#WORKBOLD PODCAST SEASON 5 EPISODE 2

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What is Furniture-as-a-Service?

A tool in the platform of Space-as-a-Service

Melanie Jones and Todd Simpson, from Berkshire Hathaway company CORT, join Bold Founder, Caleb Parker, to discuss Furniture-as-a-Service (FaaS).

In this episode Melanie shares how the term Furniture-as-a-Service was coined, then her and Todd go on to tag team some real life examples of how landlords are partnering with CORT to deliver value to their mutual office customers. We dive into some high level numbers, cover sustainability, and the circular economy.

And Caleb's favorite part of this episode of course is how CORT is leaning into the future with their new digital solutions that help landlords close deals faster.

Connect with Melanie Jones on LinkedIn

Connect with Todd Simpson on LinkedIn

Connect with Caleb Parker on LinkedIn

If you have any questions or feedback on this episode, email podcast@workbold.co

Value Bombs

  • The simple description for Furniture-as-a-Service is that it's a subscription-like approach that provides an access to furniture instead of ownership – Melanie Jones
  • It comes down to flexibility and choice for the tenant – Todd Simpson
  • The more we can go into access versus ownership, I think the more likely a company can be successful – Caleb Parker
  • Imagine everything you needed in an office environment, available in any quantity for almost any length of time, that you can change or switch out at any time – Todd Simpson
  • The business environment is more volatile than it's ever been. And so, planning 10-20 years ahead is not going to be a thing in the future – Caleb Parker
  • Our offering, which is truly circular, has a place in this conversation as we try to make significant steps to help our world – Melanie Jones
  • We're bringing the commercial real estate industry additional tools, additional solutions that they can use to close more business – Todd Simpson
  • There are additional costs and burdens that come from owning furniture. I think a lot of companies aren't really considering those costs when they make a purchase – Todd Simpson
  • A company may say that they're willing to pay a certain premium to have flexibility, so they don't interfere with the business agility, or the high financial cost of getting a real estate decision wrong – Melanie Jones
  • We have customers where they want to expand and explore new markets, but they use subleases and they use Furniture-as-a-Service to get a foothold in the market to stay flexible – Todd Simpson
  • If it's something that's flexing and changeable, reduces risk and capital, then Furniture-as-a-Service must be on the table in the conversation – Melanie Jones
  • The most common scenario I'm seeing going forward, is that operators are going to take a hybrid approach to owning and renting furniture - Todd Simpson
  • Before COVID, densification was the huge thing. Well, it's not the huge thing now – Melanie Jones