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Bush Industries delivers when it comes to home, office furniture
Bush Industies’ mission is to provide easy, fast and affordable solutions to the commercial and residential markets.
That sounds like a formula for success, but—as with almost everything—it all comes down to execution. Based on sales, which have grown 50 percent over the last two years, Bush is pulling it off.
Founded in 1959, Bush is both a manufacturer and importer of ready-to-assemble and case goods furniture that covers the categories of commercial office, residential office, seating, bedroom, entryway, entertainment and occasional. It is based in Jamestown, New York, with distribution facilities in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Sacramento, California,
“We make the purchase decision easy for the customer with easy-to-order bundles,” said Mark Weppner, Bush’s senior vice president of product marketing, design and engineering. “Every product is in stock and ships the same day via small-parcel carriers or LTL for large orders with room-of-choice delivery.
“And we pride ourselves on offering the best value for the consumer with stylish, durable and safe furniture solutions.”
Bush’s sales are split between imported products and components and domestic-manufactured products in RTA and casegoods formats, Weppner explained. It is a leading supplier to the ecommerce market through companies such as Wayfair, Amazon, Overstock and Cymax and has ecommerce, contract and brick-and-mortar deals with Office Depot and Staples. Bush also directly serves the commercial contract dealer network, he said.
“All customers are offered the same services of same-day shipment, free space planning, and delivery and installation anywhere in the continental United States,” Weppner said, adding that Bush serves the Canadian market, as well.
The core of Bush’s business, he said, is “residential and small business solutions across the United States.”
Having all of its products available in stock and being able to ship them same day helps set Bush apart, Weppner said.
“Minutes matter in this business, especially to service the ecommerce market, which has exploded for us over the past few years,” he said. “Fortunately, Bush Industries was well prepared for the rise in ecommerce business as our brick-and-mortar partners asked that we ship direct to consumers over 10 years ago.
“This led to an enormous focus to create a delivery method that included enhanced packaging for small-parcel shipments, inventory levels to service the immediate need of customers and to scrutinize shipping and damage statistics over the years to get to a class-leading level of service.”
Asked about the trends influencing Bush, Weppner said mixed-use material is especially popular to support the design genres of farmhouse, industrial and eclectic that customers are craving. Color palettes have shifted toward shades of gray, both sophisticated and rustic, he said.
“The paper designers have done an excellent job by offering new and innovative finish designs, which have helped to meet this new aesthetic demand,” Weppner said.
“Our biggest advancement has been to offer a greater variety of on-trend finish choices in our portfolio. It’s amazing how finish and color can dramatically change the design flavor of a line so that it can fit into multiple design aesthetics and appeal to more customers.”
Bush is especially excited to see continued growth in its core office categories, which it recently complemented with a commercial and residential style of BIFMA-grade office chairs in a number of formats, styles and finishes, Weppner said.
Storage and entryway solutions also continue to grow for the company, and it plans to launch several new categories soon that will be featured at the Las Vegas Market show in January.
Bush specializes in panel finishing and has “great relationships” with suppliers such as Toppan Intermamerica, Panolam, Interprint, Schattdecor, DNP, Chiyoda and others, Weppner said.
Bob Knothe, sales manager at decorative surface manufacturer Toppan, said the relationship between Bush and his company allows both of them to do what they do best in providing top-shelf service to their customers.
“Bush Industries is a great example where design and engineering converge, allowing them to meet the customer’s expectations on aesthetics, durability and value,” he said. “A product mix aimed at markets from SOHO (small office home office) to entertainment to bedroom may require different designs and product performance.
“This is where Toppan Interamerica excels. By creating cutting-edge designs for our customers and with our unique capability to print the same design on TFL, top-coated paper and 3D laminate domestically, this allows Bush to value-engineer furniture without sacrificing design and service,” Knothe said.
Bush sources components such as hardware slides and handles and other decorative items, including legs, to differentiate the products and to meet the design demands of its customers and consumers, Weppner said.
Bush has an office in China that works with several manufacturers there, and it balances imports and furniture made in Jamestown to meet its needs.
“We have been able to successfully balance the mix of product and production to choose the ideal manufacturing locations based upon the design and value goals of a particular product. Our growth comes from both our domestic and import business as we leverage the strength of both of these options,” Weppner said.
