Hello loyal readers...if any are left out there. Sorry for the long time in between posts, but work has been pretty crazy lately. After a very busy holiday season, it's been nice to lay back on the couch and watch a few bowl games.
2008 didn't end so well for most folks out there. A financial crisis and two wars have really put a strain on the country. The fourth quarter shook the retail and manufacturing industries worse than any period in recent memory.
As my world sits at the intersection of online retail and office furniture, I've seen plenty of bad news as well. We've seen massive layoffs from top manufacturers such as Herman Miller, Haworth and Steelcase, and even once fast-growing internet retailers like eToys and iFloor.com have sought bankruptcy protection. One thing is certain, you can expect several announcements just like this over the next several months.
In these troubling times, it's more important than ever to make sure whichever company you buy goods from will be there in a year or even 3 months. Keep in mind, sometimes the company that's offering the best price is able to do so because they don't make investments in serving customers after the purchase, and if anything goes wrong you'll be stuck holding the bag...or the conference table as the case may be.
Okay, well that's it from me...I'll try to be better about posting more often.