Their belongings do not. Which sucks for parents who could be spending dough on a hot new car college fund but instead have to buy new shoes, bedroom furniture, and the like every time their offspring sprouts a few inches.

AZ desk concept from guillaume bouvet on Vimeo.

Enter the AZ desk. Designed by Lyon-based Guillaume Bouvet, it includes a chair and writing surface that get taller as your child morphs from a shrimpy toddler to a full-blown adult. Even the writing surface “grows up,” converting from a kiddie-friendly chalkboard into an ergonomic table that could pass for something at mom or dad’s office.

Clever, right? Parents only need to buy one desk in 18 years, which means more money for, uh... college! Unfortunately, AZ is just a prototype. But Bouvet tells Co.Design that he plans to put the desk into production next year. We'll keep you updated.

Attracted to work with his own hands and with curiosity to discover the world, Guillaume Bouvet embarks on the ‘Tour de France’ of the Compagnons du Devoir at the age of 17. To become a craftsman, a cabinet maker.

Drawing his inspirations from travelling, from Scandinavian design culture and the incontrovertible book of Raymond Loewy « la laideur se vend mal », Guillaume Bouvet makes his first exploits as product designer at the side of Gilles Damon from Damon Design.

In close contact with the professionals who he discovers in books and visits in their workshops he confirms his desire for the conception of wooden furniture, ergonomic and adjustable. His special interest lays with flexible furniture for the young. From these encounters, his new ideas and building on his solid ‘savoir-faire’ develops “AZ Desk”, un new desk for kids growing up. It is going to be presented at the Exposition Internationale de Design, the DMY-Berlin in June 2011.

COMMENTARY:   The beauty of the AZ desk is its simplicity, transformability and functionality. Less is more.  Solves the problem of kids outgrowing their desks.

Courtesy of an article dated July 22, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design

 

 

TEMPUR-PEDIC FALLS VICTIM TO INTENSE COMPETITION, SHARES NOSEDIVE, 8 THINGS IT CAN DO TO LEAPFROG THE COMPETITION

Shareholders in bedding companies are shell-shocked from the mattress wars this morning as Tempur-Pedic, citing increased competition, “aggressive” marketing campaigns and price-slashing, yesterday revised its outlook downward for the year while also projecting a falloff in same-quarter profits, which will be announced June 30. The company’s stock price plunged 49%, dragging down competitors such as Select Comfort (down 21%) and Sealy (5%) in the process.  

That, despite the fact that “the overall financial picture for Select Comfort appears different from that of Tempur-Pedic's,” blogged the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Janet Moore as she observed the plunges mid-morning yesterday. Select Comfort, which is based in nearby Plymouth, Minn., posted its 13th consecutive quarterly profit in April and last month, COO Shelly Ibach, who has heavy experience in retailing, took over as CEO, Moore points out. But Tempur-Pedic had been on a roll, too.

Reuters’ Mihir Dalal and Juhi Arora writes. 

“The company's sales had grown over 27% over the past two years, primarily due to demand from aging Baby Boomers, who have been sold on the health benefits of Tempur-Pedic's high-priced foam-based and other specialty mattresses.  But Wednesday's forecast indicated that rivals have finally learned to compete in a market that the company had practically created and owned for most of the past two decades.”

You may remember Tempur-Pedic’s lavish and successful print and television direct marketing campaigns from the past but the battle of the foam mattresses is fully engaged on the retail floor nowadays.

Mia Lamar in the Wall Street Journal points out. 

“Major manufacturers like Sealy and privately-held Serta Inc. have all rolled out non-spring offerings over the past couple years.”  

Serta's iComfort memory-foam mattresses, launched last year, have been a particular success in part because of their cheaper price, analysts say.

S&P Capital IQ analyst Jim Yin wrote in a note yesterday that’s cited by Barron’s Theresa Revis.

"It appears that competition caught up to Tempur-Pedic much faster than we expected in the specialty bedding segment, which calls into question the company's brand."  

In  downgrading the stock from Buy to Hold, Yin said,

"We expect Tempur-Pedic to lose market share in the specialty segment." 

Indeed, Tempur-Pedic CEO Mark Sarvary told analysts in a conference call after citing in a press release.

"We did not expect the competitive environment to change this fast due to an unprecedented number of new competitive product introductions.”  

But, Savary said,

“We remain very confident in our … growth potential and our strong brand, and as a result remain committed to our long-term strategic plan."

Yin writes that a recent downgrading of the stock by Stephens analyst Eric Hollowaty looks “prescient” based, as it was, not only on what he thought were overly aggressive earnings estimates by other analysts but also a

“promotional pricing atmosphere that could potentially spark a ‘race to the bottom’ among memory foam mattress makers."

Hollowaty asked.

"What price will Tempur-Pedic have to pay to be the last company standing?” 

Last month, Tempur-Pedic said it that it would discount up to 17% off the suggested retail price of its popular Cloud Supreme mattress set during a sale set to run from May 16 to July 8. Citing the “unusual” nature of the promotion, Raymond James' analyst Budd Bugatch said at the time that,  

“It could lend weight to critics who say that competition in the mattress business has gotten tougher while raising questions about demand for Tempur-Pedic's pricier products.” 

According to an Associated Press story running in Bloomberg Businessweek.  In the past, Tempur-Pedic has been more likely to give away pillows or foundations rather than cut the price on the mattress itself.

While we’re on the subject of discounting, if you grew up in the New York metropolitan area from the Fifties through the Seventies, you probably have a memory or two of E.J. Korvette, which sort of was Walmart before Walmart was Walmart. It even had groceries in some of the larger stores, Wikipedia informs us, (but not at the former Saks it occupied on 34th Street). The founder of the chain, Eugene Ferkauf, died Tuesday in Manhattan at 91.

Douglas Martin’s well-crafted obit in the New York Times this morning reads.

"Ferkauf was one of the first businessmen to grasp the emergence of a new breed of postwar consumer.  Seeing a population of Americans financially better off, impatient to get on with their lives after World War II and susceptible to the advertising shown on the latest new thing, their television sets, he concluded that victory belonged to the very bold." 

At its peak, there were 58 Korvette stores nationally, according to Wikipedia. Martin says. 

“Prices at the nominally membership-only stores were 10 to 40% below more conventional competitors.”

Ferkauf sold his share in the company in 1966 for more than $20 million with much of his fortune later donated to charities. The chain, mismanaged in the face of competition, went out of business in the early 1980s.

Martin also explodes a popular urban –- “or perhaps suburban” –- myth of where the name “E. J. Korvette” came from. It did not stand for “eight Jewish Korean War veterans,” after all.

Martin writes.

“The ‘E’ comes from the first letter of his first name, the ‘J’ from that of Joe Swillenberg, an old Tilden [High School] friend who became a top company executive.  Korvette is a deliberate misspelling of corvette, a reference to a class of naval ship, not the car.”

COMMENTARY:    This is a great example of what happens when a company underestimates its competition or fails to continue to innovate to improve existing products or design new products in order to maintain its competitive edge.  Tempur-Pedic  appears to have failed on both counts. Tempur-Pedic has dominated the memory foam mattress segment for nearly two decades, but it now appears that this incredible run is about to end.  

On Wednesday, June 6, 2012, shares of Tempur-Pedic International Inc (NYSE:TPX) plunged 47% after management slashed the company’s full-year sales and earnings guidance.   Due to increasing competitive pressures in the specialty mattress market, the company expects sales to be flat in 2012, coming in at around $1.43 billion versus the company’s prior forecast of $1.6 billion to $1.65 billion. This compares with analyst estimates of $1.64 billion in sales.

Additionally, the company now expects earnings of just $2.70 per share, which falls far below the Street view of $3.93 per share. Since the company’s devastating report, shares of TPX have continued to flounder; it appears that this stock will be treading water for some time while the company rethinks its growth strategy.

Click Image To Enlarge

The above announcement by Tempur Pedic management that it expected "sales to be flat in 2012" and that sales for the year 2012 are expected to be "coming in at around $1.43 billion instead of the $1.6 billion to $1.65 they forecasted," have severely impacted the price of Tempur Pedic's stock (see above graph).  

According to to an article dated June 11, 2012 by Louis Navellier, Editor, Blue Chip Growth appearing in Investor Place, Mr. Navellier blames Tempur Pedic's misfortunes on poor fundamentals.  He says.

"On the fundamentals side, Tempur-Pedic does well in terms of cash flow and return on equity, and does decently in terms of sales growth, operating growth and earnings growth."

"However, there is plenty of room for improvement in terms of earnings momentum, earnings surprises as well as analyst earnings revisions. TPX receives a B for its Fundamental Grade and a D for its Quantitative Grade (which indicates the current level of buying pressure for the stock)."

Mr. Navellier did not specifically address the root causes of Tempur Pedic's poor fundamentals, which is finance geek speak for "failure to execute," "poor management decision-making," "not controlling expenses," "not innovating to keep ahead of the competition," and so forth.   However, here's my take on what I think is really going on.

1. Failure To Innovate -  Tempur Pedic has failed to innovate in order to keep ahead of the competition by introducing greatly improved or technologically advanced products. Tempur Pedics' innovations have been primarily incremental like the launch of the TEMPUR-Cloud and TEMPUR-Simplicity collections.  These innovations are mostly defensive, because competitors are able to match them in very short order. Tempur Pedic needs a breakthrough innovations that create true value for customers and stakeholders alike.
2. Management Blindsided - Tempur Pedic's CEO appears to have been completely caught off-guard when he said,  "We did not expect the competitive environment to change this fast due to an unprecedented number of new competitive product introductions.”   FACT: There are now over 80 companies offering memory foam mattresses.  Did Salvary honestly believe that the onslaught of that many competitors would not eventually peck away at its market share?  It just makes one feel like Salvary is a ships captain who fell asleep on the bridge and Tempur Pedic is now sailing without any real direction or final destination. 
3. Mature Industry - The memory foam mattress segment has reached maturity, is highly fragmented, with too many competitors offering similar mattress choices that are almost indistinguishable from those offered by Tempur Pedic.   
4. Industry Commodization - The memory foam mattress segment is showing signs of industry commoditization with competitors offering similar products and competing almost entirely on the basis of price.  Price discounting has become standard practice in this segment.  Discounting maybe necessary as a defensive strategy in the short-term, but if Tempur Pedic continues to resort to regular discounting, customers will expect deals, and this will destroy the company's reputation as a supplier of premium quality mattresses and hurt the company's revenues and earnings in the long-term.  This is not a win-win for anybody, and Tempur Pedic, being the market leader in the memory foam segment has the most to lose in this type of competitive environment.           
5. Outsourcing To China - Tempur Pedic produces all of its mattresses in its plants located in the U.S. and Europe to meet the needs of its customers in North America and Europe. Sales to China were about $5 million or less than 1% of total sales, but the company believes it can increase this to $50 million in 2012.  This could be a good time for Tempur Pedic to consider oursourcing production to meet the needs of the huge Chinese market.  This would make it less susceptible to foreign currency fluctuations especially in the Eurozone, lower its manufacturing costs, and allow it to distribute its products to the huge local Chinese market. 
6. Blue Ocean Strategy Needed - The rules of the game that competitors play by in the memory foam mattress market segment have changed since Tempur Pedic pioneered memory foam mattresses due to intense competition, discounting, a lack of product differentiation, and evidence of industry commoditization.  Tempur Pedic needs to stop playing by the old rules, and start setting the rules of competition.  It needs to lead instead follow the pack.   In short, Tempur Pedic needs a Blue Ocean Strategy that ends the practice of trying to beat the competition, but focuses instead on making the competition irrelevant by creating a leap in value for buyers and the company, thereby opening up new and uncontested market space and making the competition irrelevant.  In a Blue Ocean Strategy scenario, value innovation is based on the view that market boundaries and industry structure are not 'given' and can be reconstructed by the actions and beliefs of industry players.  Tempur Pedic has certain advantages over the vast majority of its competitors: extensive knowledge of memory foam technology, patents, a well known brand name, economies of scale, vast distribution value chain, broad range of product offerings and access to international markets.  However, instead of confining itself solely to the bed mattress market, it should expand the market for memory foam products into untapped markets where high quality, comfort, and ergonomics are important to the customers and they are willing to pay premium prices.  Potential new markets include: 
   1. Office furniture (ergonomic office chairs). 
   2. Home furnishings (ergonomic chairs and sofas). 
   3. Passenger airlines (ergonomic passenger seats). 
   4. Infant transportation (baby carriers and automobile toddler seats).    
7. No Bold or Decisive Strategic Moves - The inability of management to pivot or make bold and decisive strategic moves to fend off competition.   Tempur Pedic went public in 2003, but it wasn't until 2007 that it made an acquisition (Canadian distributor).  Tempur Pedic has made no major leaps in memory foam mattress technology.  Most of its moves have been defensive and incremental.  It is best known for buying back its own shares in order to propup its stock price.  If this is the best that Tempur Pedic can do, it's a pathetic effort.
8. Increase Research & Development - Tempur Pedic spent about $10 million or less than 1% of sales on research and development.  The company must increase its R&D to at least 5% of sales in order to innovate, execute its Blue Ocean Strategy, leapfrog the competition and create the products of the future.  I would rather see it spend capital on R&D where it can contribute to value innovation than buying back its shares.    

Tempur-Pedic Company Overview

Tempur-Pedic competes on the basis of technological innovation, high-quality mattresses, premium prices and offering a sleeping experience that is out of this world.   Its visco-elastic foam technology was developed by NASA during the 1970s to help cushion astronauts during liftoff.  The foam is used to manufacture premium mattresses, pillows, and related products that sell in some 80 countries. The company's TEMPUR and Tempur-Pedic brand names are featured by retailers (furniture, department, specialty stores), direct-response efforts and the Internet, health care channels (chiropractors, medical retailers, hospitals), and third-party distributors. 

• Market Positioning - Tempur-Pedic has positioned itself as a world leader in specialty sleep.  Focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing advanced sleep surfaces that help improve the quality of life for people around the world.  
• Key Business Drivers - Demand for the company's products is driven by significant growth in its core market of Baby Boomers, increased awareness of the health benefits of a superior quality mattress and the broadening appeal of its new products.
• Key Market Differentiators - TEMPUR® material distinguishes the company's products from those of its competitors.   Viscoelastic pressure-relieving material was originally developed by NASA in 1971 in an effort to relieve astronauts of the G–force experienced during lift-off and NASA subsequently made this formula publicly available. The key feature of the company's pressure-relieving TEMPUR® material is its high-quality, high-density, temperature sensitivity. It conforms to the body, becoming softer in warmer areas where the body is making the most contact with the pressure-relieving TEMPUR® material and remaining firmer in cooler areas where less body contact is being made. As the material molds to the body’s shape, the body is supported in the correct anatomical position with the neck and spine in complete therapeutic alignment.
• Recognized Global Brand - The company sells its products in approximately 80 countries primarily under the TEMPUR® and Tempur-Pedic® brands.   The TEMPUR® brand has been in existence since 1991 and its global awareness is reinforced by its high level of customer satisfaction, as demonstrated by the recognition received by Consumer Reports, the Arthritis Foundation, the NASA Space Foundation, Good Housekeeping and Consumers Digest.
• Vertically Integrated Manufacturing and Supply Chain - The company produces all of its proprietary TEMPUR® material in its own manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Europe in order to maintain precise product specifications and ensuring a high level of quality and performance that is unmatched by its competition.
• Products
  • TEMPUR® Mattresses - The company's mattresses are composed of proprietary multi-layer, temperature sensitive, pressure-relieving TEMPUR® material. TEMPUR® mattresses come in four collections:
    • TEMPUR-Cloud Collection - Comes in three models (TEMPUR-Cloud Luxe, TEMPUR-Cloud Supreme and TEMPUR-Cloud).
    • TEMPUR-HD Collection - Comes in three models (GrandBed, AlluraBed and RhapsodyBed).
    • TEMPUR-Contour Collection - Comes in three models (TEMPUR-Contour Signature, TEMPUR-Contour Select and TEMPUR-Contour).
    • TEMPUR-Simplicity - Comes in one model currently (TEMPUR-Simplicity) providing affordability. Comes in soft, medium and firm feel.
  • Pillows -  The company's pillows provide plush and pressure-relieving comfort as the temperature sensitive material molds to the body.
  • Other Products - This category includes foundations used to support our mattress products, adjustable beds and many other types of offerings including a variety of cushions and other comfort products.
• Distribution Channels - The company primarily sells at wholesale through three distinct channels:  Retail, Healthcare and Third party.  The company also sells at retail direct-to-consumers.
  • Retail -  Includes furniture and bedding retailers, specialty stores and department stores, among others. 
  • Healthcare - Includes medical supply, furniture and equipment retailers serving patients requiring special sleep support due to spinal injuries or chronic ailments.
  • Third Party - Includes third party distributors that can serve markets that are currently outside the range of its wholly-owned subsidiaries or distribution channels. 
  • Direct-To-Consumer - The company sells its mattresses and other products direct-to-consumer utilizing TV infomercials with an toll-free 800 number and inbound call centers to take orders.
• Operating Reporting Segments - The company reports operating results based on two segments: North America and International. These reportable segments are strategic business units that are managed separately based on the fundamental differences in their geographies. 
  • North American - This segment consists of two U.S. manufacturing facilities and our North American distribution subsidiaries.  The North America segment generated 71% of gross revenues at the end of 2011. 
  • International - This segment consists of our manufacturing facility in Denmark, whose customers include all of our distribution subsidiaries and third party distributors outside the North American operating segment.  The International segment generated 29% of gross revenues at the end of 2011.
• Sales by Distribution Channel - The company sells the vast majority of its products through retailers.  For the years ending December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, sales through retailers were 87.8% and 86.2% respectively. The company's sales by distribution channels  for the years ending December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010 were as as follows:   
• Sales by Product - Two-thirds of the company's sales are mattresses.  For the years ending December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, mattress sales were 66.5% and 66.5% respectively.  The company's sales by product for the years ending December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010 were as follows:
• Financial Performance -  The company's Statement of Income for the year ending December 31, 2011 and prior two years and financial highlights are listed below:
  
  • Net Sales - Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased to $1.4 billion from $1.1 billion, an increase of $312.5 million, or 28.3%.  
  • Gross Profit - Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased to $743.1 million from $555.4 million for the same period in 2010, an increase of $187.7 million, or 33.8%.  Gross profit margin for the year ended December 31, 2011 was 52.4%, as compared to 50.2% in the same period of 2010. 
  • Selling and Marketing Expenses - Sales and marketing expenses increased to $276.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 as compared to $199.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $77.1 million, or 38.6%.  Selling and marketing expenses as a percentage of Net sales increased to 19.5% in 2011, compared to 18.1% for 2010.  Our advertising expense for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $148.8 million, or 10.5% of Net sales, compared to $96.6 million, or 8.7%, for the same period in 2010, an increase of $52.2 million, or 54.0%. 
  • General Administrative and Other Expenses - G&A and and other expenses as a percentage of Net sales was 8.9% for the year ended December 31, 2011 as compared to 9.9% for the same period in 2010. G&A and other expenses increased to $125.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 as compared to $109.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $15.9 million, or 14.5%. The increase in G&A and and other expenses are primarily a result of increased salaries and associated expenses of $11.1 million and fees associated with financing programs in our Direct sales channel of $2.3 million, both of which were driven by our strong operating performance. 
  • Income Befor Income Taxes - Income before income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased to $328.4 million from $230.9 million for the same period in 2010, an increase of $97.5 million, or 42.2%. North America Income before income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased to $224.6 million from $137.7 million for the same period in 2010, an increase of $86.9 million, or 63.1%. International Income before income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased to $103.8 million from $93.2 million for the same period in 2010, an increase of $10.6 million, or 11.4%. 
  • Net Income - Net income for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased to $219.6 million from $157.1 million for the same period in 2010, an increase of $62.5 million, or 39.8%.  Net income for the year ended December 31, 2011 was 15.5%, as compared to 14.2% in the same period of 2010. 

State of the Bed Mattress Industry

According to industry research firm IBISWorld, the adjustable bed and mattress manufacturing industry was surprisingly stiff during the five years through the end of 2012.   According to the ISPA there are now over 400 bed mattress manufacturers.  The threat of substitutes is very high and competition is intense.  Manufacturers faced difficult challenges, especially from shifts in residential investment and falling disposable income.  New product innovations and increased efficiency slightly sustained revenue during this volatile period.   Nevertheless, in the five years up to 2012, IBISWorld estimates that revenue will decline at an average annual rate of 3.0% to $1.6 billion. However, this decline has not been gradual or steady.  Like most producers of household goods, adjustable bed and mattress manufacturers experienced revenue growth during the real estate boom, followed by a decline when the housing market collapsed. 

Lower income levels hampered demand during the past five years, as consumers were less likely to invest in more-expensive adjustable beds and mattresses. Nevertheless, the improved housing market, higher incomes and new technologies in industry products will support growth over the next five years. In particular, the aging population will aid demand, as these consumers typically demand adjustable beds and mattresses more than the younger demographic 

The U.S. bedding industry recorded just a 0.2% unit sales gain last year but saw a 7.7% jump in the value of wholesale bedding shipments, the International Sleep Products Assn. reported.

The highlights and lowlights of ISPA's final report for 2011 were as follows:

• Specialty sleep segment significantly outperformed the innerspring segment.
• Specialty sleep mattress units soared 24.3% in 2011. 
• Specialty sleep mattress unit sales market share rose to 13.8% in 2011 from 11.2% in 2010.
• Specialty sleep mattress sales dollars market share rose to 29.4% in 2011 from 25.2% in 2010.
• Innerspring mattress units recorded a 1.9% decline in 2011. 
• Specialty mattresses sales jumped 29.5% in 2011. 
• Innerspring mattress sales gained only 2.6% in 2011.

The strong growth of the specialty sleep mattress segment was the second year of market share gains.             

The ISPA  noted that the overall growth last year was not enough to restore all of the ground lost during the bedding recession.

The ISPA said. 

"In 2011, the mattress industry continued the upward trend started in 2010, and posted increases in both unit shipments and wholesale dollar value.  U.S. mattress producers shipped 34.9 million units in 2011, an increase of just 0.2% over 2010, and the second yearly unit increase since 2005. Remarkably, the value of mattress shipments showed a 7.7% increase in 2011, the second yearly increase in dollar value since 2007."

"Even with the healthy increase in dollar value registered in 2011, this figure was slightly above the 2008 total sales value, and below (7.6%) 2007 sales, which to date is the industry's highest sales year. Unit shipments in 2011 were slightly below the 2008 total shipments, and well below (20.2%) the 2005 figure, which to date is the industry's highest unit shipments year." 

Average unit prices for all mattresses and foundations increased  by 7.5% from 2010 to 2011. The average unit price for specialty mattresses increased last year by 4.2%, to $559.23, and for innerspring mattresses by 4.7%, to $210.47, ISPA said.

ISPA's final report on 2011 performance is based on the reports of the 18 companies participating in ISPA's monthly Bedding Barometer reports, and a mail and phone survey of other U.S. bedding producers.

The report reveals that the companies participating in the Bedding Barometer surveys had a 10% dollar gain last year and a 2.1% unit gain. Those companies accounted for about 76% of the industry's dollar total and about 66% of the unit total.

In contrast, the other bedding producers, a group generally consisting of smaller bedding makers, posted a dollar gain of just 1.3% last year and saw their units decline by 3.1%, the ISPA report said.

Memory Foam Mattress Market

Memory-foam mattresses are far and away the fastest-growing segment of the $4.6 billion wholesale market for U.S. mattresses. Memory foam's market share has shot up from 14% to nearly 20% in just the past eight years.  Mattress shoppers are weighing the risk -- bad sex -- against the promise -- good sleep -- and are voting with their eyelids:  They choose to snooze.

Courtesy of an article dated June 7, 2012 appearing in MediaPost Publications Marketing Daily Blog, an article dated May 15, 2012 appearing in Furniture Today, an article dated May 14, 2012 appearing in Barron's, and Tempur-Pedic International Inc's Annual Report 10K

IKEA'S CHIC NEW PS COLLECTION CALLS BACK TO THE COMPANY'S RICH 60-YEAR DESIGN HISTORY

IKEA PS Collection for 2012 - Pictures of working people by Anna Efverlund - $39-$99 (Click Image To Enlarge)

IKEA TO ITS DESIGNERS: MAKE OUR OLD STUFF BETTER.

Furniture designers don’t often get the chance to correct their mistakes: Their products are on the market for a couple of years and, with few awesomely popular exceptions, eventually get dropped from their manufacturers’ catalogs to make room for new stock. But Ikea, the go-to big box for affordable Scandinavian design, has given its designers the opportunity to revise their work (as well as that of their predecessors), adding increased functionality and sustainability.   Janice Simonsen, Ikea’s design spokesperson, says.

“[We] challenged our designers to bring their designs forward with innovative products that belong in the future.” 

IKEA PS Collection for 2012 - Bamboo dining table by Jon Karlsson - $179 (Click Image To Enlarge)

IKEA PS Collection for 2012 - Bamboo frame side talbes by Henrik Preutz - $29-$49 (Click Image To Enlarge)

IKEA PS Collection for 2012 - Chest of pine wood drawers by Ehlen Johansson - $399 (Click Image To Enlarge)

The results make their debut at the Milan Furniture Fair as part of the company’s PS collection, a curated series released every three years. This time around, the 60-year-old company decided to revisit its past as a way of creating pieces that address today’s needs for more flexible solutions to small spaces: chairs stack, furniture can transition from indoors to outdoors, a children’s table contains built-in storage, and various products have been upgraded using green materials such as bamboo.

IKEA PS Collection for 2012 - High-back armchair by Ebba Strandmark - $89 (Click Image To Enlarge)

IKEA PS Collection for 2012 - Pendant lamp with LED light diodes by Henrik Preutz - $99.99 (Click Image To Enlarge)

IKEA PS Collection for 2012 - Sofa by Nike Karlsson - $899 (Click Image To Enlarge)

Whereas the brother-and-sister design team Knut and Marianne Hagberg reimagined one of their own designs from the ‘80s, turning a children’s foam indoor chair into a plastic, stackable armchair that can also be used outdoors, Nike Karlsson updated a ’70s metal tube sofa with pocket springs, which not only add comfort but are easy to recycle.

IKEA PS Collection for 2012 - Three pot vertical plant stand by Nicolas Cortolezzis - $39.99 (Click Image To Enlarge)

IKEA PS Collection for 2012 - TV bench by Lisa Widen and Anna Wallin Irnarchos - $179 (Click Image To Enlarge)

IKEA PS Collection for 2012 - Armchair made from wood plastic composite - $59.99 (Click Image To Enlarge)

And while the inspiration for these and the rest of the 46-pieces are from the past, they should not be mistaken as being from another era. Peter Klinkert, Ikea’s PS project leader, says in the press announcement. 

“In the design world, it’s sometimes fashionable to talk about vintage and release new products in old styles.  We always said that we don’t want to relaunch old things. It’s not IKEA PS. It’s not new and developing IKEA onward.”

The PS Collection will roll into stores in August.

COMMENTARY:   Ikea's PS Collection is stylish and chick and priced just right for today's contemporary consumers.  I love the sofa an TV stand the most.  If you have a small space, and don't have a lot of money, IKEA is the way to go.

Courtesy of an article dated April 18, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design

HOW HERMAN MILLER'S KAIZEN MANUFACTURING PROCESS ADAPTED FROM TOYOTA CAN FINISH A NEW AERON CHAIR IN 340 SECONDS

Completed Aeron Chair (Click Image To Enlarge)

USING TECHNIQUES IMPORTED FROM TOYOTA, HERMAN MILLER HAS ACHIEVED STUNNING EFFICIENCY WHILE EMPOWERING ITS WORKERS.

Amidst all the doom-and-gloom about the death of American manufacturing, the one, simple fact that’s usually forgotten is that we’re still the world’s No. 1 manufacturer. No joke, and not a typo: We produce one fifth of the world’s total manufacturing output.

Herman Miller factory worker assembles Aeron chair (Click Image To Enlarge)

Herman Miller puts all Aeron chairs through stringent quality control tests to insure quality and reliability (Click Image To Enlarge)

Herman Miller puts all Aeron chairs through stringent quality control tests.  Here test chairs backs are pulled by cables numerous times to insure quality and reliability (Click Image To Enlarge)

The difference between how Americans once made stuff and how that stuff is made today is that manufacturing in the U.S. has reached a stunning level of efficiency that can be hard to really comprehend. Unless, of course, you visit a factory like the one that makes Herman Miller’s Aeron chair. We recently did, and saw a process which has yielded a 500% increase in productivity and a 1,000% increase in quality since 1998.  Those numbers sound made up, but bear with me for a second, and I’ll explain.

 

The Kaizen ("continual improvement") process that yielded all those results was imported directly from Toyota, in the 1990s. At the time, Herman Miller was hoping to bring down costs in order to stay competitive across the world. And Toyota was hoping to build better relationships in the U.S., as part of its effort to build more cars in America. Herman Miller’s present EVP of operations, Ken Goodson, eventually cajoled Toyota into making Herman Miller one of the first companies in a pilot program to teach American companies Japanese manufacturing techniques. Toyota eventually sent Hajime Oba, a legendary manufacturing genius, to lead the lessons. (Oba himself, humble to the end, prefers that he be called sensei or coach.)

The sloped feeder that delivers chair bases to the worker use gravity rather than machinery to do the job--thus decreasing the breakdowns. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Herman Miller assembly worker places paper wrapping on completed Aeron chair for packing (Click Image To Enlarge)

Herman Miller assembly worker takes notes on production performance to insure everything is going according to plan (Click Image To Enlarge)

Kaizen, as many people will tell you, isn’t about grand ideas or huge structural changes. Rather, it’s about tiny improvements that accrue over time. So for Herman Miller, these involve adjustments as minute as the placement of a bin of washers so someone has to reach over 6 inches less, or the height of an assembly line, so people don’t waste a fraction of a second bending over.

The process is as important as the results: It’s the individual employees on the line that are suggesting these improvements. At Herman Miller, they average 1,200 "plan-do-check acts"--that is, little proposed changes to the assembly process--ever year. Eric VanDam, Herman Miller's director of operations in seating says.  

"The biggest thing is to empower people to change the work in ways that matter to them." 

All of these tiny improvements, in the course of 13 years, have meant that a new Aeron chair, which used to come off the line every 82 seconds, is now boxed and finished every 17 seconds. A decade ago, an Aeron took more than 600 seconds in total to build. Today, it’s about 340. Meanwhile, safety metrics have improved by a factor of 6. Quality metrics have improved by a factor of 10. A single Aeron takes one fifth of the labor to make that it once did. The actual factory itself is 10 times smaller.

Today, Herman Miller is doing far more with the same labor force that was once producing a sum total of five different office chairs. Today, they produce 17, using roughly the same number of people. And all the while, lead times have shrunk from two months to as little as 10 days.

You might think that all this means that Herman Miller should be running into a practical limit in how efficient they can be. But they’re still getting improvements of a quarter to a half of a second at a time, month by month. They’re on track this year to beat all their records--again.

COMMENTARY:      I wish I could put together a new office chair in 340 seconds.  If you have ever had to put together an office chair, or even a wodden desk, it can be a very time-consuming and frustrating experience, even with a set of written instructions to work from.   SmartFurniture, Herman Miller's San Francisco distributor, makes it look easy in this video.

 

I do love Herman Miller office furniture, especially those ergonomic and comfortable Aeron chairs. I view them as a form of art, not just office furniture.  Plus, they are 100% made in the U.S.A.  They are a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for.  Herman Miller products are sold only through authorized office furniture distributors.    

The basic price for the Aeron chair is $629.00, and can be customized with lumbar support adjustment, leather arm rests, fully-adjustable arm support and other goodies.  It costs $50.00 extra to buy one fully-assembled.   Beware of cheap foreign imitators.  There are several of them out there, but they are just not the same thing. 

Courtesy of an article dated March 28, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design 

THE iPAD CHAIR & iPAD iCON BED EXTEND THE DIGITAL LIFESTYLE INTO HOME FURNITURE DESIGNED JUST FOR THE iPAD

For those of you looking for a more “comfortable” experience with your iPad, you might be interested in the iPad and iPad bed. That’s right, you can now buy The iPad Chair and The iCon iPad Bed. This is furniture designed specifically with you – and your iPad – in mind.

The iPad Chair is a cool looking theater style chair that will cost you only $2495.

The iPad Chair (Click Image To Enlarge)

The iPad iCon Bed is highly futuristic looking bed that comes with charging iPad charging ports built right into the head board. The iPad iCon Bed will set you back a cool $20k (yes… $20,000). But hey, it’s worth it for you and your iPad to “recharge” in style!

iPad iCon Bed (Click Image To Enlarge)

The iPad Chair is manufactured by Elite Home Theater Seating, and the CEO says that,

“We wanted to enhance the iPad experience by increasing the comfort level of the user.  Our testing indicates this increases the level of interaction and escapism with the device.”

The iCon iPad Bed is brought to you by Hollandia International and mattress brand Therapedic. Here’s what they had to say about their bed designed for the iPad: 

“The iCon Bed’s upholstered headboard is in a class of its own with its sleek, modern look, along with four fully enclosed speakers, 250 watt amplifier and docking stations for two iPads built into the furniture. It is available in more than 200 fashionable colors and fabrics to complement any bedroom decor.”

So what are your thoughts about this furniture designed specifically for the iPad?

COMMENTARY:   Love that all-leather iPad Chair.  I could blog all day in that chair and take some nice naps.  

In a blog post dated August 31, 2011, I introduced you to Steve Job's Digital Hub Strategy, in which Steve spoke of an emerging Digital Lifestyle driven by the explosive growth in mobile digital devices such as portable music players, digital cameras, videocams, PDA's and DVD video players.  Steve said that the MacIntosh would become the digital hub for digital lifestyle.  

Steve's incredible vision and innovative genius was looking well into the future when mobile digital devices would be as common as cell phones.  Well, it looks like Steve was right, and the digital lifestyle has expanded not only to digital mobile devices, but accessories and now pieces of furniture that have been adapted for this new digital lifestyle.  The iPad Chair and iCon Bed take the digital lifestyle to the next level--the use of mobile digital devices in the home, with functional furniture designed specifically for those devices.  

Courtesy of an article dated August 10, 2010 appearing in Social Media & SEO

 

HOW DESIGNER IDEO REVAMPED SEALY'S POSTUREPEDIC MATTRESS, AND DIFFERENTIATED IT SO IT TRULY STANDOUT

The new Sealy Posturepedic mattress differentiates itself from other mattresses with a thicker profile.  (Click Image To Enlarge)

IN REVAMPING THE OUTDATED SEALY BRAND, IDEO WONDERED, HOW DO CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT THEY'RE BUYING THE MOST SUPPORTIVE MATTRESS ON THE MARKET UNLESS THEY CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE DIFFERENCE?

If you’ve ever walked into a mattress showrom, you know that the only way to buy a mattress is to lie down on it. For the most part, they all look the same--like flattened marshmallows. That’s also a challenge for the salesperson. How do you convince a customer to pay more for a mattress when there aren’t outward physical differences? That was one of the challenges Ideo addressed while rebranding Sealy’s Posturepedic line, which now conveys its core message--that its mattresses are good for your back--with features that both consumers and retailers can see from the outside.

Click Image To Enlarge

After Ideo’s successful refresh of Sealy’s Stearns and Foster, the company decided to try to do the same with its faltering Posturepedic collection.  Michael Hendrix, an associate partner at Ideo's Boston office says.  

“Like a lot of solid, long-term brands, they eventually lost their drawing power.  With Posturepedic, it was pretty innovative when it came out in the 1950s, and like a lot of brands at the time, they were using health-care professionals to endorse the products.”

Today, most consumers don’t buy beds on the advice of orthopedic surgeons. Although some may have the misfortune of visiting an orthopedic surgeon, many consult an entire ecosystem of experts--from chiropractors and acupuncturists to personal trainers--to strengthen their entire bodies and ensure spinal alignment. So Ideo took a different tack: bolstering Posturepedic’s claim to the most supportive mattresses on the market by adding more support where people need it most, at their hips.  Hendrix says.  

“We said, ‘Let’s do two things: Let’s put more supportive foam in that area, and let’s do a tighter quilt pattern in that area.  You get a better sensation of support there, along with the functional benefit. You see the performance benefits from the structure.”

The new Sealy Posturepedic mattress has a wraparound handle for easy lifting, and a rubber surface on the bottom to grip the sheets to prevent "sheet creep" (Click Image To Enlarge)

The improved performance can also be seen in extra features like a wraparound handle for easy lifting, even from the corners, and a rubber surface on the bottom of the top mattress to grip sheets and keep them from creeping up over your feet. To further differentiate Posturepedic from the sea of mattresses in Sleepy’s, Ideo used color, a light blue for the foundation and white for the top comfort layer. Hendrix says. 

“If you look at the classic Eames lounge and ottoman, you’ve got the walnut shell with another interior.  It’s the same contrast--there’s that strong support on the outside and there’s comfort on the inside.”

The colors were chosen to appeal for their familiarity to a mainstream audience: The light blue was inspired by the classic light-blue men’s shirt, and white was chosen to evoke fluffy, fresh clouds.

In the end, a lot of the design work came down to figuring out ways to make the benefits visible to the consumer.  Hendrix says.  

“A mattress is kind of ironic: It’s a black box, even though it’s more like a marshmallow.  The key is to bring features into a bed that a customer can see to understand the value.”

COMMENTARY:    Makes you wonder if Sealy's competitors will try to copy the new Sealy Posturepedic thicker mattress and quilting pattern with a knockoff of their own.   I think Ideo's new Sealy Posturepedic mattress design is not earth shaking or disruptive enough.  I would've preferred to see a mattress that allows you to adjust the softness and firmness of the mattress to meet your specific comfort requirements, and added a vibrating feature for those days when you need a nice back massage.  

Courtesy of an article dated January 13, 2o12 appearing in Fast Company

DANISH DESIGNERS ROSAN BOSCH AND RUNE FJORD DESIGN A FANTASY PLAYROOM OFFICE FOR LEGO PMD THAT IS FUN LIKE THEIR LEGO TOYS

The aggressive playfulness that characterizes a lot of office spaces nowadays, from Facebook to Google, has always struck us as vaguely infantilizing and, above all, misguided: Your IT guys don’t need a beach-themed break room, they need a quiet place to work so they can fix your damned computer. But here’s one company where a fun environment makes complete sense and, in fact, it’d be counterproductive any other way: Lego.

Click Images To Enlarge

These are folks who play for a living, after all. (Lucky jerks.) So for Lego PMD in Billund, Denmark--where the toy giant develops new products--Danish designers Rosan Bosch and Rune Fjord created a 21,500-square-foot big-kid funhouse. There’s an aerial walkway covered in blue padding to resemble a puffy cloud. There are cartoonishly oversized wall graphics, including one of the Lego man, and lush bonsai gardens built into the tables. There’s even a slide. (For getting to meetings faster?)

Click Images To Enlarge

The idea is to evoke in employees the same sense of wonder that illuminates childhood, the better for understanding their pint-sized customers (and, in turn, designing for them).   The designers say.

“Where does work stop and imagination start? Through the physical design, the children’s fantasy worlds become part of the everyday, creating the setting for the creation of new design for new games and play.”

Click Images To Enlarge

And it’s not like Lego PMD is all play and no work. The office has a mix of collaborative spaces (open meeting rooms, show-and-tell podiums) and private rooms (individual offices, enclosed meeting rooms, a “Fun Zone” where Lego’s tiniest employees test new models) to support the different stages of product development. Because in the end, creating fun is serious business.

Click Images To Enlarge

[Images courtesy of Rosan Bosch; h/t to Dezeen]

COMMENTARY:   That's what I call a really cool place to work.  I bet the software engineers and hackers at Google and Facebook would get a bit jealous knowing that Lego PMD did one up on them.  I love that slide tube from the mezzanine to the lower fantasy room office area.  

 Courtesy of an article dated February 10, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design

DUTCH DESIGNER WOUTER SCHEUBLEIN INVENTS A WALKING TABLE THAT MOVES LIKE A SPIDER

Further proof that robots rule and humans drool, now even your dining room table has a mind of its own. Through a complex mechanism of cranks and linkages based on a 19th century walking platform by Russian mathemetician Pafnuty Chebyshev, Wouter Scheublin’s Walking Table, shown here, creeps and crawls and clomps around your kitchen like a monstrous, galumphing insect. Ask a precocious high-school shop class to visualize The Metamorphosis, and you’ll get something approximating this.

Mind you, you have to push the thing along. So it’s not like it’s free to spiral wildly out of control and go on some kind of monstrous-galumphing-insect rampage or whatever. But to judge by the videos, it doesn’t need tons of help. Lookie here:

 

 

The point? The table is obviously easier to move around than something you’d get at Ikea, and those high-steppin’ spider legs seem like they do a good job of not scuffing the floor while you push. In short, it’s a seductive design for people who live in smallish spaces and need to be able to reconfigure their apartment in a snap, say for a dinner party. Too bad the table looks as though it would eat your guests instead of serving them.

COMMENTARY:   You got to hand it to the Dutch. They are incredible designer's, from buildings to furniture.  This Dutch dude Wouter Scheublin has taken the art of product design one extra step, no pun intended.  His walking table is really something.  Sometimes you can just get carried away, that you invent something that have no real useful purpose, but you just know that somebody will buy it because it is so weird, odd and different than anything out there.  Someone like me perhaps. Still, this is not a putdown of Wouter, he really has something.  To unearth the plans of a Russian mathematician, with the first name Pufnuty, you have to wonder about that Russian fella, too.

Wouter also invented a walking bookcase.  The question I have is this functional furniture or art?  I think it's both.  This guy is a genius.

Courtesy of an article dated March 25, 2011 appearing in Fast Company Design 

By TwitterButtons.com  

 

HOW HEADSET MAKER PLANTRONICS HAS DESIGNED AN OFFICE TO KEEP EMPLOYEES WORKING FROM HOME

The headset manufacturer Plantronics doesn’t much care where its employees work, and to prove that, it’s new offices are outfitted with a cornucopia of features that make telecommuting simple, easy, and encouraged.

Plantronics has a shiny new headquarters in Santa Cruz, Calif., but most employees probably won’t spend too much time there. The space is designed for people to not come in to work; there aren’t even enough desks to accommodate the whole Santa Cruz staff. The audio communications company hasn’t just accepted telecommuting, it has designed around the concept.

Plantronics, which makes wireless headsets, already has European offices that have made the switch to a more flexible working environment.   Patricia Wadors, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Plantronics explains.

"People change through different catalysts. We wanted to be more open to smarter working, anywhere anytime. [Plantronics’] European human resources had the catalyst of the government telling them they had to reduce their carbon footprint."

So this week, Plantronics opened a revamped headquarters in Santa Cruz that doesn’t have assigned desks, has enough desk space for just 60% to 70% of its employees, and houses a number of giant wall-mounted TV screens, which are intended to bring telecommuters into office conversations. The screens are virtually everywhere, including in the cafeteria.

There are video chat rooms, "focus" rooms designed for privacy, as well as team project rooms. Employees who aren’t comfortable working in coffee shops or at home can opt to use Plantronics’ dedicated spot at coworking space NextSpace in San Jose.

Wadors says. 

"There’s an expectation that you can work anywhere and be highly productive and engaged."  

The office just opened a week ago, but she says.  

"The initial wave of people that walked through and started sitting in the workspace loved it."

Plantronics is hardly the first company to encourage its employees to telecommute, but it’s still rare to find an organization that’s so dedicated to the idea.   It might be a little bit of an adjustment to people used to sitting at work all day every day, but there are some good reasons why workers embrace it: 

• Millennials or GenY - Generations just coming out of school--the one that’s used to having instant access to people through cell phones, Skype, and email--expects nothing less.
• Gas Prices - With gas prices steadily climbing, the prospect of working remotely three days a week seems especially attractive.

And Plantronics has no limits on how often employees work from home--it just asks that they make sure their home workplaces are ergonomically safe.

Will Plantronics ever take it to the next level and bring in telepresence robots?  Wadors says. 

"I haven’t looked into it, but I think I should."

COMMENTARY:    There are four forces driving today's growing telecommuting trend:

• The Mobile Workforce - Millions of workers now working from home, shared office facilities or small private offices.  Many even use Starbucks and libraries as place of work--anywhere where there is WIFI service.
• Redefinition of the Workspace - The Great Recession has forced employers to downsize, closing offices and plants or reducing the size of offices.  Many, like Plantronics have simply limited how many people can come to work by eliminating individual offices, desks and cubicles.
• The Mobile Lifestyle - A new trend driven by the popularity of mobile devices:   Cellphones,  laptop computers, tablets, mobile accessories and wireless services.
• Social Networking - Social networks have allowed workers to collaborate on projects and work assignments remotely and eliminating the need of a physical workspace.  

Courtesy of an article dated December 13, 2011 appearing in Fast Company