Quality, sustainability & wellbeing – key trends of 2024 in interior design
COS, one of the leading integrated fit-out services providers and pioneer of this segment in Romania, reports 29 million euros business volume in 2023. While the office market is characterized by reduced new supply added to modern office stock, the company consolidates its cross – sectorial activity and its national footprint, while diversifying its revenues.
This year, companies invested significantly in refurbishing their office interior spaces, on grounds of high share of contract lease renewals on the market and reduced new office supply[i], to promote in-office work and employees` engagement in the post – pandemic period.
Emerging sectors such as healthcare, hospitality, education and industrial continued their investments in interior fit-out, with COS having delivered in 2023 the new children`s hospital built by Give Life/ Daruieste Viata Association at Marie Curie. In the industrial segment, COS doubled its volume of office deliveries, in locations such as Oradea (Plexus), Timisoara (Hirschmann Automotive, Hamilton, Continental) or Iasi (Trutzi).
The average investment in interior fit-out (design and built environment, including construction services, ready-made and custom-made furniture, flooring) ranges between 700-900 EUR/sqm, peaking up to 1.100 EUR / sqm for premium level. A 15-20% increase is registered as compared to the previous year, on grounds of inflation, salaries and raw materials, products, and transportation price increase.
Continuous investments to streamline customer service
“On grounds of effervescent activity in the business environment, with most leaders focused on increasing the workplace performance and employee engagement, COS continued its investment strategy aimed at delivering real added value on the market, excellent customer service and streamlining its operational capabilities,” highlights Christophe Weller, founding shareholder and CEO of COS.
The company invested a total of 1,8 million euros in digital transformation to streamline and optimize processes and engage with customers effectively, in a new 1.600 sqm A class warehouse facility located in Chiajna, to improve customer service level through better furniture and carpet stocks management, as well as its own R&D Workspace Centre in the Northern part of Bucharest (MASIA). COS is the first and single fit - out local player which offers its customers the possibility to use its space as temporary office while their new locations are under construction and for testing future work setups before implementing them in their own workspace.
A Gallup Global Research highlights that employees lack engagement and feel more stress: 77% of employees are disengaged, while 44% of employees experience a lot of stress at work. Overall, people and their work performance face serious challenges in terms of productivity, work-life balance and connection to the company culture. In this context, a Steelcase global research shows that leaders are shifting workplace priorities, with employee wellbeing (81%), sustainability (78%) and Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (76%) being among their top priorities[i].
Quality, sustainability and wellbeing – key trends of 2024
Increased preference for quality, sustainable interiors is one of the major trends of the previous year, expected to continue in 2024. This translates into clients demanding better finishings or passively and actively embedded technology in highly innovative products like user configurable workspaces and furniture (i.e. high adjustable desks). In terms of sustainability, last year, Interface and COS recycled 3.000 sqm of used carpet, while products encompassing ESG features such as carbon neutral chairs or carbon neutral and carbon negative flooring solutions have been highly preferred introduced both in Bucharest and in various locations across the country.
Locally sourced custom – made furniture continues its ascending trend. Although the most significant sales volume is registered in the standard, non-custom furniture segment, the business continues to register a substantial increase in appetite for customized furniture solutions, made by local producers, with more than 31% demand increase in COS` portfolio in 2023 versus the previous year.
Employee wellbeing is another major trend, with interior design solutions that support the psychological and physical comfort registering high demand. While psychological needs are met through colors, lightning solutions, biophilic design or acoustic privacy, the physical needs are met through ergonomic furniture, high adjustable desks or bar tables.
As of last year, COS’s portfolio reached a total of more than 2.850 customers and over 20.000 projects. In 2023, the company delivered a significant number of interior design & built projects for companies active across the country, of which the most notable include The Access Group Timisoara, Kruk, Blackline, Kaizen, Globant Cluj, Hirshman Automotive, Astra Zeneca, A ON Services, Cycleon Recare, Roland Berger, RetuRO, Quieisser Pharma or Alfred Net.
Active on the local market since 1998, COS is a leading provider of turnkey solutions for interior spaces in Romania and activates across the entire spectrum of relevant segments: offices, industrial spaces (interior fittings within logistics parks and industrial facilities), hospitality (hotels, restaurants), healthcare (interiors for clinics and hospitals) and education (private and public schools). COS has solid and longstanding partnerships in Romania with suppliers such as Steelcase and Interface, international leaders in the furniture segments, respectively solutions for flooring, but also with local manufacturers.
COS` majority owner is the private equity company SARMIS Capital.
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* fit-out = the activity of providing integrated consulting solutions, concept, design, supply and/or production of furniture and complete furnishing of interior spaces.
[i] [i] CBRE: Romania Real Estate Market Outlook 2024
[ii] [ii] Steelcase Designing Better Futures Global Research
