The furniture business has been hard-hit by the recession but for some New Zealand companies it has been a valuable learning experience.
North Shore designer and manufacturer de Bruin-Judge Furniture, formed in 1993, has had to restructure to meet the challenges of the weak market but is probably stronger forthe experience. "The recession has opened up some opportunities - stuff that was not present during the skills shortage," director Robyn de Bruin-Judge says.
"It is easier to recruit staff who can do a wider range of things. The market was so constrained before that it was difficult to implement the plans you wanted to."
De Bruin-Judge, who owns the company with her husband Wim de Bruin, concedes the furniture business is tough going. "The industry as a whole has found it very hard in the past two years. There is a degree of optimism but the pipeline for construction is quite long. It is taking some time for the industry to recover."
De Bruin-Judge Furniture, which has 24 staff and aims at the top end of the market, is dependent, like others in the trade, on a confident and growing building sector. "Houses take a while to plan and all the finishing trades are at the end of that," de Bruin-Judge says. "The company has some flexibility and is definitely better placed to cope with a changing economy.
"We had to let a couple of people go over that time but we have restructured positions to deal with the changes in the economy and that has required a different mix of people."
