HAY (company)

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HAY
Company typeSubsidiary
Founded2002; 22 years ago (2002) in Copenhagen, Denmark
FoundersMette and Rolf Hay
HeadquartersCopenhagen, Denmark
Number of locations
25 in 9 countries[1] (2022)
ProductsFurniture, accessories
Number of employees
400[2] (2016)
ParentMillerKnoll
Websitehay.dk
millerknoll.com

HAY is a Danish furniture company founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2002 by Mette and Rolf Hay. Its goal was to create and sell well-designed furniture that was accessible in terms of price as well as "design concepts".[3] As of 2019, the brand is majority-owned by U.S. furniture company Herman Miller.[4]

The cofounders serve as HAY's creative directors, with Rolf in charge of the furniture division and Mette in charge of accessories. They are closely involved in the development of HAY products, which is collaboratively done among in-house designers and product developers as well as a roster of international designers such as Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Stefan Diez, Johannes Torpe, and Naoto Fukasawa.[5]

History[edit]

Early years[edit]

HAY was founded in 2002 by the husband-and-wife duo, Mette and Rolf Hay, who had themselves met when they worked at Gubi, another Danish furniture company.[2] The idea for a furniture company came about when Rolf Hay met Troels Holch Povlsen, who had founded the Danish clothing giant Bestseller, among other companies, and the two decided to start making furniture together.[6]

The company introduced its first collection in January 2003, at imm Cologne, an annual furniture fair in Cologne, Germany. In 2004, HAY opened its first store on Pilestræde, in the center of Copenhagen. In 2007, HAY opened its flagship store (to this day), HAY House, also in central Copenhagen.

Global expansion and growth[edit]

In 2014, HAY debuted a pop-up store for accessories and some furniture, HAY Mini Market, at the Milan Furniture Fair in 2014.[7] Mette spearheaded the HAY Mini Market, a "small-object bazaar that sells attractive versions of mundane items like dishcloths, nail clippers, and tape".[2] Mini Markets soon popped up around the world, including at department stores Selfridges in London and Le Bon Marché in Paris, as well as the Tsutaya bookstore in Tokyo.[8] In 2015, HAY arrived in the United States via the MoMA design store in New York City.[9]

As of 2015, HAY was operating in more than 50 countries with an annual turnover of US$140 million according to the Wall Street Journal.[2]

Acquisition by Herman Miller[edit]

By 2018, HAY's catalogue included 180 items of furniture and 350 accessories, with $155 million in projected revenue for the year.[10] In June 2018, the U.S. furniture company Herman Miller acquired a 33% equity stake in HAY for $66 million, as well as the rights to the HAY brand in North America for approximately $5 million.[11]

Herman Miller and HAY worked together to localize production as well as open three stores in the United States—first in Portland, Oregon,[12] as well as Costa Mesa, California, and Chicago. Revenue for its fiscal year ending July 2019 totaled $160 million. In the context of this strong performance and growth potential, in October 2019, Herman Miller purchased an additional 34% in equity for about $78 million, making it the majority owner. Herman Miller's CEO Andi Owen observed that its partnership with HAY had helped it reach "a younger, more urban demographic".[13][14]

Collaborations[edit]

The Creative Directors Mette and Rolf Hay (in charge of accessories and furniture, respectively) are involved in product design and development. Not only do they collaborate closely with the company's in-house designers and product-development teams, it has also been praised for working with contemporary designers from all around the world; some of them were already established (e.g., Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec), whereas others rose to prominence in part due to their collaboration with HAY (e.g., Scholten & Baijings).[15][8] HAY's commitment to accessibility had led it to work with "designers who have an understanding of industrial production as to how things can actually be made".[16]

Some designers that HAY has collaborated with include:[17]

In addition to product or industrial designers, HAY also collaborates other companies as well as with individuals in adjacent careers, such as the Danish chef Frederik Bille Brahe, with whom they released pots, pans, sponges, cups, and other kitchenware in 2017.[18]

Some of the corporate brands HAY has worked with include Sonos (HAY launched colorful limited-edition Sonos One speakers, which are usually just black and white),[19] and Japanese shoe brand Suicoke.[16] It also worked with IKEA to release the YPPERLIG Collection in 2017 with over 60 products including sofas, tables, mirrors, trays, and tote bags.[20]

Select works[edit]

Prince chair by Louise Campbell

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "HAY Stores". HAY. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Rachlin, Natalia (15 June 2016). "A Day in the Life of Mette & Rolf Hay". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  3. ^ HAY Brand Book 2020. HAY Denmark. February 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. ^ Koellner, Amanda. "Herman Miller + HAY: A look inside the Danish design brand's partnership with Herman Miller Group". HermanMiller. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  5. ^ "HAY Designers". hay.dk. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  6. ^ Vaija, Mikko (13 August 2018). "Rolf and Mette Hay: "We want to make products that people truly care about"". Design Stories. Finnish Design Shop. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  7. ^ Fitzherbert, Teresa (10 April 2014). "Hay pops up in Milan with miniature marketplace". Dezeen. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b Treggiden, Katie (2 April 2015). "Hey Hey Hay!". Design Milk. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  9. ^ Kurutz, Steven (12 August 2015). "HAY Mini Market Hits New York". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  10. ^ Ro, Lauren (7 June 2018). "Herman Miller acquires stake in Danish furniture brand Hay". Curbed. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  11. ^ Burns Olson, Katherine (18 June 2018). "Herman Miller acquires big stake in this Scandi brand". Business of Home. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  12. ^ Riley-Adams, Ella (1 November 2018). "This Cult-Favorite Danish Design Brand Is Finally Launching in the U.S." Vogue. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  13. ^ Turner, Grace (9 October 2019). "Zeeland's Herman Miller Acquires Majority Interest in Copenhagen's HAY A/S". DBusiness Magazine. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  14. ^ Wear, Anne Flynn (14 October 2019). "Herman Miller acquires majority ownership of Danish brand Hay". Furniture Today. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  15. ^ "The humble beginnings of HAY". Indesign Live. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  16. ^ a b Bourton, Lucy (26 July 2021). "Democratic design: How Mette and Rolf fell in love and founded Hay". It's Nice That. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  17. ^ a b c "HAY & MoMA Design Store". MoMA. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  18. ^ Morby, Alice (23 August 2017). "Hay collaborates with Danish chef to create range of kitchen accessories". Dezeen. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  19. ^ Morby, Alice (17 April 2018). "Hay and Sonos join forces on range of colourful speakers". Dezeen. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  20. ^ Xie, Jenny (2 October 2017). "Ikea, Hay launch long-awaited collaboration—and it's gorgeous". Curbed. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Louise Campbell, Prince Chair (2002)". MoMA. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Prince chair by Louise Campbell for Hay". Retail Design Blog. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec". HAY. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  24. ^ Hitti, Natashah (24 April 2018). "Bouroullec brothers design low-cost Élémentaire chair for Hay". Dezeen. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  25. ^ Howarth, Dan (20 April 2018). "Hay, Sonos and WeWork display living and work environments at Milanese palazzo". Dezeen. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  26. ^ Fuso, Laura (21 January 2021). "HAY's democracy: good design is for everyone". Design Wanted. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  27. ^ "About A Chair AAC 22 by HAY". Really Well Made. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
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