The Hay-principle

It was only in 2003 when Hay entered the stage of the design world - the Danish manufacturer presented its products for the first time at the IMM Cologne. When one thinks of Danish design, famous furniture classics by well-known designers for high prices come to mind - the manufacturer Hay dancing deliberately out of line.

Hay does not want to copy the old masters - their work should rather serve as a source of inspiration for modern and contemporary creations. To adorn themselves with famous designer names was not the aim of Rolf Hay, the namesake and founder. Instead, they wanted to create design products that are functional, distinctive and affordable in the first place. While Rolf Hay initially designed many products himself, it nevertheless came to collaborations over the years with partly known, partly coming designers.

The Copenhague Collection earned great prestige which was designed by the brothers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec to furnish the University of Copenhagen. The furniture should be functional and aesthetically convincing - that this has been achieved is demonstrated by the great success of the Copenhague Collection.

The collaboration with Sebastian Wrong resulted in its own sub-brand - the program of " Wrong for Hay includes modern seating furniture, lighting and home accessories, which are distinguished by their unmistakable style.

The shelving system New Order is also a great success, which Stefan Diez developed for Hay. Again Hay succeeded in balancing between mass production and high quality design. New Order is an efficiently produced industrial product that is affordable, yet of high-quality materials.

One thing is certain: Hay likes it modern - timeless design is not Rolf Hays claim, because in his opinion, the attempt to create something timeless ends with a product that was never really up to date.

The brains behind the brand

That Rolf Hay would be well-known on the design furniture market no one could foresee. Rather by chance the young Dane landed in a furniture shop in Hanover after graduating from high school. During his work there he also visited the Cologne Furniture Fair – and thought the legendary chair "ant" by Arne Jacobsen from 1952 was the Fair novelty. From then on his interest was piqued and Rolf Hay progressed further in the industry - first by promoting Peter Biehl, the former agent of Montana, and then through activities at Gubi and Paustian in Copenhagen.

During his work at Gubi Rolf met his wife Mette, who knew the Danish domestic culture by heart - her parents ran a successful furniture business already. Shortly after a fateful meeting happened - Rolf Hay got to know Troels Holch Povlsen, first as customer whose house he should furnish. The two men found that they had similar views of furnishing and Povlsen furthermore had the necessary funds for a joint project.

So at the beginning of the millennium Hay was founded - with the creative minds Mette and Rolf Hay on one side and the large scale manufacturer Povlsen as owner of the textile corporation Bestseller on the other side. Povlsen had the needed business know-how in order to build and develop a company - an important foundation, which contributed significantly to Hays success.

The product is the focus

Architectural statics meets dynamics of fashion - inspired by Troels Holch Povlsens work in the textile sector: Hay offers a wide range of products ranging from furniture to carpets and bed clothes to office materials and decorative items. The running thread? There is none says Rolf Hay. For him the products are important and the people for whom they are made - and not dogmatically imposed strategies.

Hay creates distinctive design at an affordable price - in the furniture sector the iconic "About A Chair" designed by Hee Welling is one of the best sellers. The all-rounder with wooden frame and plastic seating shell is not only an every-day furniture but a design object as well.

In Germany, Hay got famous with its colourful felt ball carpet "Pinocchio” a design that immediately draws everyone's attention.

Sustainability is also an issue for the Danish manufacturer: The Chair “Nobody” created by Komplot Design is made entirely of moulded PET felt, a fabric which is made from PET bottles.

Everyday objects with recognition value, functionality and a touch of humor – that is Hay´s success recipe. The best example is the table "Do not Leave Me" by Thomas Bentzen, a small side table with handle. Does a table need a handle? Not necessarily, and yet it adds to the charm of the side table- many Hay products come with exactly this wink.

Hay House

In the heart of Copenhagen the showroom of the Danish manufacturer is located within an Art Nouveau building - and is just as calm as Hay´s Design. The shop has two floors but no display window. Nevertheless, experts know exactly where they can find the Hay House. The vision of the Hay couple has even been creatively embodied: The stairs of the Maisonette building has an English Bannister, which combines both ancient and modern elements. Overall, the Hay House is more like a busy store with apartment flair than a cold showroom. Basically the Hay House reflects exactly what characterizes the manufacturer: freshness, vitality and passion for beautiful design.

On course for success: "Hay syndrome" instead of "Ikea effect"

Today Hay is one of the leading manufacturer in the designer furniture sector - but what is the secret of the company’s success? Hay has created a market niche for itself - between long-established design brands such as Vitra, Thonet on one side and mass producers like Ikea on the other. Thus Hay serves a broad audience that wants to benefit from the advantages of both worlds and find buyers all over the world – trend rising.

For further information please visit: www.hay.dk