$650M Revenue Office Furniture, FURSYS

In this FURSYS documentary, CEO TaeHee Sohn traces how a Korean family furniture company built on the belief that "the best marketing is a product that sells itself" decided to take on the US market. IDEO's Thomas Overthun explains why FURSYS's broad product line stood out to his team. Dealer David Coffey lays out the uphill climb: a premium name in Korea is a brand-new name in the United States. And the FURSYS AMERICA team shows what it actually takes to introduce an unknown Korean brand at Chicago's NeoCon, one cookie, one sticker, and one conversation at a time.

TaeHee Sohn (FURSYS, CEO): We cannot talk about the history of office furniture in Korea without FURSYS. In the 1980s, when FURSYS was established, Korean offices had old, uncomfortable steel furniture. As living standards improved, FURSYS responded with modern and smart designs that were literally revolutionary. Our design never stayed the same. My father, the founder, often said the best marketing is a product that sells itself.

This belief led us to create Korea's first, best, and largest R&D center. Our focus on customer and market trends has driven our steady growth, with annual sales and profits increasing by an average of 12% over the past decade. We've nearly tripled in size.

David Coffey (Crosley Resource Group LLC, Representative): I think for any brand, the biggest obstacle is distribution. The most challenging part was how to show our brand.

TaeHee: I studied materials science at Seoul National University and logistics engineering at MIT, and I didn't initially plan to join the family business. I didn't think I had to work at the company just because my father founded it.

While I was working at McKinsey, one night my father came to me and told me, TaeHee, as the founder, I'd love for you to take over as CEO when I retire. But as your father, I don't want you to sacrifice your life, because I know that running a company is not easy. Once you start, you cannot stop. Then I went on a trip with my friends.

John Kim (Co-founder & CEO): I've known TaeHee since our university days. I actually found out by accident, I was doing a study on a different industry and saw a familiar name, because he has a pretty unique name by Korean standards. I thought, I recognize this name, is this you? He just chuckled and laughed about it. Growing up, I was already thinking about starting my own company, so it was a very clear decision for me. But he could have taken a lot of different paths.

TaeHee: One day he said to me, TaeHee, starting from zero is great, but taking an established entity further can be equally rewarding and impactful. I was reminded of a book I loved in college, Good to Great by Jim Collins. My father built a good company, in fact, a great company indeed. But what if I could make it greater?

John: I'm actually quite glad he decided to take over, or really build upon the business his father created. And what I like about how he approached it too is that he was really trying to understand how to build a company that has the potential to go global and much bigger.

Ara Ko (Marketing Lead): Unlike the founder of the group, who prioritized best in class quality products, TaeHee embraced a broader vision and strongly encouraged marketing initiatives.

HyeJung Yoon (FURSYS, VP of Strategy): The way people view office furniture has started to change. Companies these days are serious about keeping top talent, and good office furniture can show that a company cares about its people.

HyeJung: We are getting ready to expand globally. This includes directly talking to customers abroad and strategic planning with a company called IDEO. Our team faces new challenges every day, like having to do business in English. It's an exciting time for us, and even though we can't be sure what the future holds, we are tackling it with flexibility and a good sense of humor.

TaeHee: The VP mentioned the suitcase so many times, but companies like Airbnb and Facebook don't really care which brand it is. Ironically, Google thinks the workplace itself is more important; they don't care about the furniture brand.

Thomas Overthun (IDEO SF, Executive Director, Industrial Design): I am an industrial designer and executive design director at IDEO here in San Francisco. The essence of IDEO is to build the future. We are a design company, so we always have an idea to make things tangible, experienceable, and future. We always want to look forward to a better state for everyone.

Bianca Jimenez Rivera (Senior Design Lead): We've kicked off research. Two weeks ago we started in New York, where we spoke with a lot of architects and design leaders, understanding the current trends and the future trends of the workplace.

HyeJung: When I went to the office on the West Coast, I was surprised, because there weren't many people in this huge office. In Korea, the sofas in the offices look professional, but the sofas in the US offices looked casual, homey, and cozy.

Bianca: Here in the US, especially in the Bay Area in San Francisco, what we call hybrid work, working entirely remote or working a couple of days in the office, is very big. It's part of the culture. They're not coming into the office to do work. They're coming into the office to create connection and collaboration. So offices really need to be flexible. There needs to be fluidity of designing for home, designing for the office, designing for collaboration. So I think right now is a really great moment to disrupt.

Thomas: There have been many meetings with FURSYS. What was interesting after a while is that they have made an effort to have a really holistic, broad product line.

TaeHee: What sets FURSYS Group apart from many other furniture companies is that we have developed and grown specialized brands for both the office and home furniture markets.

Thomas: We thought it was really interesting and valuable, FURSYS being somebody who could have just focused on making desk chairs and desks.

David: My name is David Coffey. I am an office furniture dealer. I started my office furniture career in 1998. I worked for Steelcase, and I've had my own dealership now for 19 years. Maybe the difference between FURSYS in Korea and FURSYS in the United States is this: one, it's a brand new brand in the United States.

In Korea, FURSYS is a premium brand. In the United States, fortunately, it fits more into a mid-market price point. The customer is going to get a high-quality product at a moderate price, and I think this brand strategy and this marketing strategy for FURSYS will be a huge asset here.

Jay Choi (FURSYS AMERICA, General Manager): My name is Jay Choi, and I'm in charge of US business at FURSYS. FURSYS AMERICA is based in Torrance, LA County. My vision for FURSYS America is to become a reliable and attractive brand in the mid-market.

Lotus Seoyeon Jang (FURSYS, Multinational Business Team): My name is Lotus Jang. I was mainly in charge of design day marketing and CRM, so this was actually my first time doing this kind of promotion. The people visiting the design days usually didn't know what FURSYS is. When I handed over the leaflet, they looked at me like it was quite strange, but I tried my best to say, oh, we're from FURSYS.

Lucia Jaeyoon Lee (Multinational Business Team): I'm introducing our event to passersby. To describe myself, I'm like 170% extra. I just go straight up to them and say, hello, would you like to try some cookies? I don't tell them about the brand. I show them the gifts and say, would you like to try these cookies with some coffee? And they say why not, once they receive that kind of thing. And then I say, well, actually I'm from an office furniture brand called FURSYS, and I explain that they should come visit our office. That's how I achieve my goal.

David: I think for any brand, the biggest obstacle is distribution, and by distribution I mean, how does it get into the marketplace? How do customers buy the product? So one of the largest obstacles for FURSYS is to get great dealers on board. On the US government market, there are probably only about five to seven companies that dominate the furniture industry, and they do most of the business, probably around 90% of it. For example, Herman Miller has been doing business with the federal government for something like 40 years.

Thomas: I would say it takes patience. You have to be prepared for a longer period of time where people don't know about you very well. If you're an architect or designer and you've always specced one of the incumbent brands, switching to FURSYS is you taking a risk.

Lotus: The most challenging part was how to show our brand, so I made the event wall, because I think it's really interesting to see how customers actually think, by having them put stickers on it.

TaeHee: I came here to NeoCon to see all the new trends. I chose the ergonomic chair. I think the most important thing is to be comfortable when you work, so you can have maximum capacity. And my last stop was the cafe with the barista, because who doesn't like coffee?

Maria de Los Angeles Florez (SOS Furniture, General Manager): Hello, my name is Maria de los Ángeles Flórez. I'm the General Manager of SOS Furniture, an office furniture company based in Panama. We are operating in 14 countries across in Latin America. One trend that I see is that the office design is becoming more natural and relaxed. People are looking for places they can collaborate more comfortably. 

Lotus: While I was preparing the design for this project for three months, I think I began to match myself with FURSYS. I want to become an important member who helped FURSYS become a global company.

Rebecca Lee (GTM): At our HQ we have a big team that works together, but physically in the US there are only three of us. Some companies want us to come help install, or do big projects with them, but we don't have our own installation team in the US right now. So in those cases, we all go together and help with assembly."

TaeHee: They always pour all their energy and enthusiasm into what they do and into the company, and they really love the company. That always motivates me, moves me forward, and makes me feel a responsibility and a mission as their leader. Building on the solid foundation laid by the previous generation, we've already achieved significant growth in Korea. But as a family business leader and CEO, I feel a strong sense of responsibility and mission. I believe that companies must continually challenge themselves to grow.

HyeJung: Office furniture is becoming an increasingly important factor in employee satisfaction, so we try to understand what companies aim to achieve in their workplace and help them accomplish it.

DongMyeong Oh (KIA, Business Management Support): Many Korean companies were trying to move employees back to the office from working at home. We asked FURSYS for advice: how can we create a better office that makes employees want to come back? FURSYS doesn't just sell furniture; they also give advice and after-sales service. That's the reason why all our Korean partner companies work with FURSYS.

TaeHee: We don't just sell a piece of furniture; we ask what they want to achieve.

Thomas: I'm really optimistic. Forty years of dedication to creating really thoughtful, meaningful products.

TaeHee: Like a top Korean athlete entering Major League Baseball, we see this moment as our tryout camp. Our expertise in furniture has proven valuable in Korea, and I am confident it can be a strong foundation for our journey to the American market. Thank you for your time, and we're looking forward to embarking on this exciting journey with you.