Has Fully.com Gone Out Of Business?

We are very saddened to have to report to our readers that after a successful 18-year run as one of the pioneering e-commerce companies in the office ergonomics industry, the parent company of Fully.com, $3B MillerKnoll (NASDAQ:MLKN), pulled the plug on the operation on April 20th, 2023. We originally reported this news on March 8th when we noticed that the company was blowing out their inventory at 50% off discounts, and had already disconnected their phone lines and live chat.

MillerKnoll, despite now being the largest commercial office furniture manufacturer in the world, has been beleaguered by all the same issues affecting Big Furniture since the pandemic. From a rapid shifting of office workers to hybrid and fully remote officing, to supply chain and inflation challenges. As of this writing the stock is trading at $17.23, below its nadir during the 2020 Covid lock-downs, and in fact at a 26-year record low for the company.

The stock price is being helped much by the concurrent scandal surrounding MillerKnoll’s tone-deaf CEO, Andi Owen, who yelled at employees over a zoom call to stop whining about having their bonuses cancelled, all while collected her $4M. Owen later apologized for the outburst but not before severe damage was done to the company’s reputation, not to mention her professional reputation.

Founded by ergonomics industry pioneer David Kahl in 2006, the company – which was originally known as ErgoDepot before a rebranding itself in 2016 – was acquired by $1.8B Knoll in August of 2019, pre-pandemic but after high tariffs on Chinese goods had a harsh economic impact on Fully. Knoll itself was shortly thereafter acquired by Herman Miller in April of 2021, giving the new, combined MillerKnoll the biggest stake in e-commerce of all the “Big Furniture” companies.

This cataclysmic end to Fully.com’s existence is just the latest in an ongoing set of challenges the industry has faced since the pandemic brought about massive supply chain programs and wild fluctuations in demand. With the advent of the Ukraine conflict and worldwide inflation and recession concerns, demand for ergonomic office furniture has definitely taken a large and sustained hit.

Fully has sadly been added to the Office Fitness Industry Dead Pool.

MillerKnoll’s Final Communication To Fully’s Suppliers

Several companies we know were long-time suppliers to Fully, and were quick to forward us a copy of MillerKnoll’s communication on March 9th, 2023 – basically letting them know that they just lost a major customer, without warning. In the letter they stated:

We have made the decision to close Fully as a standalone brand and sell select Fully items through Design Within Reach and Herman Miller. We wanted to share this information as well as information about the go-forward production, because you are a Fully supplier. Over the next several months, we will wind down Fully operations. We expect to stop taking orders and transactions on Fully.com by the end of April 2023. 

It went on to say that they’ll keep selling overstocked Jarvis desk bases and tops, some monitor arms and a few power accessory items through their other outlets until all inventory is exhausted, but that all other products – such as their solid wood standing desks – will be cancelled when the site is taken down.

Indeed this is what happened as of April 21st. A quick scan of the few remaining Fully products being sold on MillerKnoll’s and DWR’s websites, however, reveal that they are listed at full list price, and therefore unlikely to actually be purchased by any savvy shoppers. Particularly since Fully’s prices were being discounted by 50% across the board over the prior two months as they attempted to deplete inventories as much as possible.

Status of Our Reviews of Fully Products

Given that the company is no longer in business we have taken down the review scores for all of the Fully products that we’ve reviewed to 0.5-star. This includes the Jarvis Standing Desk, Jarvis Standing L-Desk, Fully Jarvis Reclaimed Wood Standing Desk, Fully Jarvis Albright Standing Desk, Fully Jarvis Evolve Standing Desk, Fully Remi Standing Desk, Fully Jarvis Whiteboard Adjustable-Height Conference Table, Fully Jarvis Bamboo Adjustable-Height Conference Table, Fully Jarvis Tabletops For Standing Desks, Jarvis Monitor Riser, Jarvis Bamboo Desk Drawer, Fully Jarvis Single Monitor Arm, Fully Jarvis Dual Monitor Arm, Fully Jax Single-Display Monitor Arm, Fully Floatdeck Balance Board, Fully Sidekick Mobile File Cabinet, Fully Cable Management Kit and Fully Cable Management Tray).

The nearest high-quality alternatives for Fully products are going to be found at iMovR and Ergonofis. For Chinese-made equivalents to the Jarvis desk see popular brands such as UpliftDesk and Autonomous.

What To Do If You Have a Problem With Your Fully Product?

Cross your fingers and send an email to fullysupport@millerknoll.com. There is no phone number to call. The company does claim that it will honor all warranty commitments.