The two major global competitors that the company faces include Steelcase Inc. and Herman Miller Inc. Steelcase is an office furniture provider that has specialized in manufacturing and selling furnishing products for workplaces. A SWOT analysis can be performed to understand the position of the dominant global companies, hence, the nature of the global furniture industry. Below is Steelcase’s SWOT analysis.
Similarly, Herman Miller Inc. is a furniture manufacturing company dominating the global landscape. It is headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan (Herman Miller, 2019).
Herman Miller and Steelcase are regarded as direct competitors since they compete with our company in the global furniture industry targeting workplaces. With regards to the SWOT analyses conducted above, overall, the global furniture industry is competitive as there are many furniture dealers at the local, regional and national levels manufacturing similar products. However, Herman Miller and Steelcase have dominated the global market because of their depth of knowledge, innovative product designs, quality, functionality, and a strong network of distribution partners, which differentiate them. Furthermore, they have an established customer base and brand loyalty as they have been operational since the early 1900s.
The company can form a cooperative strategy in terms of a joint venture, with either of the competitors. With the strategic alliances, our company and either Herman Miller or Steelcase can penetrate markets that they could not consider without investing significant resources. For instance, our company intends to venture into designing and manufacturing customized furniture, which is becoming increasingly preferable among customers and expand into global markets. On the other hand, Herman Miller and Steelcase already have an established global presence; however, they are not dealers of customized furniture. Therefore, both companies will benefit from the joint venture.
The demand for workplace furniture is driven by commercial construction and vacancy rates and corporate spending. The profitability of distinct companies is strongly connected with volume, as several costs are fixed. Therefore, big companies, such as Herman Miller and Steelcase, enjoy the economies of scale in manufacturing and distribution. However, for the small ones like ours, competitive advantage can be established by manufacturing specialty products or those made with high-quality artistry selling for a premium price. A balanced scorecard, a strategic management framework model, can be used to facilitate better strategic planning and improved strategy execution (Baldegger, 2012).
References
Baldegger, R. (2012). Management in a dynamic environment: Concepts, methods and tools. Springer Gabler.
Herman Miller. Notice of annual meeting of shareholders proxy statement: 2019. Web.
Steelcase. (2020). 2019 Annual report. Web.