Theodore Alexander Launches Althorp Retailer Contest

December 8, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on December 9, 2011

Luxury furniture vendor Theodore Alexander is offering Althorp Living History retailers a chance to own one of two handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pieces.

These exclusive items will be awarded to the winners of the 2011-2012 Althorp Living History Dealer Event, which launched at the recent High Point Market. Two Grand Prizes will be awarded--one to a North American retailer, the other to one of Althorp Living History's international dealers. Winners will receive either the opulent Heritage Oak Cabinet or the Heritage Oak Jupe Table. Both are hand signed by Charles, Ninth Earl Spencer, the current owner of the namesake 14,000-acre estate in Northamptonshire, England.

The international contest is open to all Althorp Living History retailers and will continue through October 2012. Winners will be chosen based on several criteria including the largest percentage increase in Althorp Living History orders during the 12-month period, brand marketing and visual displays. Based on an original George II piece, circa 1740, the Grand Prize Heritage Oak Secretaire boasts one hundred drawers, twenty-six of which are secret, topped with a gilt-crested cornice. The Secretaire's estimated retail price is $30,300. The Grand Prize Heritage Oak Jupe Table, with 12 pull-out triangular segments and inset fold out leaves, has an estimated retail price of $19,900.

The 500-year history of the bucolic Althorp estate is inexorably linked with the finest English oaks.  Many of the stately trees shading the grounds of the estate, home to 20 generations of the aristocratic Spencer family, date to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, circa 1558-1603.  Honoring the estate's noble emblem, Theodore Alexander obtained the finest specimens of large-scale English brown oak burr from which to craft the two prized items. Rarely available, the burr veneer came from an exceedingly large and ancient tree which had reached the end of its natural life.

"Althorp Living History dealers are loyal ambassadors of the collection," said Russell Towner, Theodore Alexander USA's president. "That was evident by the hundreds who packed our showroom at market to hear firsthand from Earl Spencer anecdotes about some of Althorp's more colorful residents."

Theodore Alexander will announce the winners at the close of the October 2012 High Point Market.