Berlin/ Copenhagen, May 11 2022 – NORNORM, a subscription-based furnishing service offering radically affordable workspace solutions through circular renting models, is expanding its business to the German market. The startup, headquartered in Copenhagen, was founded in 2020 by former IKEA manager Anders Jespen as well as investor and Skype co-creator Jonas Kjellberg. The two have the goal and vision of applying the circular economy model to office furniture by having companies subscribe to furniture instead of buying it. This increases flexibility and saves resources at the same time. NORNORM's model is based on a simple premise: Don't buy office furniture, subscribe to it. The large investment block for office furniture is eliminated and replaced by flexible costs of three euros per square metre of office space. NORNORM already has some well-known brand clients like Wolt, Electrolux and Klarna.
NORNORM was founded in partnership with the international furniture giant IKEA. Today, the start-up is independent, but IKEA is still on board as a strategic investor. After a successful start in Scandinavia and initial expansion steps in the Netherlands, NORNORM is now expanding its activities to Germany. The team in Germany is led by Julian Jacobi and Nikolas Hartlieb. As Head of Growth Germany, Julian is responsible for sales and partnership management. Before joining NORNORM, he worked at fintech scale-up Spendesk and SaaS startup Uberall. Nikolas Hartlieb is Head of Operations Germany and responsible for operations in the country. Prior to NORNORM, Nikolas was a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
“Our mission is to save as many resources as possible. Now we are expanding our proven model to the biggest market in Europe and this will have a big impact. For the planet but also for the employees in Germany who will benefit from our first class service and furniture for improved well-being and more productivity,” says Anders Jespen, CEO and Co-Founder NORNORM.
“Germany is an attractive and growing market. We want to take part in this development. In constantly changing times, capital investments in buildings, office space and office furniture are unattractive and inflexible for our clientele. From us, they receive a custom-fit furnishing concept and exactly the office furniture they need, delivered directly without delay,” says Julian Jacobi, Head of Growth Germany.
NORNORM furniture is manufactured by renowned brands such as Hay, Martela and Herman Miller and combines long durability with timeless, Nordic design. The aim is to significantly extend the lifespan of the furniture. If a company no longer needs certain pieces, NORNORM picks them up and refurbishes them so that they can be used again elsewhere. With 10 million tonnes of office furniture ending up in landfills every year in Europe alone, NORNORM is driven by the goal of creating a fully recyclable solution for workplaces and reducing some of the burden on the planet caused by office furniture.
NORNORM has over 50 employees and offices in Copenhagen (head office), Amsterdam, Stockholm and Berlin.
NORNORM's Germany launch in the media
Finanzen.net: "NORNORM: "Netflix für Möbel" kommt nach Deutschland"
Salzburger Nachrichten: "Büromöbel im Abo: Fokus auf Kreislaufwirtschaft"
t3n: "Ikea bringt Büromöbel-Abo-Startup Nornorm nach Deutschland"
Giga: "Möbel im Abo: Ikea setzt auf das Netflix-Prinzip"
Finanznachrichten: "Ikea bringt Büromöbel-Abo-Startup Nornorm nach Deutschland"
Online Händler News: "Ikea-Beteiligung: Mietmöbel-StartUp startet in Deutschland"
Silicon canals: "IKEA-backed NORNORM launches its subscription-based furnishing service in Germany: Know more here"
L'entrepreneuer: "NORNORM, soutenu par IKEA, lance son service d’ameublement par abonnement en Allemagne : en savoir plus ici"
Techfieber: "NORNORM: Kreislaufwirtschaft für Büromöbel #Startups"