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Michael Donnelly's business is an unusual measure of Fairfield County's economic health.

When the economy is good, the new furnishings section of his office furniture business thrives; when the economy is not so good, his used furniture section thrives.

Right now, both the supply and demand for used office furniture is up, said Donnelly, president of Superior Office Furniture and Supply

"The supply is up because companies are downsizing, being acquired by other firms, or going out of business," he said. "Demand is up because companies are looking to save money." Donnelly says much of his used office furniture comes from company stories that have bad endings.

"Recently, I acquired some nice furniture from a high-tech company in Norwalk that had downsized," he said. "That didn't work, and it went out of business," putting about 100 people out of work. "I basically bought a Danbury company's 2-year-old furniture lock, stock and barrel - executive offices, conference rooms, reception area, cubicles," he said. "The company was bought and was being downsized as jobs and responsibilities were transferred out of state.

Most of the business failures or downsizings are in small- and medium-sized businesses. "Two- and three-man shops may see a guy just move into his house," letting the others go.

In fact, so many companies are ridding themselves of furniture, he said, "I can't buy all the furniture that comes my way."

Watching the purse strings

Businesses and companies that are buying furniture "are trying to put more people into smaller spaces" as a result of a move, downsizing or acquisition, and are watching their budgets a little more closely. One Stamford company split off one of its operations and moved it to Charlotte, N.C., and moved the other business portion to Norwalk.

"I was able to work something out where their people weren't all cramped" in the new location. "People don't want to give up quality," Donnelly said, "but the purse strings are being held a little more tightly. They may not get a wood desk, but instead choose veneer, or pass on veneer and get laminate."

I think every business is watching its purchases," he said. "I keep hearing that consumers aren't driving the economy, but business isn't driving the economy right now either," he said. "Sales of new office furniture have shown a drop because a substantial part of that business is companies replacing old furniture. Even the office supplies portion of his business has declined. "My customers are doing fewer projects now that their business is down," and that means they need fewer supplies like paper and binders.

As a result of those tight budgets, Donnelly's business is down about 7 percent from last year, not including September, "which was a bad month for everybody."

But not everything is gloom and doom. "On the plus side, I'm getting regular requests from people to bid on new-furniture jobs." And recently, he outfitted a Brewster, N.Y., CPA firm that moved to larger quartets and was expanding and hiring.

Superior's 18,000-square-foot warehouse showroom is at the northern reaches of Fairfield County. Its territory reaches into Westchester and Putnam counties in New York, and into Litchfield and New Haven counties to the north and southeast as well, Donnelly said. He's headed the supply company for a dozen years after working a dozen years at the family-owned Mullaney's Office Supply store in Bethel.

Superior's sales are roughly 25 percent used furniture and 75 percent new in terms of dollars, roughly 50/50 in terms of pieces, he noted. Included in that 25 percent is scratchand-dent furniture - new furniture that he's acquired because it was damaged in shipping.

"We also have close-out furniture that's brand new but that a wholesaler doesn't want to carry because the fabric won't sell," he said, or some other design element that keeps it from fast sales.

Despite the showroom's sluggish sales, Donnelly is upbeat and optimistic. Economic downturns, he said, "set the table for periods of growth. Companies get lean and mean during downturns and are in a good position for good growth in the future."

Most of the business failures or downsizings are in small- and medium-sized businesses. "Two- and three-man shops may see a guy just move into his house," letting the others go.

In fact, so many companies are ridding themselves of furniture, he said, "I can't buy all the furniture that comes my way."

Watching the purse strings

Businesses and companies that are buying furniture "are trying to put more people into smaller spaces" as a result of a move, downsizing or acquisition, and are watching their budgets a little more closely. One Stamford company split off one of its operations and moved it to Charlotte, N.C., and moved the other business portion to Norwalk.

"I was able to work something out where their people weren't all cramped" in the new location. "People don't want to give up quality," Donnelly said, "but the purse strings are being held a little more tightly. They may not get a wood desk, but instead choose veneer, or pass on veneer and get laminate."

I think every business is watching its purchases," he said. "I keep hearing that consumers aren't driving the economy, but business isn't driving the economy right now either," he said. "Sales of new office furniture have shown a drop because a substantial part of that business is companies replacing old furniture. Even the office supplies portion of his business has declined. "My customers are doing fewer projects now that their business is down," and that means they need fewer supplies like paper and binders.

As a result of those tight budgets, Donnelly's business is down about 7 percent from last year, not including September, "which was a bad month for everybody."

But not everything is gloom and doom. "On the plus side, I'm getting regular requests from people to bid on new-furniture jobs." And recently, he outfitted a Brewster, N.Y., CPA firm that moved to larger quartets and was expanding and hiring.

Superior's 18,000-square-foot warehouse showroom is at the northern reaches of Fairfield County. Its territory reaches into Westchester and Putnam counties in New York, and into Litchfield and New Haven counties to the north and southeast as well, Donnelly said. He's headed the supply company for a dozen years after working a dozen years at the family-owned Mullaney's Office Supply store in Bethel.

Superior's sales are roughly 25 percent used furniture and 75 percent new in terms of dollars, roughly 50/50 in terms of pieces, he noted. Included in that 25 percent is scratchand-dent furniture - new furniture that he's acquired because it was damaged in shipping.

"We also have close-out furniture that's brand new but that a wholesaler doesn't want to carry because the fabric won't sell," he said, or some other design element that keeps it from fast sales.

Despite the showroom's sluggish sales, Donnelly is upbeat and optimistic. Economic downturns, he said, "set the table for periods of growth. Companies get lean and mean during downturns and are in a good position for good growth in the future."