Page 22 - BusinessWest August 4, 2021
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  Modern Office
 Getting Up Off the Floor
Office Furniture Providers See
Progress, but Also a Host of Challenges
For those in the office furniture and design sector, the past 18 months have been a long and extremely challenging stretch. Looking ahead, while the pandemic has eased to some extent, new challenges and question marks loom. The questions concern everything from how many people will return to the office to whether they will have their own space if and when they return. And the challenges involve everything from long wait times for ordered products to the specter of skyrocketing prices and the impact they will have on business.
By George O’Brien
M
ark Proshan says the e-mail found its way into his inbox earlier that morning. It was short and to the point, but it clearly articu- lated one of the many challenges still facing those in the office furniture and design business.
As he commented on what he was reading, Proshan started with that last bit of news. He said there are a number of business owners and managers looking to unload unneeded office furniture these days. They should know first that there is already a glut, and, second, that the price they have in the back of their mind is not likely to be the price they’re going to get for what they’re looking to sell. “With the massive amounts of furniture now on the market, selling furniture isn’t some- thing that’s going to realize an amazing return on the investment.”
But that’s just a small part of the story now unfolding, said Proshan, noting that, while this particular business owner knows just what he’s doing with his office, many do not.
Indeed, a full 18 months after the term ‘COVID’ entered the lexicon, there is
“‘I’m in the process of closing my office and moving employees to fully remote work,’” wrote the business owner and client that Proshan, presi- dent of the West Springfield-based Lexington Group, opted not to name. “‘I have a lot of office furniture I’m looking to sell.”
Mark Proshan says a combination of factors makes it difficult to project what will come next for this industry.
  22 AUGUST 4, 2021
MODERN OFFICE
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