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La-Z-Boy Taps Brooke Shields for Ad Campaign

By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on October 15, 2010 Actor, author and mom Brooke Shields is the new face of La-Z-Boy.

The company said today that Shields will take center stage in a new brand campaign set to debut this fall. The advertising campaign will feature a relaxed side of Shields and the variety of La-Z-Boy's furniture line.

"Brooke is a remarkably accomplished actress who has seamlessly balanced her career with her role as a loving wife and mother," said Doug Collier, chief marketing officer for La-Z-Boy. "Her family focus, as well as her warm and genuine nature, makes her the perfect embodiment of La-Z-Boy comfort. In addition to her welcoming personality, Brooke has a strong sense of style and taste that give her the credibility to convey to our female customers that La-Z-Boy's wide range of attractive furniture can fit modern family lives."

The campaign will focus on convincing female consumers that La-Z-Boy comfort fits their lifestyle, as well as educating them about the company's wide selection of furniture beyond its well-known recliner.

"I love the La-Z-Boy brand and grew up with La-Z-Boy furniture in the house, so I was familiar with its quality, durability and comfort€”and as a Mom I really appreciate it," Shields said. "What surprised me about La-Z-Boy was the wide variety of sofas, sectionals and other furniture they offer in addition to the iconic recliners. I'm excited to help La-Z-Boy spread the word that you don't have to sacrifice comfort or break the bank to create a fabulous looking room."

Ms. Shields is an accomplished television, film and theater actress who is in the midst of a six-week performance in the musical "Leap of Faith." She also is the author of three non-fiction books, as well as two children's books.

The ad campaign, which is being created by La-Z-Boy agency of record, RPA, will launch this fall with broadcast, print and other campaign elements. The national cable TV buy includes more than 20 networks, including A&E, Bravo, CNN, ESPN, HGTV, Lifetime, TBS and USA.

Stein World Launches Training Program

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on October 15, 2010

Accent furniture vendor Stein World has launched a comprehensive sales training program designed to enhance the consumer's shopping experience and the skills of retail sales associates.

Stein World is unveiling the program at the High Point Furniture Market in IHFC-W447 and 448.
 
Based on proprietary research conducted by a marketing firm, the new program includes romance copy for Stein World's 10 product categories; tip sheets on how to effectively sell accents; trend boards highlighting major style directions; and a series of short training videos that can be used in the store or accessed online for retail sales associate training.
 
"We are launching this comprehensive training initiative because, under the stress of the worst economic environment since the Great Depression, sales training has been minimized," said Richard Olmeda, president and CEO of Stein World. "The new young community of merchandisers may have never seen a well-planned, thorough sales training program for retail sales associates. Our program will be fresh and contemporary, updated and entertaining."
 
Stein World's sales representatives received extensive training on the company's new approach prior to Market. They will implement the program among retailers and buyers during this Market's showroom visits, then taking their message directly to stores in the coming months.
 
"We want to educate retail sales associates about our products to better address consumers needs and become better performers in their stores," Olmeda said. "We see a big void in the marketplace when it comes to training and our goal is to further differentiate our brand by providing added value to our dealers."
 
He added that part of Stein World's mission is to "train the trainers," including store buyers and merchandisers, so that this product information reaches as many people as possible.

Stein World's training initiative aims to give retail sales associates a range of new talking points for each category--Exotic Accents, Wood Trends, Cosmopolitan, Painted Treasures, Media Consoles, Accent Seating, Mirrors, Decorative Lighting, Occasional Tables and Vanity Sinks €“ that go far beyond price. For example, the new romance copy will address not just the features of products but how it is used functionally and how it adds to the interior design in the home. These product primers will enable retail sales associates to €œmove away from just talking about the product as a commodity,€ he says.
 
Special trend boards highlight Stein World's newest style themes and the ongoing market research that goes into the development and design of its products. The company studies trends in, for example, apparel, jewelry and home building to determine where the market is headed next. Two trends are being highlighted this Market during sales meetings and on special showroom video screens. New boards will be introduced as new trends emerge.

Immediately following Market, Stein World will begin production of an extensive series of videos to provide insight into major product categories and the manufacturing process. Featuring members of management and the sales team in an engaging YouTube-type style, the videos will be used in store training sessions and posted on the company's password-protected website for ongoing dealer use.
 
"These aren€™t going to be your grandmother€™s training videos that put everyone to sleep," Olmeda said. "These will be lively, skillfully edited updates filled with useful information. And since they€™ll be online, new retail sales associates can watch them, on demand, whenever they are hired."
 
To develop the new training program, Stein World€™s marketing firm conducted in-depth research with retailers about the company€™s brand and reputation. Participating retailers gave high marks to the company for its breadth of product and the efficiency, convenience and profitability of being able to shop a range of categories from one source.

Koehler Joins Aico; Reilly Gets Promotion

By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on October 15, 2010 David Koehler has joined Aico as vice president of sales, succeeding Chuck Reilly who has been promoted to the newly created position of senior vice president of sales for the company.

Koehler most recently was senior vice president of sales for Theodore Alexander U.S.A.

"Chuck has made an extraordinary contribution to the forward growth of the company in his first year," said Martin Ploy, Aico president. "The former Lane executive€™s impact on sales has earned him the opportunity to focus more on future planning, strategic sales, and marketing initiatives. Chuck has quickly gained respect from both sales people and customers, and has become a critical force in the senior management of Aico.€

In addition to his role at Theodore Alexander, Koehler has experience with a number of high-end importers, including Maitland-Smith and the Theodore Alexander division of Sherrill.

"We're very fortunate to have been able to add David to our executive management team," Ploy said "An individual like David, with extraordinary credentials and positive dealer support will add another high-caliber management person to the company."

Ploy said the company envisions Koehler working closely with Reilly to analyze sales performance, territory assignments and to create new dealer programs to increase sales momentum.

€œDuring these challenging economic times, most companies have made deep cuts in staff, advertising budgets and marketing expenses," Ploy said. "To the contrary, we have been committed to pushing our advertising and marketing to new heights with the planned addition of many new technical and creative specialists to help fulfill our new marketing direction, renewed Web development and specific efforts in both consumer driven and trade focused advertising.€

Aico has recently added staff to its customer service and bedding departments, as well as to its logistics and international operations.

"I am so pleased to see see the sales dynamics, excitement and enthusiasm that this company is currently experiencing," said Michael Amini, Aico CEO.  "Our ability to attract and add important people to our company is a real testament to our current high level of quality employees and management. With Martin Ploy, the promotion of Chuck Reilly and the addition of David Koehler, I feel that the leadership of this company will continue to display a commitment to increased customer satisfaction and significant business results. Aico will always be a company that is dissatisfied with the status quo, and our focus on continuous improvement will always force us to be better.€

Lexington: There's an App for That

By Home Furnishings Business in Internet on October 15, 2010

Lexington Home Brands is set to unveil what it called the industry's first iPad App that enables sales reps, dealers, designers and consumers to dynamically search the product line, view high-def collection videos, create and share design projects, and access all levels of pricing.

During High Point Furniture Market, Lexington will provide iPads to each of their sales reps, and will have devices available in their showroom for dealer use. The App will be sold through the iTunes Store starting in November.

"We have been utilizing interactive touch-screen technology in our High Point, Las Vegas and Denver showrooms for the past two years," said Phil Haney, president and CEO of Lexington Home Brands. "The rich imagery that we produce--via HD video and location photography--makes this an ideal marketing tool. We have found that dealers, designers and consumers love the user experience. The challenge in rolling out this program broadly, however, was the significant investment required for the 42-inch LCD touch-screen unit. With the introduction of the iPad, we were able to leverage our digital content on a device that is both portable and affordable, without sacrificing the quality of the presentation."

The few home furnishings apps on the iTunes Store today are essentially electronic catalogs offering content, but no functionality. The Lexington Digital Showroom App will allow users to search the company's extensive wood and upholstery product lines in any of five ways: by room, by item, by number, by collection, or by brand. Each collection is represented by an introductory video that positions the lifestyle for which that group was designed. There is also an area of the App that showcases the company's most recent introductions. 

Consumers and designers generally begin design projects by collecting tear sheets in a project portfolio. The Lexington App has functionality that allows the user to save any item in the assortment to any number of portfolios. Multiple projects can be managed through a simple folder system. Portfolios can be e-mailed to a friend or client from within the App on letterhead that can be fully customized by the user.

"In designing the App, we did not want to sacrifice speed by streaming content through a wireless or 3G Internet connection," said Lexington Senior Vice President of Marketing Robert Stamper. "The entire database resides in the memory of the device, offering incredibly fast search capability and no buffering of large HD video files. The value of the App is apparent in any of the following scenarios: a designer meeting a client at a job site, a sales associate working with a customer at a retail store without wireless access, a sales rep meeting with a new account prospect or training new sales associates. The App provides 100% of the information that would normally be contained in multiple catalog binders, bulky price lists, and on various web sites, in the case of videos. The iPad, with its superb resolution and reasonable price, is a great piece of technology for sales and design professionals seeking an alternative to carrying around printed collateral. We feel strongly enough about the platform to equip everyone on our selling team with a device."

Given the size and complexity of the App, the initial download is fairly large. Once the App is installed, the user determines the frequency of updates, which load very quickly. These updates are managed through Lexington servers, adding new collections, netting out discontinued items, and adjusting for any price changes. One major benefit of the App is the ability for Lexington to keep its sales materials and pricing up-to-date electronically rather than manually. The App will be sold on the iTunes Store for $49.99. Lexington will provide its authorized dealers with a promotion code which will allow them to purchase the App for free.

"It is fairly intuitive that the expense and limitations of printed collateral will open the door for electronic delivery alternatives," said Stamper. "While there will always be a place for collection catalogs, it is our belief that the iPad represents a viable technology option for mobile professional looking to present our lifestyle message. It allows us to deliver rich product imagery and functionality while maintaining control over the brand message. To that end, the iPad App will prove an extremely powerful selling tool."

Ferrer Named National Sales Director for Company C

By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on October 15, 2010

Marybeth Ferrer has been named national sales director for home décor design and supplier Company C.

Prior to her promotion, Ferrer was a sales representative and key accounts sales leader for the company. Prior to joining Company C in 2009, Ferrer spent more than 20 years leading sales, retail and customer service teams in companies like Ann Taylor, Williams-Sonoma, Restoration Hardware, Domain Home and Country Curtains.

In her new role, Ferrer will lead the company's independent sales force, working alongside with internal sales leader and customer service department. She will also oversee communication and transactions with Company C's more than 700 dealers nationwide and sales representatives across the country.

"Marybeth has built strong relationships with our valued representatives and retailers and truly understands the Company C brand and product," said Kristine Scotto, chief operating officer of Company C. "Her passion for color and design led her to assume the responsibility of the role even prior to her promotion. She will bring us to the next generation of continuing alignment of quality over quantity in our wholesale channel."

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