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From Home Furnishing Business

Tempted by the Fruit



Temptation is as old as the world itself, and it remains a powerful draw in all aspects of life.

The allure of a partner; the desire for power; and the seduction of consumer products, including furniture, all reap the rewards of temptation.

As furniture retailers, a key element in snaring the almighty consumer dollar is temptation, and what better place to start than with a provocative showroom filled with precisely designed and poised product.

Walking into a furniture store should give consumers an aspirational feel of what their home could be. Without that enticement, the consumer is just as likely to turnaround, walk out the front door and find another retail store that speaks to her inner design diva.

There’s no better or more important place to make a first impression and grab the consumer than at the front entrance.

“It’s so important that when the consumer walks through the front door that you take her breath away,” said according to retail designer and brand strategist Connie Post of Affordable Designs by Connie Post. “When you come into a store, and there is something that is just gorgeous to gaze upon that’s when they decide if you have something they’re looking for or not.”

Post suggests the welcoming zone can be done with a color story through a seasonal presentation or a number of creative displays using accessories or lighting.

 

‘Tis the Season

Cardi’s Furniture & Mattress in Swansea, Mass., has nailed the seasonal presentation. Post said the retailer recently took fall displays to a new level by filling the dining room tables with seasonal appropriate dinnerware and linens, as well as creating a pumpkin house within the store. Carved jack o’lanterns featured the three Cardi brothers images for a personal touch, and Post said the stores were pitch perfect.

Pottery Barn and Pier 1 Imports are other retailers that standout with seasonal displays that are kept fresh and up to date as holidays and seasons roll through.

“It’s the No. 1, easiest thing retailers can to do make a big impact within a small space,” she said. “That first 700 to 1,000 square feet can be filled with three vignettes glamorously set for the holidays.”

 

Point of View

Once inside the store and past the decompression zone, it’s imperative that the showroom lives up to the consumer’s expectations. Most experts in the industry agree that to create a great looking, well thought out showroom requires a talented design and buying team working in tandem.

Kris Kolar oversees the showroom design and merchandise for high-end retailer Clive Daniel in Naples Fla. As vice president of interior design and merchandise, Kolar spends an inordinate amount of time setting the stage for the retailer’s client base.

“To get the look requires talent and taste of those people in buying jobs,” Kolar said. “You have to have a taste person in on the buying process. You have to buy talent to set a vision.”

Clive Daniel’s merchandising and display strategy differs from many in the furniture industry, and Kolar admits that it’s complicated and takes a great deal of time that Clive Lubner and Daniel Lubner are willing to invest in to get the desired look and feel.

“We think outside of the box,” she said. “We collect bits, or we’ll pull cases from a group and pair them with a bed from a completely other group or vendor. The rule here is that there are no rules.”

Kolar describes the look in the Naples store and the soon-to-be-opened store in Boca Raton, Fla., is more of a curated look than a gallery presentation of matched-up furniture in suites. She points out that retailer doesn’t buy end tables that match cocktail tables and dining groups are often split.

By creating customized vignettes and displays pulled from an immense number of vendor partners, Clive Daniel makes it harder for consumers to come in and then head out to shop the competitor down the street.

“It’s one way we can differentiate ourselves,” Kolar said. “We’d rather have it scrambled. We buy from a wealth of companies. That makes it hard on the buyers and it’s a much more complicated way to merchandise. We’ve chosen to go that route, and we’re better for it.”

Clive Daniel lives and breathes by its breadth. The retailer has more than six lifestyles that it targets with its merchandising. That’s a lot, but Kolar said it’s worth it. In addition to those lifestyle segments, the retailer offers a lighting shop, a rug and flooring area and a section for custom window dressings and ready-made goods.

“Our goal was to cover the total home for every consumer,” she said.

Consumers shopping Clive Daniel one day could very well return the next and find a reimagined showroom floor. The floor flips every, single day.

“We bring transfers in four days a week,” she said, adding that it could be 20 pieces a day that need new homes on the floor. “It’s how we keep it fresh.”

 

Add to the Mix

Last year, Thomasville of New Jersey underwent a major renovation and merchandising shift. What had been a single-vendor store was transformed into a multi-vendor store, completely redesigned and rebranded to as Home Inspirations Thomasville.

To oversee and manage the renovation and transformation, the Massood family leaned on Jean Hall, president and CEO with Jena Hall Designs.

Hall said much of the renovation was done with “smoke and mirrors”, got rid of the upstairs and added a few structural walls. “The goal was to improve the look of the store to increase sales,” Hall said, adding that it was time to rejuvenate and update the store.

While the Thomasville brand remains the anchor vendor for the retailer, the retailer’s showrooms now include a variety of brands, including private label goods under the “Home Inspirations: Be Inspired” tag.

To turn the redesigned showroom into a showstopper, Hall relied on some good, old-fashioned design strategies that fit into the retailer’s parameters to create an aspirational, dreamy space where consumers want to shop. Once the renovations were complete, the product had to come in, and that’s where the serious decisions were made.

“There are few situations in retail where every slot on the store floor is selling great,” Hall said. “Likely there are problem spots and those need to be identified. You have to be critical in the analysis and you can’t fall in love with something if it’s not making you money.”

A critical review means taking into account whether the location, the lighting or the product is the problem.

 

On Trend

Rug, decorative accessory and lighting supplier Surya has showrooms in every major furniture market in the industry. Shane Evans, showroom director, relies on the company’s trend forecasts to pull together show-stopping presentations to inspire retail buyers.

It’s no secret that retailers and manufacturers are looking to uncover the best presentation to tempt the end consumer and what better way than to share ideas.

“Creativity is key,” Evans said. “We try to think outside of the box for some off-the-wall, memorable displays; something with whimsy. Many of the things we showcase can easily be replicated at retail without a big budget.”

Evans is a fan of cross-merchandising to feature a breadth of products from different categories to create a layered look, another easy strategy to pull into a retail showroom.

“Some retailers come into our showroom and they don’t have an eye to pull it all together,” he said. “We try to make it easy and offer them a little assistance.”

Along those lines, Evans suggests retailers play with texture and color to pull consumers through the showroom, and points to fashion magazines and websites for additional inspiration that resonates with consumers.

“The magazines are filled with metallic looks, for examples,” he said. “Consumers can relate a fashion story to a home trend. Pearlescence and metallic is highly understandable and current.”

When evaluating showroom space, Evans encourages retailers take a step back and make sure there display is telling a story that consumers can relate to. “If not, you likely shouldn’t do it,” he said. “If it’s too complicated to understand or requires too many graphics to explain, you have to simplify it.”

 

Future Stores

Looking ahead to store design, Post sees movement toward opening up showroom floors and shifting away from cramming as many products as you can into one area.

“We’re looking at taking out unnecessary walls and creating arch elements to open up spaces,” she said. “When a consumer feels a store is big enough to accommodate what she wants, you’re in business. Elements to pull her through the store are key.”

 

Showroom Design Tips

  • Don’t be afraid of color. It grabs the consumer’s attention.
  • Be bold and split groups up. Toss the rules and mix and match product from different vendors and groups.
  • Keep the showroom fresh by changing with the seasons.
  • Make a stunning statement at the front of the store to wow consumers when they enter.
  • Get the lighting right. Shopping for furniture in a dark, shadowy store doesn’t work.
  •  Ensure the merchandise mix coincides with sales data.
  •  Engage all five senses. Retailers usually get the sight part right, but go beyond with music, scents, taste and touch.
  • Invest in the visual and merchandising teams that can implement your vision and brand.
  • Freshen up the linens on beds; set dining room tables and create inviting family room vignettes.
  • Create beautiful, engaging window displays to entice consumers through the door.
  • Thing outside the store. In a warm, sunny climate? Create an outdoor casual display on the sidewalk or in the parking lot in front of the store.
  • Don’t forget the signage. Keep it consistent with the overall marketing plan and materials.
  • Clear the clutter so consumers envision a clean environment for their homes.

 

Dream Big

By Sheila Long O’Mara

No other home furnishings item gets more use in the home than a mattress. Even if, as studies show, consumers are woefully sleep deprived, people spend more time in their beds than on any other piece of furniture.

Consumers are continually peppered with messages about the fact that they’re not getting enough sleep. Think drug companies, medical studies and more.

More than two-thirds of the consumers in the latest Home Furnishings Business survey said they get between six and eight hours of sleep a night. The latest research from the National Sleep Foundation recommends adults between the ages of 26 and 64 years od should get between seven and nine hours of shuteye nightly.

For that age group—prime mattress buying segment, by the way—the recommendations did not change. Our survey group is almost hitting the mark, however missing an hour consecutively over time can lead to sleep depravation.

Home furnishings and mattress retailers have a prime selling proposition of preaching a better night’s sleep through a new mattress.

About half of the consumers in the survey said they are not at all satisfied or dissatisfied with the amount of sleep they get daily. What a great conversation starter with a bedding consumer. How are you sleeping? Most are likely on the hunt for a new mattress to improve their sleep quality.

Most of our consumers bought mattresses for the master bedroom (84.1 percent) with guest bedrooms placing a distant second with 13.6 percent. Bedding consumers remain price conscious with more than 86 percent spending less than $2,000 for their mattress purchase.

The time spent with a mattress increases the importance to a consumer that they rest test the bed. Somewhat shockingly, 15.9 percent said they didn’t rest the mattress in the store.  More than 36 percent spent 15 minutes or more testing out the bed. The same number that never tested the bed—15.9 percent—spent five minutes or less relaxing on the bed.

Perhaps consumers are uncomfortable in stretching out on a mattress in a retail store with a sales person hovering near by. Key things to keep in mind when designing mattress departments and in training sales associates on what to do and not to do when consumers are relaxing on a mattress. More than 75 percent said when they did try out the bed they curled into their regular sleeping position for a test drive.

Consumers are consistently turning to bedding specialty stores for their mattress purchases. According to the survey, 33.3 percent shopped a specialty store and 36.4 percent bought their mattress from a mattress specialty store. Slightly more than 21 percent shopped traditional furniture store for their new mattress. Other channels included the Internet and mass merchants (15.2 percent each), department store (9.1 percent) and a wholesale club (6.1 percent).

Overall, the surveyed consumers were pleased with their mattress shopping experience. On a five-point scale with one being not at all enjoyable and five being very enjoyable, 79.6 percent reported a four or a five. Drilling down to retail sales associates and their knowledge, consumers were pleased with what they encountered.

On a five-point scale with one being not at all satisfied and five being very satisfied, 75 percent said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the associate’s product knowledge.

 

Want More?

A more in-depth report on the bedding category is available for purchase via e-mail to LauraMcHan@ImpactConsultingServices.com or by calling (404) 961-3734.

$10.45 Billion

2015 mattress sales through 3Q

15.2%

Bedding’s percent of furniture sales through 3Q 2015

 

6.8%

Sales increase through 3Q 2015 over same period previous year

 

Retailers Say

Serta iSeries Merit Super Pillowtop

"Customers love the combination of specialty foam while still having the innerspring support system." Retail is  $1,999 with two free specialty pillows.
Kyle Johansen
HOM Furniture
Coon Rapids, Minn.

 

Sleep to Live 600 Series

 

“It provides the ultimate comfort and more importantly — support comfort — that most other brands don’t have. Under the good, better, best categories, it’s in the better category offering the consumer a great night sleep without completely killing the budget.”

Retail is $2,399.
George Bruni
Art Van Pure Sleep
Warren, Mich.

 

Serta's iSeries Vantage

“Number one, it's made right here in Detroit. Second, Serta's done a great job providing two operations with iComfort and the iSeries.” Queen mattress retails for $1,074.
Jeff Selik
Hillside Furniture
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

 

 

Vendors Say

 

Tommy Bahama Long Weekend from Therapedic

Part of Therapedic’s Tommy Bahama hybrid collection, Long Weekend offers a luxurious look and plush feel that are enhanced by floating foam. Using domestic materials, the mattress offers a relaxed, island-inspired look and feel. Suggested retail is $2,499 for a queen.

 

Serta’s iComfort Savant

Serta’s Savant from the iComfort lineup features the company’s premium dual action gel memory foam. The bed consistently receives positive consumer reviews and is a top-rated mattress with a leading consumer publication. Suggested retail is $1,799 for a standard queen.

 

EarthTerrene by OrganicPedic

The OrganicPedic EarthTerrene is made with certified organic cotton fabric, certified organic wool, and natural organic latex core to create a plush bed. The bed’s construction speaks to consumers looking for a toxin-free sleep surface. Suggested retail is $6,799.

 

Aireloom’s Preferred 

The Aireloom Preferred combines zone support foam with ventilated latex for temperature control for a cooler sleep surface. The mattress is covered in Tencel multi-stretch knit panel combined with a mini-plaid pattern on the border. Suggested retail is $2,500-$4,500 for queen.

 

Gold Bond’s Smart Series

Part of the company’s first hybrid collection, Gold Bond’s Smart Series 3000 offers the support of an innerspring with the added comfort of a top layer of gel. The mattress is a winner because it provides the benefits of a hybrid at an affordable price. Suggested retail is $1,399 for queen.

 

Passions by Kingsdown

Kingsdown’s Passions mattress offers a gel-infused performance fabric and proprietary cushioning layer to support from wrapped innerspring coils, Passions mattresses combine technologies for healthy sleep. Suggested retail is $1,599-$4,999 for queen.


 

Glamour to Go

 

Merchandising and showroom display requires much more than being able to plop furniture in a vignette and accessorize for a pretty look.

There a science behind the a merchandising strategy that requires much thought and planning. Much like the process an interior designer takes creates a beautiful room or home, showroom design requires the same precision on a much larger scale.

Think accessories, lighting and accents. Consider implementing a bit of humor and other surprises for a consumer-stopping tool.

Jena Hall, president of Jena Hall Designs, suggests retailers evaluate their strategy and determine their approach as to whether they interested in presenting product by category or lifestyle settings. Hall recommends the higher the price point goes the more likely it is that product should be showcased in lifestyle vignettes.

“Creating many mini-vignettes doesn’t require walls and they don’t require construction to be successful,” she said. “They do require a vehicle that allows the eye to come to a resting point so that the consumer can focus on the entire story.”

Hall suggests a hanging mirror or piece of art to break up the sight line. Other options include painting a wall a bright color for a bit of pop or simple clean drapery panel.

Other suggestions include wallpaper or expansive murals. “You can pick those up at Ikea and they don’t have to be custom painted,” she said. “They become the wall so that the eye stops.”

Hall is an advocate of themes and suggested using a coastal or urban theme depending on a retailer’s target consumer. At the Home Inspirations Thomasville store, a cityscape was used to highlight the feel of an urban loft.

“Retailers need to figure out how to emulate the features they see in interior design magazines,” she said, adding that done right, the displays are easily changeable to keep the store looking fresh.

The most inexpensive freshening up for a retailer to make comes from paint. Hall points out that many retailers are afraid of color for fear of getting it wrong. “A gallon of paint is cheap, and it’s easy to change,” she points out.

Grabbing the consumer is key in boosting sales, and the trick in grabbing them is through a consistent style teamed with consistent images and philosophy of design, Hall said.

“It is helpful to the consumer to create a vision for them,” she said. “We want them to be excited about furniture, and the only way to do that is to make a powerful visual statement.

“Encourage them to by the sofa plus the rug, plus the lamp,” Hall said. “There’s nothing new about this. It’s consistency. If I go into Anthropologie, I know exactly what I’m going to find every time.”

Hall encourages retailers to find their point of view—point of view in design philosophy, point of view in price point and vision. Once found, it’s imperative they stick with it and remain true. Otherwise, the message gets cluttered, and consumers no longer understand the vision.

 

Color Pop

Like Hall, Clive Daniel’s Kris Kolar is an advocate of adding color to liven up the joint. In the Naples, Fla., showroom, much of the sofas are white or very light. They live among walls painted in vivid colors, rugs in on-trend hues and pillows that add the perfect splash of panache.

“Those splashes of color are not only eye-catching, but give consumers the impression in our second-home market that it’s easy to play with color without breaking the bank,” she said.

Connie Post of  Affordable Designs by Connie Post said the sea of brown, taupe and beige on furniture retail floors must be jazzed up. “I know retailers will do 6 percent of their business in neutrals and sage, but there has to be pops of color,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s boring.”

Cardi’s Furniture & Matress makes a point that every sofa vignette adjacent to its store’s main aisles and the circle are color coordinated and highlighted with color.

 

A Fresh Start

With the New Year and resolutions, Post encourages retailers to freshen up throughout the store. Now that the holiday decorations and displays have been packed away, it’s time for a new beginning.

Bedroom vignettes should be dressed with fresh sheets, beautiful, sumptuous comforters and fluffy pillows. Make sure they’re clean, Post said, adding that revamping the beds could add to sales.

“Go to HomeGoods or Target and pick up a complete duvet set,” she said. “Stuff that old, outdated comforter in the duvet for a completely new, fresh look. For less than $100, they can have a whole new look.”

Memorable focal points can leave a big impact with consumers, she said, adding that if you can’t afford to redo the entire department, invest in the most visible settings.

Post said consumers are looking for a little glamour and the truly want to be woed.

“Glam it up,” she said. “I’m talking about getting in her head and giving her an amazing experience in product presentation. There are girly girls, country girls, city girls and beach girls. Give them a presentation that speaks to someone’s heart. There should b moments for glam throughout the store. Give someone a reason to make a change. It’s about adding some details to your essentials. These are some little things that can be added for panache.

 

Marry Marketing with Display

An aspect of showroom design that is often overlooked is the marketing that generates consumer traffic into the store. Hall said the integration from the outside marketing to match what is happening on the showroom floor is crucial to setting the right tone.

“Integrate merchandising with your marketing,” she said. “It’s very important that the font is consistent at every touch point.”

 

Martin Roberts, principal of Martin Roberts Design has created a formula to help retailers determine how much space to allocate to various categories. More on the merchandising matrix can be found in Roberts’ column on page 54.


Housing on the Move

People are again jumping into the housing market and that could spark furniture sales.

Nothing spurs a furniture purchase like a move to another home.

It can be young people renting a first apartment, first-time homebuyers, or individuals and families making life changes to new abodes. Now that housing mobility has begun to pick up after being stagnant for more than five years, people planning to move are faced with decisions whether to rent or buy an existing or new home or apartment. Included in these choices are decisions on the age and size of the structure and of course the cost.

 

Mobility Picks Up

During the Recession, people tabled moving plans. As the economy improved, mobility has slowly increased and more people are opting to move. As shown in Table A, 60.6 percent of total U.S. housing units were moved into since the year 2000 and 38.4 percent in the last five years.

 

 

Apartments are particularly transient with 70 percent of apartment units moved into within that same five-year period. As expected, owner-occupied housing units are more stable with 20 percent of these units moved into in the last five years, and 56.7 percent since 2000.

 

Aging Homes

 

Now that people are moving, what are the housing options? Consumers initially face the choice of purchasing or moving into a new or old property. With housing starts slow to recover from the Recession, people are increasingly faced with an aging housing industry. Table B illustrates the year current housing was built for all occupied housing units. (Note: Rental versus owner-occupied units is not shown separately as data showed no significant difference between the two.)

 

 

Particularly startling is that 28.7 percent of all housing is more than 55 years old and 55.4 percent is more than 35 years old. The majority of the housing inventory in 2014 (54.5 percent) was built between 1960 and 1999. Only 2.2 percent of housing units were built in the last four years and a total of 16.8 percent since 2000. Many current and potential homeowners are living in or considering older homes and face ongoing costs of renovations and repairs, which could potentially dip into new furniture expenditures.

 

Size Matters

One thing is clear, single-family houses keep getting bigger. As shown in Table C, the average size of a new single-family home has grown 17.2 percent since 2000 to 2,657 square feet.

 

 

 

Meanwhile new apartment construction, which peaked in 2008 at an average 1,300 square feet, is holding now at 1,151 square feet.

 

Housing Costs

The monthly mortgage paid by homeowners has actually fallen somewhat since 2009; however, rents have increased significantly (Table D).

 

 

Low interest rates over the last few years have made refinancing existing mortgages and new purchases attractive. In 2014, 18 percent of all owner-occupied housing units were paying more than $2,000 in monthly mortgage payments down from 21 percent in 2009. In contrast, renter-occupied housing units costing more than $1,000 a month grew from 33.4 percent of all units in 2009 to 41.7 percent in 2014.

What percent of household income is being spent on housing? And, what is the acceptable level? According to the Census Bureau, “The conventional public policy indicator of housing affordability in the United States is the percent of income spent on housing. Housing expenditures that exceed 30 percent of household income have historically been viewed as an indicator of a housing affordability problem.”

In all occupied housing units owned or rented (Table E), the percent of residents spending 30 percent or more of household income has fallen from 36.4 percent of all units 2009 to 33.4 percent in 2014, a healthy sign. In addition, monthly expenditures of 20 to 29 percent of household income have as also fallen from 23 percent of units in 2009 to 21.7 percent in 2014.

 

 


 

As shown in Table F,

homeowners spent a significantly less percentage of household income on housing over the last five years. Since 2009, the percent of owner-occupied units with owner’s spending more than 30 percent of their income has fallen significantly from 30.4 percent of houses to 24.8 percent.

 

 

 

Traditionally, renters spend significantly more of their income on housing than owners and the percentages have held steady between 2009 and 2014. In 2014, 47.9 percent of renters spent 30 percent or more of household income on rent, almost double the percent of owners.

 

Find the Right Product Mix

Knowing the value of a category can determine how much showroom space should be allocated to it.


By Martin Roberts

Last year, the team at Martin Roberts Design re-planned and re-merchandised more than one million square feet of retail space in 30 or so stores around the country. As a retail designer, I’ve helped hundreds of store owners rethink their showrooms.

When merchants ask me to revitalize their space, they frequently say it’s because it’s not living up to its sales potential. They’re convinced if they can learn the secrets to laying out the showroom more effectively, profits will soar.

I don’t dispute that the showroom layout is vitally important. But before you can configure your space, maximizing sales requires looking at the categories being sold and figuring out what percentage of sales come from each category. Why? Because the amount of merchandise displayed must correspond to the percentage of business done in each category.

In other words, if 55 percent of product sold is upholstery in a 100,000-square-foot store, a retailer should dedicate 55,000 square feet to the category.

The Merchandising Matrix

We use a simple tool called a Merchandising Matrix to help store owners determine how much square footage they devote to each product category. It’s not as complicated as one might think.

First, determine the room set size you use for a category, then multiply it by the number of room sets you display. So for example, if you currently use a 10-foot-by-15-foot room set size for stationary upholstery, and you have 28 room sets, that department takes up 4,600 square feet of floor space, excluding access aisles.

Once the square footage for each department is calculated, it’s time to analyze your sales figures. By determining the percentage of sales that come from stationary upholstery, you’ll be able to compare the amount of space to allot to that department versus the percentage that should be allotted. You may discover you have too much or not enough stationary upholstery in your product mix, and you’ll need to make adjustments. You’ll also determine that in some cases you were fairly accurate in estimating the amount of merchandise for a given category.

One of my home furnishings retail clients adopted the Merchandising Matrix, only to be surprised by the results. He realized that some of his guesstimates for how much product he should purchase were off the mark. In one instance, he thought he needed five or six sets in a department, only to discover that he really needed three. He already had two in the warehouse. In the first month after the store redesign, sales increased by 94 percent, a fair amount of which can be attributed to the new merchandising process.

The Merchandising Matrix chart allows us to give pride of place to products that are doing the lion’s share of the business. I am not exaggerating when I say that this method will radically improve your bottom line, enabling you to achieve higher dollars-per-square-foot.

Purchasing Pitfalls

Throughout my career, I’ve seen too many merchants, like cowboys in the Old West, shoot from the hip when making product purchases. Being strategic and disciplined in displaying the right amount of product per department goes hand in hand with purchasing.

Most retailers start with the best of intentions, shopping list in hand, when Market rolls around. Unfortunately, there are many ways to lose sight of the original plan and start buying emotionally. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of Market and make spur-of-the-moment purchases. Or you decide to take advantage of a special, or feel you owe a sales rep a generous order out of friendship.

Following the Merchandising Matrix approach results in well-thought-out purchases because you know exactly how many items will fit in each category of the showroom.

How you use the most valuable asset you have as a retailer—your square footage—can be crucial to your success. You air-condition it, heat it, light it, maintain it, and spend money on real estate, taxes and everything else. Why not adopt a strategy that helps you make the best and most profitable use of your investment?


 

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