The Muurame-based company Monena Oy delivered racks for 1,500 coats to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg in January. The coat racks in the Presidents Congress Palace and the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg also feature Finnish design. Monena is actively seeking to expand its markets in Russia. According to Monenas Managing Director Jukka Partanen, there is a strong interior decoration boom in Russia, and the company wants its share of the profitable business.
We are the market leader in public lobby furnishing products in Finland so no great growth can be expected domestically. Russia is an interesting environment for busi¬¬ness there you can expect anything between zero and infinity.
Monena has long traditions in Russian trade, which is now experiencing a second wave. The first major exer¬tion came to a sudden stop when the Russian Rouble was devalued in the late 1990s, and the market has now been rebuilt on new ground in the 21st century. The market is huge, but so are the business challenges.
Business in Russia requires persistence. Customer relations develop gradually over time. It may take a long time to win the first deal. Then again, once the connec¬tion is established Russians are, fortunately, very loyal customers, Partanen tells us.
Monena will celebrate its 40th anniversary in a couple of years. Established by Teuvo Partanen in 1969, the company started out as a metal products subcontractor. Monena has also practised its own product manufacture from the very beginning.
I sketched coat stand models, which were immediately taken into production. At the same time, the first wall-to-wall carpets were coming to shops in Finland but no one made sales racks suitable for them. We designed devices operating with the paternoster principle, which ma¬de it easy to move the large carpet rolls. Nowadays, laminate and parquet flooring have surpassed plastic and carpet floorings in Finland but there is demand for the devices in Russian stores, Partanen says.
Today, the Lotus and Lilja coat stands designed by Partanen are classics that sell thousands of items per year. Their form language turned out to be some¬what futuristic; the clear, streamlined design is both contemporary and timeless at the same time.
Monena has always used external designers and has built a network of some twenty leading Finnish designers. The Partanens have been good at sensing talent many young designers they have employed have become renowned professionals.
The main materials for Monena coat stands and rack systems are steel and massive wood. The prod¬ucts are designed to endure long-term use.
Domestic manufacture is a key criterion for us. Our lobby furnishings are 100 per cent Finnish and in our shop furniture the corresponding figure is 95 per cent, Jukka Partanen points out. Monena implemented a change of generation some ten years ago. The company founder, Teuvo Partanen, now serves as the Chairman of the Board and is still ac¬tively involved in product development.
A few years ago he created a nationwide project that brought inventors and small entrepreneurs together to ponder technical problems related to production and products. He has also co-operated with the University of Jyväskylä in order to spread fresh ideas across the field of business. In order for a small company to succeed, it must create something new, Partanen emphasises.
According to Export Manager Jannina Muurimäki, Monenas marketing is focused on public construction, partnering with architects and design agencies.
For private house builders, the lobby is still a place you must pass through and not a major décor target. New trends may, however, change this attitude. Finnish houses typically have a separate small hall that leads to the actual hall, but in new houses the en¬trance leads directly to the actual hall.
With regard to this, Jukka Partanen states that it would be sensible to closely co-operate with designers of pre-fabricated houses and fixture providers in the future. Until recently, Monena has focused on indoor furnish¬ings, but the company has now set its sights on outdoor products as well. We are creating a versatile product range intended for parks, recreational and traffic areas, Muurimäki tells us.
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Photo (above) : The Kaktus coat stand designed by Ismo Mankonen creates a playful atmosphere in public spaces. Teuvo Partanen, founder of Monena, and Jannina Muurimäki, Export Manager, are confident that there is interest in Finnish design in our neighbouring countries as well.
By Pia Tervoja Photos by Petteri Kivimäki and Monena Oy