The man introducing NJA Furniture to the UK independents – and further multiples – is former Steens UK MD and consultant, Keith Robinson. For Keith, stepping from one Danish flat-pack giant to another makes perfect sense – in the wake of the difficulties the company experienced earlier this year (see page 38), Keith is keen to deliver on promises of customer service right away.
“Discussions with NJA followed when Steens in Denmark collapsed,” says Keith. “Over a period of time, we’ve talked and agreed to put independent UK customer business through my new company, Furniture To Go (Hamble) Ltd, and for me to establish a UK office for NJA to deal with major accounts.
Established in 1975 as a family business, NJA Furniture specialises in FSC-certified flat-packed solid pine and MDF furniture ranges. “It’s typically commercial Scandinavian product,” says Keith, “and I’ll be bringing just the bread-and-butter product to the UK market to start with.”
Last year, the company was reconstructed with a new shareholder base and a sales strategy aimed at large customers in the main European markets – currently, NJA has only one major key account customer in the UK.
The company is located in Nors, Denmark, where all production takes place in-house in a modern 42,000m2 plant. NJA employs approximately 125 workers across separate shifts, boasting an output capacity of around 10,000 self-assembly furniture items each week. NJA’s ranges consist of practical, mid-priced bedroom – including children’s – and living room furniture.
The vast majority of NJA’s total sales are exported to Europe’s main markets. NJA keenly develops new models and ranges in close co-operation with its international customers, reflecting individual market trends and developing increasingly user-friendly designs, with new finishes and colours to satisfy demand.
Keith is eager to introduce NJA to the UK – at the time of writing, he has already committed to a second product run – yet he is happy for the business to grow “as and when I want it to”.
“I’m going to hold product in the UK warehouse for two-three day delivery,” he says. “There will also be stock kept at the NJA headquarters in Denmark.”
Both NJA’s websites – www.njafurniture.dk and www.furniture-to-go.co.uk– will go live imminently, and will feature all of the stock monitoring, transaction and delivery functions today’s retailers require to do business quickly, clearly and efficiently.
