It’s No Longer Enough to Have Good Design
Why scaling in America now depends on infrastructure, operational strength, and purpose, not just beautiful ideas or products.
By Thomas Miang-Perez
2025/2026
The New Reality Of The American Market
For decades, the design community has embraced a reassuring belief: that great design, if executed with enough integrity, heritage, and craftsmanship, will naturally find its way in the world. It is a comforting idea, almost a moral one, rooted in the notion that originality is self-evident and that authenticity carries its own momentum.
But in the American market today, this idea is increasingly untrue. Good design is still essential, but it is no longer sufficient. And for brands entering the United States, whether from Europe, Asia, Latin America, or even from within America itself, understanding this shift is no longer optional. It is the difference between relevance and obscurity.
As I often find myself saying, “Good design is the starting point, but it is no longer the winning argument.”
The United States design landscape has quietly divided into two distinct lanes. The first still celebrates the small and the singular, the independent studios, the makers, the ateliers, the innovators whose ideas push culture forward. Their contributions remain vital. But the second lane, the lane of growth and long-term relevance, is now shaped by criteria that have little to do with aesthetics. In this lane, design alone does not carry a company. Infrastructure does.
Retailers, many of them excellent, forward thinking, and creatively ambitious, no longer choose partners based solely on product quality. They choose them based on operational reliability. A beautiful object that arrives late is not a luxury; it is a liability. A handcrafted piece that is consistently out of stock does not inspire confidence, it erodes it. A brand that cannot meet an exceptional level of service, will not scale, regardless of how poetic its origin story may be.
The Mythology of Smallness
This evolution has also disrupted one of the industry’s most persistent myths: that the smaller a brand is, the more authentic it must be, and that scale, by contrast, dilutes purity. It is a seductive narrative, the image of a lone designer scribbling late into the night, untouched by commercial influence.
But authenticity is not measured in volume, and purity is not diminished by reach. If anything, scale can serve as the ultimate validation. When thousands of households embrace a design, not just a handful of insiders, that is not compromised. That is the strongest proof of concept a designer can receive. The question is not whether a brand should remain small or aim for scale. The question is whether it has the operational maturity to choose.
In America, operational excellence has become the invisible infrastructure of creative success. You cannot scale on aesthetics; you scale on reliability. And reliability comes from inventory, logistics, customer service, ecommerce infrastructure, warehousing, compliance, communication, and the professional systems that support all of it. These elements are not glamorous. You cannot photograph them or arrange them artfully in a showroom. But they are the foundation beneath every brand that succeeds here.
The Philosophical Shift: From Storytelling to Purpose
One of the greatest cultural mismatches European brands face when entering the American market is the assumption that the product speaks for itself. Americans want more than story or heritage. They want clarity. They want service. They want delivery. Heritage provides context, but it does not provide convenience. And convenience is the currency of modern retail.
This is why many European brands entering the American market quickly discover that their greatest challenge is not design heritage, but translation. Heritage provides context, but it does not provide convenience. And convenience is the currency of modern retail.
We do not begin conversations by saying a product was designed in 1950 or crafted from certified wood. We begin by saying: “We help you create a Scandinavian home.” Purpose, not pedigree, is what resonates today.
Democratic Design at Scale
We are building a Danish design platform in North America that makes it easier for retailers and consumers to access great Scandinavian design, across categories, through one coordinated commercial and operational setup. The point is simple: design only becomes truly democratic when it can be delivered consistently, at scale, with strong service, reliable supply, and a structure that makes it easy to do business.
That is what we mean by democratic design at scale.
Where the model comes from
The idea that scale and authenticity are in conflict is not new. In fact, some of the most enduring design businesses were shaped by leaders who understood scale as a prerequisite for integrity rather than a threat to it.
Erik Rosendahl’s early career was informed by decades of international leadership at DANSK and by the broader cultural perspective he gained through his friendship with Ted and Martha Nierenberg. The lesson was simple but powerful: design only fulfills its purpose when it is accessible enough to be lived with — not just admired.
Over time, this insight evolved into a broader industry pattern. Brands that endure tend to build operational strength alongside creative ambition. Shared infrastructure, disciplined execution, and reliable supply chains are not what dilute design. They are what allow it to survive.
Scale As Guardian of Authenticity
There is another, more urgent reason scale matters, one the design world does not discuss openly enough: scale protects originality.
Imitation has become faster, cheaper, and more sophisticated. The barrier to copying has all but disappeared, driven by high-resolution scanning, three-dimensional replication, and accelerating global production cycles. Contrary to popular assumptions, knockoffs are rarely initiated by anonymous factories alone. They often originate from reputable companies in Europe, Australia, or the United States, companies that choose imitation over innovation, knowing smaller brands cannot afford legal defense.
This is the quiet crisis at the heart of the design industry. And it is why organizations such as Be Original Americas exist: to remind us that originality is not sentimental. It is strategic. It is cultural. It is economic. And it requires protection.
Without operational strength, few brands possess the resources to defend the work that gives this industry its soul. Legal action costs money. Monitoring infringement costs time. Educating the market takes stamina. All of this becomes more feasible when a company has scale.
Design Needs an Engine
When I look at the arc of the last three years, building a multi brand Scandinavian platform in the United States, expanding into furniture, integrating lighting, reaching B Corp standards, and now seeing real momentum, one lesson becomes impossible to ignore:
“Design is not only what you make. Design is how you deliver it.”
The brands that will define the next decade in America will not be the ones with the prettiest catalogs or the most poetic narratives. They will be the ones with purpose, preparedness, and the operational strength and smartness to support it. Creativity requires structure. Authenticity requires protection. Scale, built with intention, does not dilute identity. It strengthens it.
Because the market has changed. And the rules are clearer than the industry sometimes wants to admit:
“Great design may open the door. Great operations keep it open.”
But growth does not only demand better logistics and stronger service. It demands the capability to defend what you have created. To scale original design, you must be prepared to protect your intellectual property and the authenticity behind it. And the stronger you become operationally and commercially, the stronger your protection becomes. Scale does not just expand reach but also a shield when done right.
And there is one more truth we need to say out loud, especially now:
“If we want original design to survive, we must give it not only a voice, but an engine.”
If we want original design to thrive, we must give it the systems that allow it to move freely in the world. If we want creativity to reach the homes of millions, we must give it scale. And if we want the industry to evolve, we must stop romanticizing smallness and start championing competence.
Design does not lose its soul when it grows. When supported by the right engine, and protected with real strength, it finally finds its power.
By Thomas Miang-Perez, February 2026