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Label-less in the City
May 27,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on May 2008
So, this issue is all about knockoffs. As someone who has purchased my fair share of fake Kate Spade purses and given away my share of musical mix CDs compliments of iTunes, I’ve grappled with what to say here. As always, I want to be fair and smart, but still genuinely reflect the consumer experience as I see it.
The words you’ll read in this issue will point out the perils, liabilities and value judgments of selling knockoffs. It’s a highly charged topic in the industry, as it should be. We all know it’s not right to copy someone else’s work. We learned that in elementary school. With that said, you can go back quite a few hundred years and find that the basic structure—of a chair, of a chest, of a table—are all pretty much the same. Every now and then, a fresh clean shape appears, maybe a hot finish or something—but really, from Sally’s standpoint there’s a WHOLE lot of product out there that looks darn near the same. Simply consider that Louis Philippe was born in 1773. That tells me there’s a look that’s been going in and out of style for 200+ years. They ain’t got no Louis Philippe TV at Circuit City.
On the other hand, it’s truly necessary to give a shout-out to product vendors who actually invest in research and design. It’s critical to keeping the chain alive. To a certain extent, those manufacturers who actually study trends and bring us looks that engage the consumer (and sell at retail) carry the rest of the industry along with them when they hit the consumer’s sweet spot. None of us are oblivious to the rapid cycling of knockoffs around this place. I’m sure it’s thankless and horrible to be knocked off again and again and again. To hell with it being the sincerest form of flattery.
Are you playing a game with product that’s less than on the up and up? If you are, you know it and you should be smart and thoughtful about the consequences that go along with that.
But now, let’s look at this from a consumer standpoint. If I’m standing on Canal Street in New York, I’m buying a knockoff purse with a LABEL. After all, that’s why I’m there. If I didn’t want the label, I’d walk in a regular store and buy a better-quality legitimate private label and not suffer the indignity of shopping on the street out of a black garbage bag.
Over here in the land of furniture, there’s a dearth of brand names that are meaningful enough to stir a purchase or preference to the consumer. Nobody’s toting a table down the street saying, ”Pssst—lookie here. I’ve got a faux Baker table for you.” IF Sally’s even heard of the vendor’s brand, it may be a deciding factor, all other things being equal. But, at the end of the day, she’s on a quest for a look to match her unique style—not a particular label. It’s possible she’ll complete the entire sale without ever knowing which vendor crafted her product.
So the knockoffs here are different—they’re nameless. Sally doesn’t want a Rolex knockoff that doesn’t say Rolex. Even if the hand “sweeps” instead of “ticks.” She doesn’t want a cover band singing a song she buys on iTunes. But with furniture, she doesn’t know who made what she has, what she’s looking for or what she plans to buy. There’s just not much of a compass to guide her, and she’s usually not looking for a label—and often she can’t find one.
The retailer is the name she is buying. No pressure. Your service, your salesmanship, your reputation, the looks you select for her to choose from. Truth is, we all know Sally can find a very similar look to what you’re selling, either down the street or online. It’s sad and awful and disparaging, but true.
However, if we’re talking about the consumer, she just doesn’t know she’s buying a knockoff. She’s just buying something she likes, from a retailer she trusts, to make her house a home. Imagine that. No sideways, poorly glued-on label required.