Branch Furniture offers direct-to-business products and a pricing structure that makes it easy and affordable for organizations to furnish their workspace.
The contract furniture market is changing, and innovative new products and retailers are coming to market that take a different approach to more traditional players. It is interesting to note that this trend not only invigorates the marketplace but offers opportunities to young and emerging companies to furnish their workspace quickly and economically. We are happy to share Branch and their product offerings.
Founded on the principle of bringing a contract-grade experience to growing teams of all sizes, Branch offers a direct-to-business format, product line and pricing structure that makes it easy and affordable for organizations to furnish their workspace. Moreover, the Branch platform facilitates the development of an ongoing relationship that proactively assists clients in managing their furniture needs as their business grows and changes.
Given the current circumstances of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, their products and quick turnaround time may also facilitate the need to set up home offices for those having to re-set their workday plans—and their flexible approach can help companies looking for an adaptable way to reconfigure and reopen office space.
Branch makes it easy for growing teams to furnish with premium furniture products that don’t break the bank.
“We sell a curated line of high-quality furniture—workstation, conference, lounge, and accessories—direct to business, handling everything from space design to delivery and installation.
As our clients grow and needs change, they can add furniture, update space plans, or trade in used Branch furniture in a few clicks. By combining the quality and service of traditional contract lines with the speed and affordability of fast furniture—and adding unprecedented flexibility—Branch is the easy and attainable way for teams of all sizes to furnish an office they’ll love.”
How will Branch Office Furniture change up how people think about furnishing their workplaces?
Our mission is democratizing access to the quality and service traditionally offered by contract lines, adding speed, value and flexibility suited to the needs of growing teams. We believe teams of all sizes and budgets should have access to beautiful and ergonomic work products. By producing a lean, modular line and selling direct to our customers online, we can furnish with contract-grade workstation, benching, conference and lounge products in 5-15 business days and for up to 50 percent less.
Beyond the value we deliver, Branch is designed from the ground up to serve the needs of teams that demand more flexibility than ever before. Whether they are moving to a new office or want to reconfigure existing space, our Flex program lets clients trade in used Branch furniture for credit, as their needs change. We’re also building tools to make project management, maintenance and space planning a breeze. We want to empower our clients and their architect, designer and landlord partners in creating responsive, ergonomic offices that truly adapt to their needs.
Can you tell a story or give an example of how this product or service will help our readers design and implement great workplace solutions?
We’ve been fortunate to work with fantastic clients like Tumblr, Squarefoot and Overtime in furnishing hundreds of thousands of square feet across the United States and Ontario, Canada. Overtime is a relevant case study: they reached out to us when we were still new on the block, back in July 2019, with a requirement for a 100+ person office in Brooklyn. Frustrated with the price and lead times of traditional options, Overtime’s COO found us by searching “office furniture startup” on Google and reading an article about our new approach to office furniture.
We worked with Overtime to plan their beautiful space and furnish within fifteen business days, and they have since used our flex platform to make multiple follow on orders at their offices around the country, from New York to Los Angeles.
Tell us a little about the origin of the company.
Our cofounder and CEO, Greg Hayes, has worked in commercial real estate his entire career across leasing, asset management and in the tech world at Breather. He saw firsthand how growing companies lacked a good furnishing option.
On the one hand, IKEA and Amazon are quick and affordable but lack the quality and service to meet the needs of a growing enterprise (try asking a TaskRabbit to assemble 50 workstations or coordinate with a landlord on freight access). On the other hand, traditional contract furniture companies make beautiful products but are expensive, typically require extended lead times and don’t offer flexibility.
Both Verity, our other cofounder, and I had also experienced this problem during our time in startups and commercial real estate. We thought there had to be a solution that combined the ease and affordability of fast furniture with the quality and service of contract furniture, along with the flexibility modern teams have grown to expect. When we didn’t find one, we decided to build it.
What differentiates Branch Office Furniture from other companies?
- Furniture: curated set of modern staples vs. hundreds of options and variants that can be overwhelming. Full line of workstation, conference and lounge furniture. Contract-grade quality and extended warranties.
- Product: all-in-one platform to help facilities and office managers design floor plans, add new furniture / exchange or remove existing furniture, configure chair ergonomics and more
- Service: free space planning, delivery and assembly in 5-15 business days vs. 6-12+ weeks. Branch Flex to trade in your furniture as needs change.
- Pricing: transparent vs. negotiating with dealers based on scale. Modular inventory and selling direct online lets us charge less relative to comparable contract lines
- Distribution: direct-to-business e-commerce vs traditional dealership distribution
Considerable thought went into the design details of each item in the product line.
How do you leverage technology to enhance the ability to manage your business?
Beyond our physical products, we’re also launching digital products to make the process of managing your furniture and floor plan even easier for our clients. Our north star is creating an inspiring furniture experience that adapts to your needs and maximizes physical productivity for your team. For those with a technical bent, imagine the “API for office furniture,” where your space actively configures itself to changing headcount and employee preferences.
How do you envision end users adopting and using this service to make their workplaces more productive?
Flexibility has become a key driver of decision-making around office space. The rise of managed real estate services like WeWork and Knotel has pressured landlords to offer flexible lease terms and more scalable spaces that better meet the needs of modern companies with high growth and variable on-premise headcount. By adding ease, affordability and flexibility to contract-grade office furniture, Branch is the office furniture solution that matches changing preferences—improving access to ergonomic work environments that adapt to a team’s changing needs.
Is the furniture currently available, and if so, where?
The full Branch experience—delivery, assembly, installation and Flex—is available now in most major markets around the United States, as well as Ontario, Canada. We also ship our products to every market in the continental USA. Your readers can find out more about our process and products by contacting us here.
What do you think our readers will love about working with your company to meet their furniture needs?
We think our combination of complete service, affordability, flexibility and contract-grade products would be hard to find anywhere else. We’re proud to bring a contract-grade experience to teams of any size and the architects and designers who work with them, while saving them money and adding speed, adaptability and a little fun to the process.
Have you launched new products to address evolving workplace needs due to COVID-19?
Yes! We’ve just announced a brand new line of universal partitions and panels to create privacy, attenuate sound and support social distancing in all kinds of office layouts as we return to work.
Designed in partnership with the fantastic Lindsay and Jeff Braun of Emblem, and manufactured here in the USA, our partition line adopts a flexible (and playful) approach in creating safety and separation in the post-COVID office. We offer a variety of sizes and colorways, and use adaptable materials (Velcro) to ensure our partitions can link and combine to address many different needs—from separating a large area into breakout zones to creating adequate distance between adjacent workstations.
Of course, we wouldn’t be Branch if we didn’t offer value—by selling direct, we ensure our partition line is roughly half the cost of comparable options, which can make a big difference for businesses that want to adapt their office but face reduced budgets.
Is your pricing information readily available?
Our website includes all our products as well as prices. Depending on what you purchase from us, Branch costs anywhere from $8-13/per square foot. As a benchmark, you can furnish an employee with a Branch task chair, adjustable height desk and pedestal for just over $1000, or around the cost of a single Aeron chair.
Where can our readers see the furniture?
We have showrooms in New York City and Toronto, and exhibit our products there. While we’re not yet re-opened, you can always book a virtual showroom tour with us to get to know our line! Details here.
Connect with Branch Furniture:
Founders: @greghayes44, @sibjeet, @veritysylvester
