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Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
Growth By Design
October 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on November 1, 2010
Looking back 20-odd years ago, Belfort Furniture barely gave a thought to rugs and decorative accessories as part of its merchandise mix.
At that time, the Dulles, Va.-based retailer was housed in a cement warehouse where it was a challenge to pound nails for hanging pictures. Heidi Nelson, visual display manager and buyer for accessories and rugs, said other than a picture and a couple of lamps per vignette, the stores selection of accessories was sparse.
Today, Belfort Furniture is designed as a 100,000-square-foot retail mall with multiple buildings on the same property just outside Washington, D.C.
Over the years, decorative accessories have become a part of our business, Nelson said.
The portion of Belforts business has continued to grow significantly over the last five years, and the retailer continues to boost the categories by expanding its selection, training its sales team on how to sell, and finding creative ways to spark consumers attention.
It started out that we wanted our displays to look better, Nelson said. Then, our customers wanted to buy the accessories we were using to decorate with. Just seeing the turns on the pieces helped spark that business.
Belforts floors are merchandised in vignettes, and for the most part, accessories are sold from those vignettes. Through Nelsons strategy of buying three- or four-of-a-kind items and a continual fresh flow of product, Belforts customers are come back frequently for the ever-changing selection.
There are staples that we have, and we change out accessories regularly, she said.
We get people coming through looking for artwork, lamps and accents.¨¨Layer it on¨Each of the different buildings on the Belfort complex has a different focus. Theres Belfort Basics, which carries lifestyle furniture and coordinated room packages with an emphasis on more immediate delivery; Belfort Interiors with its leather gallery, casual dining, home entertainment, home office, home theater seating, and motion and recliners; Belfort Galleries, a full-line furniture store; Belfort Kidz and Mattress; and a clearance center and warehouse complex.
The clearance center houses a special area carved out for accents that has a bit of a Paris Flea Market feel, with a layered effect that gives consumers the feel of the hunt.
Racking up sales¨Belfort has a team of designers that Nelson credits with selling a chunk of rugs for the retailer, and that portion of the business continues to make an impact.
The retailer has a dual approach to display when it comes to its rug selection. Most of its rugs are displayed on various sized racks, and Belfort tries not to sell showroom models from the floor.
It takes two very strong men to hang rugs (on the 9x12 racks), so we try to encourage customers to order rugs, Nelson said, adding that if a consumer insists, the deal is done and the rug goes out the door.
A rug platform, featuring closeouts and mill strikeoffs, is also on display allowing consumers to dig through bargain rugs for the pleasure of the hunt.
In training
Selling accessories and rugs is an easy way for retail salespeople to increase their average tickets, Nelson said. Its a logical addition to tables to ask a customer Will you be needing lamps?, she said.
Belfort has done a lot of training in selling decorative accessories and rugs, but Nelson admits that it still doesnt always work out. She encourages design consultants and retail sales associates to know their showroom and whats available to coordinate with furniture pieces.
Weve done training for the sales team where we take a cream, sock arm sofa and dress it up four different ways, Nelson said. Ill show them how to transform a room by changing the pillows, the art, the tables and rug. HFB