Office Trends asks contract furniture dealers, interior designers and facility managers from both small and large companies to predict whether sales will rise or fall during the next 12 months. The percentage of panelists expecting a decrease is subtracted from the percentage expecting an increase to derive the net percentages, as shown in Illustration One. As the chart indicates, dealers and facility managers from large companies are more optimistic about near-term order levels than they've been at any point this decade. Meanwhile, order-level expectations among designers and facility managers from small companies have changed little in the past year, although the optimism of both groups remains near the highest points experienced at any time during the 1990s. For the most part, prices for freestanding desks, files and tables have remained stable during the past few years, indicating the office furniture industry is contributing to the low inflation experienced throughout the country.
Prices vary from year to year, of course, but the long-term trend is remarkably flat.
In a few cases, panelists report that prices are actually lower now than they were in 1992. Illustration Two shows a rundown of the average price ranges for various categories of furniture. Without exception, designers report the higher price in each range. The lower price typically comes from either dealers or small facility managers, while large facility managers usually fall somewhere in the middle. All panelists are recruited by telephone and mailed a questionnaire.