Selling office furniture with a woman’s touch

Meanwhile, Ikea has created decor displays aimed at female entrepreneurs, such as a book store and hair salon, at its 29 U.S. stores. Ikea, which operates U.S. headquarters in suburban Conshohocken, Pa., plans to eventually expand the program overseas.

“I think we have just scratched the surface. This is one of our growth engines of the future,” said Pernille Lopez, president of Ikea North America. Lopez expects that small business owners, particularly females, could eventually account for 10 percent to 15 percent of Ikea’s U.S. business.

Lopez wants Ikea to be a source of networking for women, who make up about 70 percent of its customers. Ikea launched an informational Website called business.ikea.com where entrepreneurs can share design ideas and discuss topics such as handling finances. It’s also holding events at its stores featuring topics from decorating tips to human resource issues.

Store executives are staking out a booming market. According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the estimated 10.4 million businesses owned by women, the number of privately held firms where women owned at least a 51 percent stake grew 42.3 percent from 1997 to 2006. That’s almost twice the 23.8 percent growth for all private businesses during that same time period. The figures are projections based on the 2002 Census Bureau data.

“The products (women) use, the desk they sit at represents what their brand stands for,” said Ryan Vero, executive vice president of merchandising at OfficeMax. Females account for the majority of the small business owners who make up half of the company’s customers.

OfficeMax worked with female focus groups to get input on the new furniture lines’ design. A Broyhill credenza, for example, offers more storage than the average computer/printer stand.

OfficeMax found that based on consumer research, women had more interest in the Sharper Image brand than men. The entire Sharper Image collection for OfficeMax retails for $600, Vero said.

Vero noted that some of OfficeMax’s work with its manufacturing partners involved re-education. In the case of an office chair, it had to convince manufacturers that bulkier doesn’t necessarily mean better quality. The end result was a sleeker chair style with seat height adjustments that fits women.

As for Christopher Lowell line for Office Depot, the designer is already on the next trend: Furniture set on wheels that morphs into laptop stations. It will include tables that sit behind the back of sofas, wardrobe pieces and credenzas that flip into home office stations that feature retractable cords and storage.

“Even though women have dedicated home offices, they just don’t want to be stuck in their offices,” said Lowell.

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