독일 사무용 가구의 경쟁력 연구

Research on the Competitiveness of German Office Furniture

The purpose of this paper is to suggest the direction for the future development of the office furniture industry in South Korea by analyzing the historical development of office furniture in Germany with a focus on companies and products. This paper analyzes the history and product of German Office Furniture, focusing on nine companies with a long history and significant sales. The companies are Thonet, Sedus Systems, Renz, Wilkhahn, König+Neurath, Interstuhl, Rolf Benz, Brunner, and Nils Holger Moormann. The reasons for the global competitiveness of German office furniture can be summarized into three main factors. First, it is based on innovative technology in terms of structure and materials, incorporating various functionalities. Second, it has implemented design through an ergonomic approach. Third, it purses functional-oriented and rational design. In this paper, two approaches are proposed as methods for enhancing the competitiveness of South Korean office furniture, similar to that of Germany. First, Active investment in research and development is essential to elevate the lagging furniture technology to the level of developed countries. Efforts should be made to break away from the culture of imitation during this process. Second, Collaboration with expert groups such as universities or designers is essential to achieve not only the development of new technologies but also design differentiation.