ICONS 1: Moran

ICONSA HISTORY of AUSTRALIAN FURNITURE MANUFACTURERS

ICONS: A HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN FURNITURE MANUFACTURERS

MORAN:A COMPANY SHAPED

FOR COMFORT

Moran is the furniture brand that brings to mind images

of beautifully furnished rooms for half of Australia’s

population. Research uncovered this fact. Moran, a

household name, brand leader and international supplier

of quality, upholstered furniture came to this admirable

prominence from a standing start.

The story of the company’s growth can be traced back

to founder John Moran’s true passion for furniture

excellence, his leadership and entrepreneurial

motivation. The story starts in his youth.

John Moran OAM founded Moran Furniture when

he was just 25 years old. It was 1963 and John had a

vision. It wasn’t just to have his own furniture factory,

his intentions were deeper: John wanted to produce high

quality furniture with true comfort that most people

could afford.

His motivation was to right what he saw as a social

injustice. John thought it unfair that the average wage

earner couldn’t afford good furniture and true comfort.

His ambition was to make the best but at a price for

John Moran at

the start of his

business with

the small team

of artisans that

started it all in

a small factory.

MORAN: A COMPANY SHAPED FOR COMFORT

everyone. John hated waste and, as cheap furniture

didn’t last, for him, manufacturing second rate wasn’t

an option. He was into sustainability before the practice

had a name.

Starting from scratch in a modest garage, John had

complete confidence that he was on the right path. It

wasn’t long before he moved his business into a factory

building. He was not only an excellent craftsman but his

belief in his products made him a top salesman and soon

buyers from department stores were regulars at Moran

Furniture placing their orders.

Weir Street in Tooronga, a central location in

Melbourne, soon became known as the Moran street.

As the orders from retailers rolled in the company grew

and, gradually, Moran Furniture took over factory

buildings on both sides of the road.

A showroom was also opened alongside, where stylish

sofas and beautiful chairs showed off the breadth of

Moran’s offerings.

The Moran team grew and grew to become

hundreds of employees. This image was

used on a Christmas card, reinforcing the

team aspect of the business.

In 1994, part of the Moran factory

complex burnt to the ground.

The showroom was designed for buyers from retail

outlets, consumers were welcome to browse then they

were directed to a retailer. Moran did not compete with

its own customers.

Supplying department stores and leading specialist

retailers was growing the company, but John saw a new,

untapped channel, supplying custom built furniture for

commercial projects. So, in 1979 Moran Contract was

established to produce exclusive models to architect and

interior designer specifications.

Contract was a great success and went on to fill orders

for the most prestigious interiors in Australia including

hotels, offices, theatres, parliament house, embassies

overseas and even private planes and yachts for

celebrities. James Moran, John’s son, joined the company

and took over the management of Contract, which went

from strength to strength.


The orders for Moran Contract were huge, the company

secured Australia’s major projects including Crown Casino

in Melbourne where 4000 pieces of upholstery were ordered

and ranged from gaming stools to high roller furnishings

to fitting out the VIP suites in the hotel. All completed and

delivered and on time for the opening. The Sydney casino

ordered around 3000 pieces.

Around this time the Moran Research and Development

unit was created to develop the many new models that

were being offered, refine furniture construction and work

with specifiers to bring to life their unique concepts.

The Contract division also looked after a custom

re-upholstery service for residential and commercial

needs. It was now 16 years since the Moran brand was

launched and if the furniture required new covers,

Moran’s tradesmen were the most appropriate to refresh

the furniture they had built.

As president of the Furniture Industry

Association of Australia (Vic/Tas) John

was closely involved with the Furnitex

exhibition and met with the official

guests. Here he is pictured with FIAA

CEO Graeme Cock, Graham Waterson

and Terry Bracks, wife of the then

Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks.

Moran was the first furniture company to sell aspiration

through the interiors shots. The styling of the imagery

reflected the time, luxury delivered by great upholstery.

It was quite a thrill to have the furniture back in the

factory and to see, over and over, how the high quality

construction was good as new.

In a brilliant marketing move, to take commercial

advantage of the longevity of the products, in 1982

Moran invented the first furniture guarantee in

Australia. It was an innovative move, the ultimate

declaration that John Moran stood behind every one

of his products. The warranty gave Moran a powerful

marketing edge, now the company wasn’t distant from

the consumer but there was someone at customer service

to look after any concern or query.


Around 1984 Moran started to export furniture. This

expansion overseas proved to be an important strategy

as the demand for Moran in New Zealand South East

Asia grew. It was an unusually progressive move but

the quality and reputation cemented Moran’s place in

overseas markets.

Moran was already thinking about ‘global manufacture’

and established a licensed factory in Christchurch to

manufacture Moran exclusively for the New Zealand

market. This continued until mid 2000s when tariffs

between New Zealand and Australia were dropped and

NZ became an export market with a Moran re-sellers

network across both islands.

The Research and Development unit had been working

on the most viable way to include expensive hand-made

manufacturing techniques into mass produced furniture.

Moran was the first company to incorporate spring cell

seating in the mid 1980s.

Never resting on their laurels, a few years later Moran

was the first manufacturer to reinvent motion furniture

in Australia. Moran developed a relationship with Action

Lane, the world’s second largest manufacturer of recliner

mechanisms. The Moran Recliner range was developed

to huge consumer acclaim. The Spoiler was the first on

the market and remains popular to this day.

Moran was the most

prolific chesterfield

manufacturer in Australia.

The high manufacturing quality started with the

construction and included the most perfect fabric

matching.

The ongoing work on increasing the comfort of Moran

furniture reached a new high when in the early 1990s,

Moran was the first to use the eight-way hand tied

process in mass production. Moran was now the ultimate

in luxury furniture.

Clever marketing educated the retailers and consumers

on the Moran difference and Moran’s essential qualities

for comfort and long life performance.

The kiln dried hardwood necessary to withstand climatic

variations, tempered steel memory springs to ensure

the base delivers healthy, body correct support allowing

muscles to genuinely relax. Moran fabrics and leathers

were sourced from the world’s best mills and tanneries.

The product design was just right and business was

booming when the worst event for the manufacturer

occurred in 1994 – one of the buildings in the Moran

compound was razed in a massive factory fire. John

made the news when he kept all his staff on the payroll

during the re-location and establishment of new

premises even though they were not able to work and his

loyalty to his staff was returned by them.


The new Noble Park plant on Melbourne’s outskirts

eventually incorporated state-of-the-art technology and

proved to be an excellent manufacturing, distribution,

customer service and administration centre. The plant

grew to become the largest furniture manufacturing site

in South East Asia.

The factory was impressive, vast and light with the many

trades working side by side to fulfill customer orders.

The finished stock was wrapped and stored waiting for

the Moran branded semi trailers to deliver the beautiful

furniture all around Australia.

The volume produced was extraordinary: for example,

just in the chesterfield category alone, Moran had the

market cornered. As Australia’s biggest manufacturer of

the traditional deep buttoned sofas, the company built

around 4000 each year.

A sideline was launched around this time: Moran

Home offered a collection of after market products and

consumables to enhance the Moran owners’ experience.

The products ranged from Moran branded leather

cleaners to feathers to bolster feather filled cushions and

even castors.

Always on the fashion pace,

Moran design was always

in tune with the directional

modern market segment as

well as the traditional.

As contemporary styles became more fashionable,

Moran advertising became slicker and sleeker with the

most prestigious photographers pushing the boundaries.

The awards started coming. John was recognized in

2001with the Medal of the Order of Australia for his

service to the furniture industry particularly in manufacture

and training and to the community in general.

In 2001and 2003 Moran Furniture was recognized with

the Prime Minister’s Employer of the Year award. In 2002

Moran won the Exporter of the Year award recognizing

all aspects of product and business excellence.

Market research showed that five out of 10 people knew

the Moran brand. The high profile was the result of the

massive penetration of Moran into Australian homes.

John said he believed the brand’s success was a result of

word of mouth praise.


Customer referrals were well supported by Moran’s

use of innovative marketing techniques with consistent

and prominent promotion included booking the inside

covers of leading homemaker magazines. John featured

prominently so the brand had a human face. Moran’s

desirability was intensified when the most popular game

shows had contestants battle to win a Moran piece. High

quality, glossy catalogues were printed showing Moran in

the most aspirational contexts and television advertising

brought the brand right into the living room.

At this time, Moran was exporting 10% of product

from the Melbourne plant. Prestige of the Moran brand

grew in Asia when the Prime Minister of Singapore

and his son bought several pieces. Moran had 10 outlets

across Asia; four in Singapore, two in Malaysia, one in

Jakarta. In Hong Kong Moran had a long and successful

relationship as principle furniture supplier to Banyan

Tree’s three stores (later re-branded as Indigo Living).

Banyan Tree established a Moran Gallery store right

in the middle of the Hong Kong high-end shopping

precinct alongside the world’s leading fashion brands.

John Moran passed away unexpectedly in 2003 aged 65.

However, his inspiration and vision continued through

his staff in his absence.

When 2004 rolled around, Moran was producing 200

upholstered pieces per day in Melbourne. The company

became Australia’s largest fully vertically integrated

upholstery manufacturer, producing the majority of its

own component parts.

There were now around 70 upholstered furniture

designs, all built according to the world’s best practice.

Five ranges offered Moran comfort for any decorating

need. Classics designs included elegant, traditional

settees and chairs, often with round arms and eight-way

hand tied and spring cell construction. The Concept

range was highly contemporary, often modular with

steel construction and sleek lines. Action furniture was

premium, luxury motion furniture including home-

theatre seating. Private Label manufacturing provided

custom designs for home brand customers.

Once again, in 2004 Moran was named the FIAA

Exporter of the year with showrooms and sales now in

Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Hong

Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand and UAE. The retailers

accredited to feature the Moran range were market

leaders in their respective territories.

By 2006 Moran had produced a million pieces of

furniture and pioneered export into nine countries.

The design offer included over 150 styles with an equal

balance of Classic and Contemporary looks.

Contract continued to be an extremely successful volume

supplier of custom designed commercial furniture.

Moran Furniture has become an iconic brand because

it kept its promise to deliver true, luxurious comfort and

longevity; that Moran pieces are now heirlooms says it

all. From a one man operation in a garage to become a

famous global supplier is a unique achievement.

John Moran was very hands-

on in the manufacturing and

marketing of the product

and was enthusiastically

involved with every detail.

ICONS 1: Moran

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