Here’s a sign the furniture industry is doing better. It’s not just customers doing the shopping, but companies as well. In a recent high-profile deal, Herman Miller spent $156 million to buy the New York-based, family-owned Maharam Fabric Corp. for the Zeeland office manufacturer’s growing consumer and specialty segments. This activity could bode well for The Charter Group, which recently launched a dedicated furniture practice to advise firms through mergers and acquisitions.
“The recession has changed the the face of a lot of businesses,” said Andrew Williams, Vice President Business and Transaction Management, The Charter Group, who will oversee the new practice for the Grand Rapid advisory firm. “Overall, the industry has excess capacity.”
The Charter Group says it is responding to growing activity in the office furniture, residential furniture and home furnishings markets. The firm has been a player in the office and contract furniture industry since 1989, counseling manufacturers, suppliers and dealers from small businesses to national manufacturers and leading brands. more