Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
September 13,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Display on September 14, 2012
Luxury mattress vendor Pure LatexBliss has launched a new retail merchandising program, CustomFIT for You.
The program, designed to allow consumers to design and build their perfect bed in stores, will debut at the Oct. 13-18 High Point Furniture Market in the Pure LatexBliss showroom located in the International Home Furnishings Center, space M-528.
CustomFIT for You lets consumers select a mattress, foundation, removable pillow top and pillow, all tailored to their personal preferences. The program was developed to have a simple sales process and increase the size of retail tickets and gross margin dollar opportunities. With a variety of mattresses, foundations, pillow tops and pillows, the CustomFIT program can offer customers nearly 150 possible combinations for creating their best bed with only a handful of floor samples. The CustomFIT program also is designed to work alongside other brands. The program is based on the premise that its easier to increase a sales ticket through customization of the mattress rather than just stepping up to another mattress model.
Our beta testing of this program showed retailers triple tickets, increased gross margin dollars four fold, and saw a higher close rate overall, said Atlanta-based Pure LatexBliss President Kurt Ling.
To compliment the new program, Pure will add additional customizable point-of-purchase solutions designed to visually explain the CustomFIT program and the options when designing a bed for better sleep. The concept is simple, making is easy for retail sales associates to learn and explain to customers, who will benefit from the custom experience without overpaying for it.
With our price points, we aim to make the custom experience accessible to everyone," Ling said. "Traditionally custom has been synonymous with ultra-luxury mattresses in the tens of thousands of dollars, but theres no reason we cant create a new retail program that engages customers and shows them how to build their bed, creating the ultimate sleep experience. Bringing high-end concepts to the masses is a retail strategy that has seen incredible success before. For instance, when Target brought designer brands into their stores, they couldnt keep the shelves stocked. We want to create that same excitement in the bedding space.
The new CustomFIT POP solutions will be one of the tools that Marty Walker, former vice president of visual merchandising for Pier 1 Imports, will be able to help retailers with. Based on strong success at the recent Las Vegas Furniture Market, Walker will be on-hand in High Point to help create floor plans. This gives retailers the opportunity to start planning their store layout at the time they place the order, leaving market with design layouts in hand.
September 13,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on September 14, 2012
The Piedmont Furniture Club's 26th annual golf tournament last month raised $10,000 for cancer research at Brenner Childrens Hospital.
This years donation was made in honor of Christine OConnor DesVergers, daughter of Madeline and Kevin OConnor of Samson Marketing. The Piedmont Furniture Club honored Christine for her courage and motivation to others during her struggle with breast cancer. Many participants, as well as those who could not attend the tournament, made additional contributions to Brenners Cancer Research.
Dr. Sharon Castellino MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics Comprehensive Cancer Center Brain Tumor Center of Excellence; and Nicole Witten, Development Events Coordinator for Brenner Childrens Hospital attended the tournament and expressed their gratitude for the donation to childrens cancer research.
Kevin OConnor was unable to attend, so his son Sean OConnor presented Kevins speech. Christines husband, Matt DesVergers also participated in the tournament.
The tournament itself was a success with 26 teams and sponsoring partners, International Market Centers, Murrows Transfer, Zenith Global Logistics, Wahlquist Management, SDJ Trucking, as well as Samson Marketing, Legacy Classic Furniture and Universal Furniture.
The support and contributions of our sponsors and participants at each years tournament help make it the success that it has come to be. said Ray Haislip, Virginia/Carolinas IHFRA president.
September 13,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on September 14, 2012
Foam products producer FXI has launched an exclusive line of foam pillows licensed with "The Sleep Doctor," Dr. Michael Breus.
The Dr. Breus Pillow Collection, designed and developed with Breus, serves as the perfect accessory to the Dr. Breus Bed, and reinforces the importance of a sleep system as a holistic approach in getting a good nights rest. Designed to offer solutions to commonly found sleep problems, the pillows meet the specific sleep needs of each individual and provide a better, more restful nights sleep.
The exclusive collection includes five models: the Breathable Pillow, Puzzle Pillow, Hybrid Pillow, Wave Pillow and Low Profile Pillow. Each is made using FXIs patent-pending breathable foam and features dust mite and allergen resistant technology. The pillows come with a removable, washable cover that is made with a soft, sateen cotton and Coolmax polyester blended fabric, ensuring temperature regulation and superior moisture wicking.
Were excited to be partnering with a well respected sleep expert like Dr. Breus, said Diane Adams, senior vice president of consumer products at FXI, Media, Pa. We are now able to offer pillows specifically developed to meet an individuals sleep preferences and help them achieve a more restful nights sleep. We previewed the pillows to great response at the Las Vegas Market and we have created great momentum for the line.
FXI is uniquely positioned to help drive my mission of helping people sleep better and live healthier," Breus said. "Their R&D capabilities and expertise as the leading producer of foam products makes them the ideal partner.
September 13,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on September 14, 2012
Furniture and bedding protection vendor Caber Sure Fit will make its High Point Furniture Market debut at next month's show.
As part of its U.S. expansion, Caber Sure Fit will showcase its new DreamSerene line of mattress and bedding protection collections in the International Home Furnishings Center, space M-615.
We are very pleased with the response we received when we introduced our brand and collections to retailers at Las Vegas Market, said Markham, Ontario-based Caber Sure Fit President and CEO Bernard Weinstein. Its important for us to continue the momentum we are experiencing in the United States, and recognize that High Point Market offers us an additional opportunity to bring Caber Sure Fits innovation and expertise in the sleep accessories category to a wider audience.
The companys most popular brand, DreamSerene, includes a full line of pillow covers and mattress pads and protectors that ensure a peaceful and healthy nights sleep. Each mattress and pillow protector features an Allergy Shield, DreamSeal and exclusive Wet Block Technology, a breathable stain and waterproof barrier that defends against allergens, bed bugs and water damage. The DreamSerene line is offered in a variety of fabrics made from organic materials including terry, bamboo and eucalyptus. The suggested retail pricing for the DreamSerene collection ranges from $59 to $199.
September 13,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on September 2012
The QR codethat crazy gizmo on the cover of our magazineis becoming as ubiquitous as the smartphone. Most folks have an iPhone or some sort of Droid device that can pretty much do just about anything anyone would want it to do and then some, including quickly and easily comparison shop in your furniture store.
The QR code, which can be generated for free from a number of online sources (Google QR code generator), could very well be the easiest tool in combating the showrooming trend.
What? Not familiar with showrooming? Im sure youre familiar with the practice, maybe just maybe not the term. Showrooming is when a consumer walks into your stores, shops for the sofa or the dining table or the bedroom suite shes interested in and then buys from an online source. Hence, shes used your storeand sales teamas her personal showroomand design teamin which she can peruse and research products shes too scared to buy without touching and feeling.
Its a much savvier, quicker comparison shopping strategy than simply shopping among three or four furniture stores as we once did. Now, a plethora of e-commerce Web sites selling furniture abound, and the playing field is now nearly without boundaries
So, just how big of a phenomenon is this showrooming? According to a February report from ClickIQ, 45.9 percent of online consumers in the U.S. said they had showroomed and then decided to purchase online specifically because of better prices. Half of those engaged in the showrooming trend were aged 25-34 years old.
Discount giant Target, earlier this year, took aim at Amazon.com and the showrooming trend and decided to stop selling Amazons Kindle. The move followed Amazons encouraging consumers to scan items in stores for discounts online.
Over the past few months, big-box retailers have launched new initiatives to combat the practice. Retailers like Walmart, Macys, Sears, the Container Store and others are upping their customer support game with pickup locations, payment booths, drive-through customer service centers and other premium services that blend online with the offline in an effort to keep customers happy. And, shes getting harder to please.
According to a Capgemini report, the digital shopper isnt strictly digital. Instead, she expects to be served across all channelsphysical and digital. Here are a few tidbits from that study:
¢ Nearly 60 percent of shoppers expect the retail experience to extend across physical and digital channels by 2014.
¢ 56 percent of shoppers said they are likely to spend more money at a physical store if they used digital channels to research ahead of time.
¢ 44 percent of shoppers prefer to use a mobile app to support in-store shopping.
¢ 55 percent of female shoppers are more engaged when using digital channels compared with 44 percent of men.
So what can retailers do to compete against showroomers? Well, back to the QR code. The ability and desire to access online information isnt going to go away. Get creative in how you tag your merchandise. Generate print-ready QR codes that link back to information about products, your stores, design tips, how-to ideas, your personnel. Maybe get creative by showing product comparisons or exclusive in-store deals.
Anything that will get the consumer excited about doing business with youeither online or in the store; as long as you hold onto them as your customer.
By the way, our QR code on the cover is functional. Scan it and see where it takes you.
Happy coding!