That's because 73 percent of people who have a home office are unable to identify the brand name of their desks. An even greater level of ignorance and apathy persists over chairs and filing cabinets. Seventy-nine percent of people with home offices can't identify the manufacturer of the files they're using, and 82 percent don't know who made their chairs. Given that few home office workers know what company made their current furnishings, it should come as no surprise that they have little interest in who makes whatever they buy next. In ranking various attributes of desks, chairs and files on a 10-point scale, respondents gave scores of eight or better only to durability, functionality and quality for all three furniture catagories.
Comfort also is a leading attribute in selecting desks and chairs.
In fact, comfort is the most important attribute with an average rating of 9.0. At the other end of the spectrum, brand name and manufacturer reputation received an average rating of only 4.5, the lowest of any attribute surveyed. Since a market leader has yet to be identified, there seems to be a good opportunity for some manufacturer to establish a reputation for itself among home office users. Asked where they would likely go to buy new home office furniture, more than 50 percent of respondents mentioned discount office supply retailers like Office Max or Staples, far outpacing all other sources. No other potential source, including residential furniture retailers, commercial furniture dealers, used furniture retailers and department stores would be used by more than 11 percent of respondents.