Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
October 5,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on October 6, 2010
Case goods and upholstery vendor Fairmont Designs is moving its
High Point Market showroom to the
IHFC.
The 45,000-square-foot showroom, on the eighth floor of the IHFC's Commerce Wing space C867, will be ready for the opening of next week's Market, said Brian Edwards, president of Fairmont Designs. This is a strategic move for Fairmont Designs which is committed to High Point Market. Edwards said the move is a critical first step of a 10-year growth plan for the company.
"The company's expansion into upholstery adds another level to the company's offering," Edwards said. "We are planning to expand nationally with an upholstery plant in North Carolina to service our East Coast customers."
Diversification gives Fairmont Designs formidable reach into multiple categories, but it also balances the company against unpredictable markets.
"If one category is being affected by the economy, the others can help keep our factory running and the balance sheet healthy," Edwards said. "It is a testament to our senior management and owner George Tsai that has kept Fairmont Designs moving forward for 26 years. The vision, the diversification of the offerings, the ability to foresee trends and adjust to them is the driving force that will take Fairmont Designs to a new level of business."
October 5,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Technology on October 6, 2010
A new iPhone app, SnapShop Showroom, aims to help consumers "try before they buy" during the furniture purchase process.
The app, available now for free download at iTunes, allows consumers to browse catalogs with their smart phone, and take pictures of their personal space with the product they are considering embedded in the photo.
"In creating the SnapShop Showroom app, we set out to overcome one of the major barriers in the furniture purchasing process: envisioning how a piece of furniture will look in your space once you get it home," says Eduardo Hueso, founder and CEO of SnapShop Inc., a San Francisco-based specialist in mobile marketing and commerce solutions for the furniture industry. "The ability to 'see' a chair or sofa in your living room before you buy, for example, goes a long way toward mitigating the fear of making a costly decorating mistake."
According to the company, 25,000 consumers downloaded the beta version of the application in the first month. Hueso and partner Brian Chaikelson are coming to the Oct. 16-21 High Point Furniture Market to gather additional feedback on the application from major retailers and other industry leaders.
"Business has been challenging for furniture retailers across the country this summer, but we know from the consumer response to the app that the desire to purchase new furniture hasn't really waned," Chaikelson said. "The fact is that most of us just don't have a tremendous amount of experience when it comes to purchasing furniture since we do it so infrequently. And, given economic conditions, now more than ever, everyone wants to be sure they are spending their dollars wisely. Our view is that by enabling consumers to preview a product in its intended setting, we increase their confidence, and that makes a purchase more likely and any subsequent return due to buyer remorse far less likely."
Once a customer has chosen a particular piece and placed it in a photograph of their room, they can share the photo with their social network to gather feedback from friends and family about their choice.
"Photos are typically accompanied by a URL, which further drives traffic to the retailer's Web site," Hueso said. "The application promotes visceral connections with a retailer's brand, as customers interact with their products beyond the walls of their store or Web site. And the bottom-line result of all the experiential interaction is increased conversion rates for the retailer."
Chaikelson's expertise is in building large retail Web sites. Additionally, as product manager of a major web analytics company, he helped Fortune 500 companies optimize their websites with relevant content and targeted experiences through A/B testing programs. Hueso's background is in the film industry, most notably in the R&D department at Industrial Light & Magic, creating software used by animators and modelers in movies such as "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Spiderwick Chronicles."
October 5,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on October 6, 2010
CSN Stores, the largest online-only retailer of furniture and home goods in the U.S., is rapidly growing its Get It Near Me advertising business.
The advertising business delivers some of the CSN shoppers to brick-and-mortar retailers that may be competitors of CSN. This month,
Get It Near Me signed two deals with
buying group Furniture Marketing Group (FMG).
"As furniture retailers, our members know consumers are evolving to include the Web in their purchasing decisions," added Mike Herschel, executive director of FMG. "Knowing that CSN attracts a large number of active furniture shoppers to its sites each month, participating in this program is a great way to tap into that audience and help drive those consumers into our retailers' showrooms. Get It Near Me has demonstrated impressive success for a number of retailersand we aim to share in those successes as the program continues to grow."
Launched in August 2009, Get It Near Me is based on the concept that an advertiser's primary need is to be in the right place at the right time. CSN's 200+ sites receive more than 10 million visits each month and most of those people are actively shopping for furniture. But they don't always end up buying online, so advertising to them while they shop online is a chance for advertisers to reach qualified buyers at just the right time. Typically, only a small percentage of visitors purchase online, while the vast majority conduct Web research before visiting a local retailer to make a purchase.
"The primary reason we use Get It Near Me is the extraordinary value," said Tony Mitchell, director of purchasing at
American Furniture Warehouse. "We get at least three times as many clicks from Get It Near Me compared to what the same amount of money would net us on any other online advertising platform. It made sense to us, right from the get go. You always want the most for your advertising dollars. So you're not just going to run those ads where they'll be seen, but also where they will matter to people who do see them."
The program has increased its revenue over the past six months by more than 1,000 percent. So far, more than 100 advertisers, beyond AFW, have signed up to use Get It Near Me, including
Circle Furniture,
Brashears Furniture,
The Room Place,
The Brick,
Rotman's Furniture, and
Sit n' Sleep. "We believe we're all in this together as retailers," said John Mulliken, CSN's vice president of media and strategic initiatives. "Most consumers still want to buy from a local retailer, but they start their shopping with us month after month. We don't want to stand in their way. We want to help them find the right item and the right retailer for them, whether it be the best online retailer or an outstanding brick and mortar option in their neighborhood."
From single-location stores to regional mega-chains, profiles of retailers that use Get It Near Me report a high ROI for the media.
"With this program, we get right in front of these consumers when they're shopping for the kinds of furniture that I sell," said Daniel Waldron, marketing manager for
Dream Home Interiors. "I couldn't afford that kind of exposure with most other kinds of media."
October 5,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on October 6, 2010
Natuzzi Editions will show its complete retail gallery program at High Point Furniture Market, including new digital point-of-sale tags.
The 3,000-square-foot branded retail footprint will be assembled for the first time in the company's showroom, 130 W. Commerce Ave. The enhanced gallery concept allows dealers to communicate the unique value proposition of Natuzzi Editions upholstery products on the retail floor, summarized by the brand's new tagline, "Italian Design for American Living."
"Throughout North America, the Natuzzi Editions consumer relates to our heritage of Italian design," said Joe Mussallem, president, Natuzzi Americas. "Our research shows that this consumer also expects to get value for their furniture purchase, and we can start that conversation in the store by letting them know what our brand stands for."
Natuzzi will propose several new point-of-sale vehicles to dealers. Beautifully photographed images flank communications towers, built to highlight key brand messages, including innovation in motion seating, natural and protected leather benefits, high performance Velora fabric options, environmental responsibility and the Natuzzi Editions brand story. Each tower comes with its own takeaway brochure and shoppers with smartphones can additionally view 45-second informational video spots, using the Microsoft tag reader.
A specially designed leather display wall is devoted to natural and protected leather options featuring samples of each.
"Every part of the Natuzzi Editions retail gallery has been designed to support our dealers by empowering shoppers to buy our products," Mussallem said. "We give them the information and tools needed to select the products that are right for them."
Each gallery presentation's core includes: branded scrim panels made from lightweight material, high-wear flooring, flexible lighting, and permanent area rugs. The Natuzzi Editions library-inspired visual theme was unveiled at the spring High Point Market.
Gallery footprints and product configurations are negotiable. Dealers should contact their representatives for additional information.
Natuzzi Group is the brand umbrella for three distinct brands: Natuzzi Italy, Natuzzi Editions and Italsofa.
October 5,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on October 6, 2010
Sioux Falls, S.D.-based HOM Furniture looked up to nearly double its showroom space when the retailer opted to raise the roof and add a second floor on a new location.
The company acquired a building and is in the process of expanding the space to develop a complete retail center that will include additional tenants, including a
Buffalo Wild Wings.
With the addition of future tenants, HOM Furniture would not have the required square feet needed to properly showcase their complete line of furniture. The decision was made early to raise the roof and add another story to the building. The additional space will nearly double the retail display while allowing the balance of retail space in the shopping center to house additional businesses.
We could have demolished the building and started over with a new two-story building said Ralph Kloiber, director of real estate for HOM, and rather than adding higher cost and the demolition to the landfill, the decision was made to use the existing building as is and raise the roof. This was our green solution, recycling the existing building components. Using the existing structure, we were able to save the insulation, roofing, lighting, heating, sprinkler systems, and all roof mounted equipment."
HOM operates 13 showrooms throughout Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin. HOM Furniture has furniture stores in the greater Minneapolis and St. Paul area, including Plymouth, Lakeville, Roseville, Woodbury, Bloomington and Coon Rapids; with additional Minnesota showrooms in Hermantown/Duluth, Rochester and St. Cloud, as well as in Eau Claire, Wis., Sioux City, Iowa, Fargo, N.D., and Sioux Falls, S.D. HOM Furniture also owns and operates
Gabberts Fine Furniture and Design Studio from its showroom in the Galleria, Edina, Minn.