by ROB KIRKBRIDE, OFFICE INSIGHT

Sunon, a global office furniture manufacturer with deep roots in Asia, made a big statement in the U.S. market with the opening of a 13,000-square-foot showroom in Chicago’s Fulton Market. The new space, launched in June during Chicago Design Week, signals the company’s intent to be taken seriously as a competitor in one of the most competitive furniture landscapes in the world.

For Sunon, the decision to open a permanent space in Chicago wasn’t just about planting a pin on the map. It was about positioning. “We signed our lease in April and built out everything you saw – 13,000 square feet – in about two weeks,” said Jessica Rembert, USA brand marketing manager for the company which is based in Irvine, Calif. in the U.S. and has its world headquarters in Hangzhou, China.

George Hidalgo, Sunon’s Northeast regional manager and office furniture veteran, said he pushed for the centralized Chicago location. “We’re based in Irvine, California, but geographically, Irvine doesn’t really work well for us,” he said. “If you’re going to do Irvine, you might as well do Mexico, where we already have a really nice showroom and manufacturing campus. Chicago is central, and with NeoCon and Design Days happening here, it’s ideal.”

Sunon is also leveraging its supply chain to support U.S. customers better. Hidalgo pointed to the company’s Mexico plant and Dallas warehouse as game-changers. “We’ve introduced a six-week catalog, compared to 12 weeks if we source from Asia. And we’ve replenished our quick-ship program. With the Dallas warehouse, we can stock more products and deliver faster,” he said.

The decision to locate in Fulton Market rather than THE MART was deliberate, though Sunon looked at both locations. Rembert explained that Fulton Market felt like a better fit for a brand looking to establish permanent roots in North America. “We looked at both Fulton Market and THE MART, but given how much Fulton Market has grown, we wanted to be in that environment,” she said. “It felt like a more permanent location where we could settle our roots. Plus, being in the neighborhood with major competitors positions us among the brands we want to be associated with.”

The move appears to be paying off. One of the most telling compliments came from a design director at a major dealer who made her way to the Sunon showroom during Chicago Design Week. “She said, ‘If you go anywhere in Fulton Market, go to Sunon,’” Rembert recalled.

For a first impression, that kind of endorsement is hard to beat. Hidalgo had a similar experience. Because Sunon’s space sits just off the elevator, many visitors who were in the building to see Teknion and Fellowes also wandered into the Sunon showroom.

“I toured quite a few people who didn’t know the brand,” Hidalgo said. “By the time they went through the space they were impressed.”

For Hidalgo, the showroom is a chance to change perceptions.

“The scope and scale shocks people, I often say we are the one of the biggest manufacturers you’ve never heard of and our Founder Mr. Ni is a craftsman and is probably one of the most influential leaders in the contract furniture landscape that most are unaware of” he said. “We’ve been manufacturing globally for 25 to 30 years. Because of COVID and supply chain issues, the company decided to bring the Sunon brand to the US directly. Every distributor I’ve shown it to has been overly impressed. The quality is very, very high and the price points are really good.”

Educating Dealer partners and clients about the price-to-quality ratio is part of Sunon’s focus.  challenge. “There’s still a stigma that Chinese manufacturers equal cheap,” Hidalgo acknowledged. “Our quality is outstanding. When I do blind tests, nine out of 10 people pick Sunon products as the best quality.”

Beyond proving its quality and introducing the brand, Sunon used the showroom to tell stories. One focal point was the launch of the H5 chair, a product that took extra time to bring to market because the company insisted on making it with recycled ocean plastics. “They could have launched it two years earlier, but they didn’t want to give up on that environmental factor,” said Hidalgo. “It’s a great success story for us – walking the walk, not just talking it.”

Rembert said the showroom was also designed to highlight the breadth of Sunon’s offering. “We really can supply everything for the workspace today. From private offices to conference rooms, guest chairs, stools, panels, height-adjustable desks, we wanted to show the diversity of what we do,” she said.

That diversity was paired with a sense of playfulness. Accessories and quirky touches gave the showroom personality, while special activities during Fulton Market Design Days introduced visitors to Sunon’s cultural roots. “We had tea tasting, a recycled bead workshop tied to the H5 launch, and Asian handicraft activities,” said Rembert. “It was a way to celebrate who we are as a company; to introduce a part of Asian culture to North America in a creative, lighthearted way.”

Feedback from customers and competitors alike has been overwhelmingly positive. “I had colleagues who toured through and they were impressed,” said Hidalgo. Even Sunon’s leadership, which Rembert and Hidalgo describe as having high expectations, was pleased with the result.

The space has already influenced Sunon’s business. One distributor, inspired by the Chicago showroom, is now redesigning its own showroom entirely with Sunon products. The company also secured a national account during Chicago Design Week, helped by the chance for the client to see the product firsthand.

While the grand opening coincided with Chicago Design Week and Fulton Market Design Days, the showroom is already being used for more than just annual events. Rembert said Sunon hired a Chicago-based regional manager to guide dealer relationships and use the space year-round. “We’re hosting dealer groups, events with trade organizations and designer trainings. It’s a hub now,” she said.

Hidalgo noted that the central location makes it easier to host clients. “I’ve already had two fly-ins since Design Days where customers came for the day. Chicago is much more convenient than Irvine, and it worked out really well,” he said.

With more time to prepare for next year’s Chicago Design Week, Sunon is already planning. “We’ll probably focus on a new product launch, similar to how this year was about H5,” Rembert said. The company is also talking to Teknion and Fellows, neighbors in the same building, to potentially collaborate on events and draw more traffic collectively.

For a company that only recently entered the U.S. market under its own name, Sunon is moving fast. The Chicago showroom establishes a physical presence in the heart of the industry, provides a platform for storytelling and cultural exchange, and gives dealers and designers a hands-on experience with the brand’s breadth and quality.

Hidalgo summed it up simply: “It was a very positive experience. Every customer and every designer who walked through said, ‘Wow.’”

And that’s exactly what Sunon was hoping for.