Herman Miller, Inc. the global designer and furniture manufacturer, announced this month it has acquired the remaining shares of contemporary British furniture designer naughtone for approximately $46.1 million.
Herman Miller, Inc. partnered with naughtone in 2016 by acquiring a 50 per cent stake in the company to help enhance its global offering in ancillary and collaborative furnishings, an area in which Herman Miller saw significant growth potential. As a result of this partnership, naughtone has generated average annual sales growth of 35 per cent over the past three years. This partnership has helped Herman Miller expand its product design and development capabilities, fuelling 11 new product launches and leading to numerous design and innovation awards.
“naughtone has been a vital strategic partner in growing Herman Miller Group’s ancillary product offering,” said Andi Owen, Herman Miller President and CEO. “I’m so proud of our shared values, as well the modern aesthetic and contemporary British design they bring to our family of brands.”
Being part of Herman Miller Group is a huge honour for naughtone and gives us even greater ambition and confidence in our own product plans.
Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, naughtone was founded in 2005 and has grown rapidly in the collaborative furniture market under the leadership of Matt Welsh, Kieron Bakewell and Mark Hammond. Known for contemporary design and high-quality manufacturing, particularly in upholstery, naughtone’s innovative products such as the Always chair range, the Polly chair and the Viv chair are used by clients around the world, including some of the biggest brands in commerce and culture.
“Our partnership with Herman Miller has helped us significantly grow our global market presence, especially in North America,” said naughtone Vice President of Sales Matt Welsh. “This expanded relationship sets us up for continued success and we look forward to working together in this new capacity to achieve great results.”
naughtone was recently recognised as one of the Telegraph’s Fastest Growing British Exports and its products have been nominated for and received numerous design awards over the past several years, including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
“Herman Miller has a remarkable legacy of design and innovation,” said Vice President of Creative Kieron Bakewell. “Being part of Herman Miller Group is a huge honour for naughtone and gives us even greater ambition and confidence in our own product plans.”
Herman Miller expects to consolidate naughtone’s operating results following the closing date of this transaction. Net sales for naughtone’s most recent fiscal year that ended in May 2019 totalled approximately $37 million. Excluding potential one-time purchase accounting adjustments, this transaction is expected to have an incremental $0.01 to $0.03 accretive impact on earnings per share in the remaining seven months of fiscal 2020.
Inspiration for your next read
Recognising those who have made a significant contribution to the contract furnishing industry and their companies, the 2019 Panaz BCFA Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Jack Pringle, Principal at Perkins&Will London, at the BCFA’s Annual Luncheon on 31st October.
We always look forward to seeing the list of British Council for Offices’ (BCO) awards winners. More than anything else, we like to ensure that we’re on the right track when it comes to the projects we’re covering – and, once again, we’re delighted to report that we’re most definitely on the right track, having focused on a number of the 2019 winners.
The design and build company’s London office was originally designed four years ago for 90 employees. Now 150 employees strong, Oktra is exercising the lease break at their current workspace.
