Michael Eble, owner and principal of FCi Furniture Consultants

New York, NY Michael Eble is the owner and principal of FCi Furniture Consultants. Currently celebrating its 40th year, FCi Furniture Consultants is a robust furniture dealership headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Boston, New Jersey, and Miami. 

The son of an NYPD policeman, Eble grew up on Long Island, and his is a story of pure drive and perseverance. Never one to let anything stand in his way Eble grappled with partial loss of hearing as a child but it never stopped him from achieving anything he set his sights on. That includes his beautiful wife, Anne who he met while working his way through college as a bartender. He wooed her with his cocktail making abilities and in turn she has been by his side for 23 years of marriage and has given him four beautiful children.

After college and a short stint working as a salesperson for American Express, Eble was directed by a headhunter towards his career in furniture. Although many people thought it was a leap, Eble was able to see the potential immediately.

His first position in the industry was for Haworth. Within his first nine months, Eble found and closed a 400,000 s/f project at 101 Avenue of the Americas, for Building Services Employees International Union. The experience he acquired on this project assured Eble that he was ready to open his first company, Corporate Environments Inc. As the company successfully grew, so did its opportunities and in 2001, Corporate Environments purchased FCi Furniture Consultants from Haworth. The purchase was a no-brainer. The FCi brand had an amazing reputation based on his longstanding service to the New York design community.

While FCi remained a Haworth dealer for a few additional years, Eble set his sights on his next challenge and struck a deal with Canadian manufacturer Teknion to become their exclusive distributer in the city, making them the largest Teknion dealer in the U.S. During their tenure as exclusive distributers, FCi was recognized by Teknion for their platinum sales awards for 10 consecutive years.

As with anything else, Eble also turned what qualifies as a disadvantage to his advantage, and became a certified DBE (Disabled Business Enterprise) due to his hearing loss. This allows clients to collect full diversity credits on purchases made through FCi, which proves to be yet another benefit to using FCi as their go to dealership.

Reception at One Penn Plaza - New York, NY

In addition to Teknion, FCi also represents over 200 additional manufacturers. Clients include Google, UBS, IBM, Bloomberg, Citibank and Mastercard.

The DNA of FCi has always been the Architecture and Design (A&D) community. From the inception of the company, its original owners marketed very heavily to architects and designers. Eble has maintained FCi’s relationship with the A&D community as the basis of their service model in each market.

“FCi is passionate about design. Our brand is synonymous with great design, That is why we have kept so many outstanding relationships in the A&D community over the years,” said Eble.

Staying ahead of market trends is the driver that keeps FCi at the forefront of the furniture business while a diverse team, engaged leadership, and strong relationships have been the keys to the firm’s longevity. In fact, Eble’s first employee from Corporate Environments, John Holland, is still an active member of the FCi team. 

With over 27 years of experience in the furniture industry, Eble has witnessed many changes in the business. According to Eble, “The largest change in furniture is the actual physical space of the work stations, they’ve decreased dramatically. The office has become a much more collaborative environment than it was in the past. Cubicles are a rarity as more work spaces are adopting desking systems.”

Another major change in the office environment has been the increased usage of demountable architectural walls. Architectural walls provide an alternative to more permanent fixtures such as sheet rock and glass. They create an openness of the work environment that allows more natural light to come in. Architectural walls can also be depreciated similar to furniture as opposed to permanent wall structures.

Also, one recent trend that appears to be having a lasting effect on the work place is the Adjustable Height Work Surface. Allowing for much more movement in the work station, Adjustable Height Work Surfaces account for 30-40% of FCi’s new office installations.

“Hands down, Adjustable Height Work Surfaces are a much healthier way of working,” said Eble, “and we’re going to continue moving forward with any trend that promotes good health and productivity and allows people to be more mobile in the workplace.”

 Moving forward Eble continues to push the FCi brand to greater heights, including their recent New York Headquarters move to the Penthouse of One Penn Plaza. With next to 360º views, the space is being transformed into the showplace any brand could dream of, with inspiration as far as the eye can see, and product to match. FCi continues to strive to represent the best brands in the marketplace, be a design partner to designers and architects to realize their visions and partner with the rest of the real estate community.