UK Furniture Manufacturer Business Plan

We are a small company owned and operated by James and Susan Graham, husband and wife, as a Limited Company. James is the developer and designer of the products, and Susan manages the company as president.

Management style reflects the participation of the owners. The company respects its community of co-workers and treats all workers well. We attempt to develop and nurture the company as community. We are not very hierarchical.

6.1 Organizational Structure

Susan Graham, President, is responsible for overall business management. Our managers of finance, marketing, and sales report directly to Susan.

James Graham, designer, is responsible for product design and development, assembly, and manufacturing. Our workshop manager reports directly to James.

As co-owners, James and Susan jointly develop business strategy and long-term plans. James is strong on product know-how and technology, and Susan is strong on management and business know-how.

6.2 Management Team

Susan Graham, 43, president, had a successful career in retail before becoming half owner of Fulham Furniture Mfr. She was an area manager of Marks and Spencer, a buyer for John Lewis’s, and merchandising assistant for Next. She has a degree in literature from the University of Manchester.

James Graham, 44, workshop manager, designed furniture for Haines Manufacturing before becoming half owner of Fulham Furniture Mfr. He was responsible for one of the first executive desks designed to include customised fittings for personal computers, and was one of the first to design the monitor inside the desk under glass. He has an B.S. and M.S. in industrial design, from University of Edinburgh and the University of York, respectively.

Terry Hatcher, 34, is marketing manager. Terry joined Fulham Furniture Mfr. from the marketing department of the Markleville Furniture chain, having been in charge of national catalogue production and catalogue advertising. Terry also managed direct sales at one of the furniture distributors that has since died to industry consolidation. Terry has a degree in literature from Oxford.

6.3 Management Team Gaps

We depend on our professionals, our accountant and our solicitor, for some key management help. We don’t have a strong background in finance or business management.

As we grow we will need to develop more manufacturing technique, more mass production. James grew up with the hand-made and custom furniture business, knows fine woodworking well, but admits a weakness in establishing standardised assembly.

6.4 Personnel Plan

The personnel table assumes slow growth in employees, and 10% per annum pay raises. We already have a strong benefits policy with profit sharing and additional health care benefits and very low turnover.

Salaries are generally in line with market pay for the London area in our industry, although our benefits are above standard market level, so we ultimately pay a bit more for our people than what might be considered standard in our market. London, however, is on average a higher wage location than most of the more developed industry areas.

As we grow, we expect to see steady increases in our personnel to match the increases in sales.