Herman Miller Case Study Paper

810 Words4 Pages
PESTEL Analysis 1) Political: a. No strong political factors affecting Herman Miller’s business or the office furniture industry as a whole 2) Economic: b. Office equipment (S&P’s Research Insight calls it ‘Office Services & Supplies’) is an economically volatile industry c. Recession hit the office furniture segment hard i. Industry sales down 26.5% ii. HM’s sales down 19% iii. Debt-to-equity ratio rose greatly, from 1.18 in 2006 to 47.66 in 2008 iv. Dividends/share cut by approximately 70% v. CapEx reduced to 0 in 2009 d. Increasing cost of raw materials & increasing competition from overseas manufacturers vi. Impacted low-cost producers more than high-quality producers 3) Sociocultural: e. More employees are spending more hours in front of computer screens than ever before vii. Demand for ergonomically correct office furniture increasing f. Demand by shareholders for more CSR efforts by companies viii. Didn’t affect HM too much since they have always been engaged in CSR towards causes outside of the company and inside (doing good things for employees/treating them right/part of the HM family) g. Environmentally-friendly/conscious expectations of firms by consumers ix. Environmentally friendly design of their main production facility in Michigan; called the Greenhouse 1. Took advantage of natural light and landscaping to grow native plants w/o use of fertilizers, pesticides, or irrigation 2. Wasp solution 4) Technological: h. Telecommuting has decreased the need of large companies to have office equipment for all employees i. More hours spent in front of computer screens has increased the demand for ergonomically correct furniture j. Advent of continually

More about Herman Miller Case Study Paper

Open Document