US privately-owned office furniture manufacturer Haworth reported global sales of $1.11 billion for 2009, compared to $1.65 billion in 2008 as businesses cut back on expenditure for furniture.

"We all more or less ended up shrinking, between 30 and 35 percent," CEO Franco Bianchi said Thursday. "Asia was challenged, Europe has been challenged; North America, corporate America all have been challenged. There was no place to hide."

However, Haworth said its market share, currently 8-9%, is growing. "We do believe that in 2010, certainly our objective is to continue to gain market share," he said. "A company that doesn't invest in growth -- profitable growth -- does not have a strong future. We believe we have played our cards to start to grow," added Franco Bianchi.