USBI's Newsroom

U.S. Business Interiors -- The New Furniture Dealer
July 19, 1999, officeinsight™

Ask Bernie Crocker what a furniture dealer brings to the table and he’ll tell you in one word: "service." Bernie is the president of the Washington, D.C. area office of U.S. Business Interiors (USBI), a Steelcase dealer.

While in D.C. recently, we took a side trip to Largo, MD, to visit Mr. Crocker and his colleagues at the company’s new 102,000-sq.-ft. Corporate Resource Center. USBI built the facility on a 7-acre plot and moved in last January. The facility was designed by Richard Logan and Ruth Jansson of Gensler’s Washington office and comprises a showroom, mezzanine and warehouse. The company has an adjacent 3-acre lot for additional building.

For many, display spaces are becoming living showrooms, such as that introduced by Steelcase in its NYC Work/Life center. This is clearly the case for USBI. The company is not just talk. It has put its money where its sales pitch is. The USBI facility cost more than $7.5 million, reflecting the resource commitment and dedication and have made Steelcase’s dealer community one of its crown jewels. Mr. Crocker, who has worked at contract furniture dealers for over 20 years, said that, "Steelcase, more than any other manufacturer, gives credit to its dealers for their contribution to the company." In turn, over 90% of USBI product sales are Steelcase products.

The 2,200-sq. ft. mezzanine looks over the work-display area, giving clients and designers a heightened perspective on design possibilities and diverse product configurations. Turning around, we walked over to the rear doors that open onto the warehouse. We tried them; they were unlocked. Our heart quickened, as we nearly fell into the warehouse; the protective rail had not yet been installed. [It is now.]

With footing regained, we had an excellent view of the warehouse operations. The 78,000 sq-ft. space and its 13 docking bays (with staff in khaki pants and polo shirts) were fastidiously clean, and brighter and airier than many offices we have worked in. A novel forklift truck, the Turret, was being used to move inventory. The Turret is able to pick from either side of the 4-tier aisle without turning around. This enabled USBI to significantly reduce aisle worth, more efficiently using its space.

The showroom uses Steelcase interior systems, including elements of the Pathways system, and is set up based upon Steelcase’s community-based planning principles. "Our facility uses a complete range of Steelcase products based on the Pathways platform," said Mr. Crocker. "As USBI grows, our workplace will evolve, with spaces being enlarged, reduced, eliminated, opened or enclosed as needed. New Steelcase products will be incorporated as they become available. The firm invites clients to revisit the facility and experiment periodically to view new products.

In planning the interiors, the Gensler team was asked to design a showroom that would most effectively serve the needs of furniture specifiers. "We chose a light and neutral palette, a lot of warm whites," said Ms. Jansson, "so that designers could effectively view the various furniture vignettes without being distracted or influenced by color." She also noted that all product finishes are standard." On their wish list for further Steelcase products, Mr. Logan and Ms. Jansson said that they would have liked Conjunction (the 4-beam architectural element) in a lighter color.

The roof is 24 feet above the warehouse and main floors. This warehouse requirement made the mezzanine a natural adjunct. "To mitigate the effect of the tall, narrow supporting columns," said Mr. Logan, "struts were placed at the top, faintly mimicking an arboreal canopy, and used to affix lighting fixtures."

Mr. Crocker said that USBI goes to great lengths to recruit and maintain qualified staff. The firm’s attractive and comfortable workspace doesn’t stop with a lot of fabric.

I would definitely like more space; I’ve just not gotten around to it. Sometimes I’m reminded of a postcard I saw long ago. It was a sort of Lichtenstein, pop-comic book style card. There was a woman talking on the phone, and she was saying, "Oh my God, I forgot to have children." Sometimes I feel that way: "Oh my God, I forgot to get a one bedroom apartment, or to get a mortgage, or to become an adult."

USBI and its business allies offer complete interior solutions for office spaces, from lighting to electrical, and includes modular walls, ceilings, floors, and furniture. "Give me a cold, dark space," said Mr. Crocker," and I’ll give you back a place to work you’ll be happy to come to." This, he said, is a dealership that can truly provide turnkey solutions.

But that’s only the beginning. The breadth of services is an indication of the sophistication levels reached by dealers. The company’s list of 42 services includes: bar coding of product, warehousing and asset management, record retention, move management, disaster recover, furniture rental, furniture cleaning programs, and re-upholstering, as well as the other services normally associated with contract furniture dealers.

"The scope of our services reflects the heritage of the firm," said Mr. Crocker. "It lived off the scraps of others when it started from scratch in 1999. Now the bits and pieces are important parts of our business and will serve to protect us in case of an economic downturn."

Mr. Crocker comes well equipped to run a furniture dealership where service, supported by finely tuned operations, is the focus. He joined the company as president in 1997 after 10 years as chief financial officer and executive vice president of Brenner Business Interiors, a NYC/NJ Herman Miller dealership. He has been in the industry for over 20 years, with significant experience in finance, sales, project management and operations. Before Brenner, he worked for Herman Miller deale, M. Brown Inc., Boston.

"What’s the outlook for Pathways sales?" we asked Mr. Crocker. "It’s the future," he replied. "To date, we have sold some of the systems products – Conjunction, Secant, etc. – and we just sold our first floor product. But the important thing," he said, "is that we are working on 10 projects involving much of the interior architectural products. These are scheduled for the next year or two." USBI has more than $70 million in sales, employs over 200 people and has offices in Maryland and Arizona. The Maryland/DC office, with 105 employees, expects revenues of $45-50 million in 1999, with growth of 15% plus. Last year the Maryland operation was named as one of the "Top 2" major office retailers in the metro D.C. area by the Washington Business Journal; it is also the top GSA Steelcase dealer. Both USBI dealerships were among the first dozen dealers to receive certification under Steelcase’s new dealer authorization process.

USBI is owned by Bill Rice, who manages and operates the Arizona office. Mr. Rice was a regional manager for Steelcase for 16 years. He started USBI in partnership with Don Griesdorn, of BKM (the largest Steelcase dealer), and became sole owner in 1995.

<previous article   top   next article>

Services  .  Products  .  Corporate Profile  .  Knowledge Resources  .  Facilities
Careers  .  Contact USBI  .  SHOP Online  .  Home