Poulsbo's Watson Furniture continues growth selling furniture in a post-pandemic world

POULSBO -- With a new president, a new 10,000-square-foot warehouse and the recent addition of an innovative steel-tube-cutting machine, one of Kitsap's largest manufacturers, Watson Furniture, is busy investing in the future of furniture building.

Watson, a business-to-business furniture retail company, was founded on Bainbridge in the early 1960s and its now 200 employees work out of a headquarters in Poulsbo's Twelve Trees business park, shipping locally made products to local, national and international business markets. Despite recent economic fluctuations, Watson Furniture has adapted to suit needs in a post-pandemic world.

After the 2020 pandemic's stay-at-home orders hit, offices suddenly vacated and the demand for workplace furniture dropped overnight. Watson wasn't immune to the impacts of a dip that rippled through nearly every sector of the economy, but the company pivoted to clients in "essential businesses" -- like 911 call centers, or a federal government contract that still makes up a third of the company's sales.

After a drop in sales volume by about 20%, by 2022 the company had seen growth return to near pre-pandemic levels, according to CK McKenzie, president of Watson Furniture for the past 16 months. McKenzie, son of past company president Clif McKenzie, began working at Watson Furniture in 2020 after serving in the Marines and became president of the company in January 2023.

CK McKenzie isn't the only recent change at Watson. The types of furniture in demand have changed. Post-pandemic, McKenzie said, there has been a large rise in demand for private office furniture, conference tables, and whiteboards likely due to the new work-from-home, collaborate-in-office policies.

The future of furniture building for Watson Furniture

Watson Furniture is a local, family run business in the Pacific Northwest. They believe in sourcing materials locally and building in America. Their primary raw material, wood, is sourced from Oregon while the rest of the materials are from various different places. The particle board used in their products is much thicker than the industry standard for furniture flat packed (think IKEA), which means that their wood is much stronger. Watson Furniture products are fully assembled on-site, which offers a level of sturdiness and durability that can only be achieved at the manufacturing facility. Products are shipped fully assembled and ready to use.

A 10,000-square-foot warehouse expansion that was completed in February is being used to store raw material and finished products. According to McKenzie, Watson Furniture has historically been a made-to-order company. After dealing with supply chain issues over the past few years, Watson Furniture shifted to purchase more raw materials and keep them in house, so business didn't get slowed down from material delays.

Watson Furniture has also invested in new machinery, including a BLM Elect 52 Steel Tube Bender and a BLM Group LT7 Lasertube Cutter. These machines are used to cut and bend steel respectively with high-tech precision and efficiency. This allows the company more flexibility as the machines will replace the need for a blacksmith to hand make every individual part.

Though the office furniture market looks different than before, McKenzie believes that the majority of businesses will eventually be back in the office.

“You slow down innovation when you work remotely,” McKenzie said.

Watson Furniture has also focus marketing in new places, toward cities such as Kansas City and Atlanta where an uptick in office workers -- and furniture needs -- was observed in the recent years. Watson Furniture sold about 40 million products in 2023, of which just 7 million were sold to customers in Washington and Oregon.

Despite some recent changes and business adaptations for the longtime local business, the core of Watson Furniture remains remarkably the same. The second bestseller product from 2023, for example, was a table that was designed 15 years ago.

"Our design philosophy is based on functionality, timeless beauty, and responsible material usage," McKenzie said.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Watson Furniture of Poulsbo continues to grow furniture manufacturing