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Unit 8: e-Business

This, together with the UK, is the highest level of all European countries for which data are Notes
available.
Danish furniture is sold through a wide variety of channels, including Internet sales. The
most important furniture portal is “Danish Furniture On-Line”, which is claimed to be
“one of Europe’s most important furniture gateways with links to more than 200
manufacturers”.
Activities
Manufacturers’ Index – online portal for the Danish furniture industry

The ADFI represents more than 90% of Danish furniture production, including almost 350
members in June 2004. As early as 1996, when the Internet was just taking off, the ADFI
introduced “Danish Furniture On-Line” (http://www.danishfurniture.dk). The driving
force behind creating this online portal was to give the ADFI’s members opportunities to
present their companies in a new electronic medium. The link to this portal is free of
charge. In order to market the portal, the ADFI sent direct mails to some thousands of
buyers of Danish furniture all over the world in 1999. In its current state, the portal is a
pleasantly designed website with five rubrics:

Manufacturers’ Index, the internet portal of the furniture trade;
Dansk Mobler Trade Magazine, providing information about advertising in this
specialised press magazine;

facts about Danish furniture industries, such as statistics on industry and market size
and structure;
consumers’ tips, such as how to clean and maintain furniture adequately;

press information.
Manufacturers’ Index provides access to more than 230 Danish manufacturers and exporters
of furniture and related furniture products. Each company has at least an information site
with the company’s name, products and e-mail address. Most firms also have a link to
their website. The websites generally have a very high presentation quality. The Index
lists firms of all size classes, but most of them are small firms, some of them proudly
referring to a long tradition of family owned craft business. In 2002, the search facilities of
the Index were extended to encompass suppliers in 13 different product categories, from
dining room chairs to carpets and textiles, or to provide an alphabetical list of all companies.
The international orientation of the Index is shown by the fact that it is available in Danish
and English.
According to ADFI representative Jørgen Andersen there are no current plans to further
develop it except by trying to ensure that every Danish furniture manufacturer is represented
in the index.

The ADFI believes that one of the main benefits of the portal is that the companies get a lot
of additional contacts. However, the ADFI does not follow up business results and is not
informed to what extent the contacts actually lead to sales. The goods that best lend
themselves to be sold online are probably cheap furniture and soft furnishings – for which
the risk of not actually seeing them before purchasing is low – and brand furniture for
which the customers know what they receive.
E-business at Aksel Kjersgaard furniture manufacturing

The Aksel Kjersgaard factory, a cabinet-making enterprise based in Odder at the Danish
east coast, specialises in manufacturing very high quality tables, hall furniture and home
office furniture.
Contd....

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