Rent office furniture instead of buying?

The issue of renting office furniture is not only about the fact that it can be a much better option from an economic perspective, but it is also about customers becoming more aware that time is money and that Recycling is something good.

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Why rent?

Why not? Why buy things that are not business critical to the business and tie up capital in chairs and tables, are there really no better ways to use the budget?

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The cost argument

• An estimate based on CBRE's 2021 EMEA Occupier Survey, reports that the average cost of furnishing an office in the EMEA area is around 950 euros per square metre.

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• According to a survey by CoreNet Global (2018), the costs of furnishing an office amount to about $8,000-14,000 per employee. This survey was based on responses from real estate executives, architects and interior designers from various companies around the world.

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• According to an article in Forbes (2019), the costs of furnishing an office in the United States amount to about $48-150 per square foot, which equates to about $500-1600 per square foot. This article is based on data from interior design firms and experts in the industry.

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• According to a report by JLL (2018), the cost of office furniture and equipment amounts to about 7-15% of the total cost of furnishing an office. This report is based on data from JLL's real estate advisors around the world.

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Office furniture is a large part of the cost, after all, we can use some of the information to show the difference between buying and renting. If, for convenience, we take an office of 500 sq.m with 50 employees, it would entail the following cost:

• €950 sqm * 500 sqm = €475,000
• €500-1,600 = €250-800,000
• 8-14,000 € employee * 50 = 400- 700,000€
• 7-15% of the total cost of furnishing an office.
  

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Feels a bit expensive, huh? We think so too.

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Fortunately, there are many costs to eliminate when moving an office or adapting the office environment with the help of new innovations, especially a company is worth mentioning as it stands out and leads the way for a new way of thinking that is more cost-effective and also sustainable:

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NORNORM

Short about Nornorm, it started as a project at IKEA and is now one of the world's leading startups, a so-called unicorn, backed by IKEA among others with Jonas Kjellberg as co-founder and chairman of the board.

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With Nornorm you can rent office furniture for 3€ per sqm (worldwide) with no binding period, 6 months notice period just like ours WAAS Service where NORNORM is also available as an option.

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There are a few more players in the market - but NORNORM is way ahead, with what we think is the best offer. NORNORM has a circular model which means they use recycled furniture that is like new - which you can read more here. Beyond that, they have a bigger vision of what they want to achieve, by putting pressure on manufacturers to produce furniture that is easier to restore by the way it is produced.

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In addition to that, some other short USPs follow below:

• Cut the majority of the cost of relocation or office customization that goes to the architect. Submit a 2D drawing to NORNORM and you will have a complete interior design proposal in 48 hours completely free of charge

• Do not lock in capital that can be used to run and develop your business.

• Tired of the decor? NORNORM offers free “switching days” 4 times a year, where you can redo the office and change to other furniture. Nornorm's architects and digital platform solve that.

• Flexibility? Difficult to think about the future? No desire to tie yourselves up for years at the same time you have to write down furniture on the balance sheet? Rent instead of buying things you don't need to own and get everything else, what you're after - functionality.

• Sustainable? Yes and not only that, circularly while wanting to have a greater impact by influencing the entire production line of the entire furniture industry - so that it will be easier and more economical to reuse.

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In the next article on the topic, we will give you some simple tips on how to reduce your cost for the entire office while not tying yourself up in long contracts.