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COS ROMANIA ACCOUNTS FOR MORE THAN 30% OF STEELCASE FURNITURE SALES IN THE CEE

COS, the largest furniture and office solutions supplier in Romania, is awarded for the fourth consecutive year the „Platinum Partner” title of Steelcase in EMEA and reports a turnover of 38 million euros, the highest in the company’s history.

Steelcase, the global leader of the office furniture industry, is represented in EMEA by 140 dealers, out of which only 5% received the „Platinum Partner" distinction this year. This distinction was implemented in 2015 and it is awarded yearly based on strict criteria related to sales performance, financial stability of the dealer and the rating received from clients in the previous year. Only 10 of the Steelcase partners in Europe, including COS in Romania, received this award in a row.

“This acknowledgment and the fact that we managed to put Romania on the Steelcase map at a very high level are very important to us. Steelcase is the global leader on the office furniture market and it is quite difficult to be granted and then to maintain this distinction. I could add that the Steelcase dealership is something you have to deserve, and we have been doing this for 22 years. The office furniture market in Romania is estimated at approximately 60-65 million euros, out of which COS made last year over 12 million euros sales, which offer us a very strong position in a highly fragmented market. For this year the common objectives aim at a 10% increase in sales. We base our estimation on the new innovative products that we will soon announce”, declares Christophe Weller, co-founder and CEO of COS Romania.

“With this distinction we recognise the endeavour of the dealers who made the extra mile in the partnership with us. First of all, we analyse the financial results, where we have ambitious expectations. For the CEE countries we aim to reach accumulated sales of more than 35 million euros and we are referring to Romania, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia and Russia. Secondly, we look at the financial stability of the company, as a balanced cash flow is essential in order to manage large scale projects. At the same time, it is important for the partners to share the values of our company. COS was Platinum Partner since the beginning as it met all these criteria. It is not easy for our partners, as in this business it is not like in football, where once you become World Champion you have this title for four years. In this business you need to redo everything each year, plus add the additional next mile”, declares Mickael Locoh, Steelcase Sales Director North, Central, Eastern Europe, Africa & Central Asia.

The market of office buildings increases every year by the delivery of a large number of A class buildings - for this year a number of 400.000 square meters are estimated to be delivered, the relocation of some companies in new buildings, the entry on the Romanian market of international players, but also through a greater dynamics in the SMEs sector.

“The emphasis on technology, the open spaces, the modularity, flexibility and moving the exterior into the interior are the main trends in office spaces and are based on extensive studies of habits and needs at work”, explains Christophe Weller.

The concern of companies for the working environment quality as a means to attract, retain and motivate the employees has changed significantly the rules of the game on the market of office amenities providers.

Technology creates multifunctional places, for instance the same place allows you to organise a teleconference or a presentation. Open spaces facilitate communication and collaboration, while modularity allows mobility and creation of specific areas, such as those dedicated to private meetings, or the «quiet room», or areas in which people can work standing up or stretching on a sofa.

Moving the exterior into the interior implies bringing a large quantity of natural day-light into the offices and facilitating access to clean air. But also in this approach we find the ‘work cafe’, which means bringing the café bar inside and making it the main piece of the office, as well as the ‘feel at home’ office spaces which use decorations and functionalities close to the private environment of a home - wooden table, comfortable armchairs, lamps with shade holder or areas with playgrounds or entertainment spaces. 

In Romania COS is a pioneer in the office design market who developed internal teams of designers and installation engineers and which is capable to offer integrated solutions, from design to execution, for all needs related to office spaces, including architecturally equipped interiors and installations, such as heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems.

COS has a strong clients portfolio which comprises of companies such as Renault, Michelin, Telus International, Adobe Systems, Accenture, UiPath, FibBit, Johnson&Johnson, Schlumberger, BRD, Schneider Electric, OLX, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Groupama, and in the western part of Romania -  EON, Hella Electronics, Yonder, Siemens, Lohika, Magneti Marelli or Plexus.

ABOUT Corporate Office Solutions (COS)

Founded in 1997 at the initiative of Christophe Weller, COS is an entrepreneurial company which currently has 95 employees; offices in Bucharest, Cluj and Timișoara and reached a number of 1900 clients from domains such as IT&C, banking, BPO, Retail, Pharma, FMCG and more than 10.000 completed projects. COS is part of Office Solutions Group, one of the largest players from Eastern Europe, with offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Almaty, Minsk and Bucharest. In Romania COS holds exclusivity in representing Steelcase company for office furniture and Interface company for flooring. Details on https://cos.ro/

ABOUT Steelcase

For more than 105 years Steelcase is the global leader in the industry of office furniture, with more than 12.000 employees, 800 dealers in America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, and a turnover which exceeds 3,5 billion US dollars. Its brands portfolio includes Steelcase Education, Steelcase Health, Coalesse, Turnstone, Designtex, PolyVision, AMQ, Orangebox and Smith System. In 2012 Steelcase inaugurated the Service Centre in Cluj-Napoca. This is the third Steelcase international service centre in the world, after those from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Monterrey (Mexico). The head office of the company is situated in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. Details on www.steelcase.com.