Paco Underhill, an internationally recognized expert on consumer shopping behavior, will be the keynote speaker at a public forum entitled “The Future of Furniture: High Definition Retailing.”

The one-day forum will be held Aug. 28 on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, N.C. It is presented by The Furniture Foundation, Home Furnishings Business magazine and the Lenoir-Rhyne College Charles M. Snipes School of Business.


This forum is part of the Lenoir-Rhyne Leading Edge Series, an ongoing program designed to provide the audience with a comprehensive look at issues that have had a major impact on the extended community.

Underhill has spent more than 25 years conducting research on different aspects of shopping behavior. He is founder, CEO and president of Envirosell, a consulting company. Underhill is the author of two books: “Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping” and “Call of the Mall: The Geography of Shopping.” Underhill’s research helps companies understand what motivates the behaviors of today’s consumer. It shows how today’s retail world is ruled by factors such as gender, “trial and touch” and human anatomy.

Underhill and Envirosell have been profiled by major publications, such as The New Yorker, Fortune, Fast Company, Business Week and Smithsonian Magazine, and have been featured on ABC’s “20/20,” and CBS’s “48 Hours.” Underhill is a regular contributor to NPR and BBC Radio. His columns and editorials have appeared in the New York Times, London Times, Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor.

The Future of Furniture Retailing will begin with several morning workshops in the Belk Centrum on campus. “Supply Chain Management” will be presented at 9 a.m. by Dr. Bjarne Berg, an L-R professor who formerly was senior manager at Price WaterhouseCooper’s global data warehouse group and former director of business intelligence at MyITGroup Ltd. In these positions, he managed multi-year projects for major national and international companies. He is an international speaker on the subject of using computer databases to enhance business.

At 10 a.m., “Activity Based Costing” will be presented by Dr. Charles Brandon, a CPA and college professor whose specialty is managerial and cost accounting. He is currently working in the area of cost management. He will discuss how hidden overhead costs can cause manufacturers to under-price their products and lose money, or over-price and lose sales.

At 11 a.m., “Marketing to Today’s Consumer” will be presented by Visiting Professor Kevin Kelley. He is the principal and co-founder of Shook Kelley, an atypical architecture and design firm that specializes in consumer behavior for retail and consumer-based companies. His client list has included Whole Foods, Harley-Davidson and The Coca-Cola Company, among others.

Underhill’s presentation, titled “The Furniture Shopping Experience,” will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the P.E. Monroe Auditorium. His remarks will be followed by a Blue Ribbon Panel discussion on “The Future of Furniture Retailing.”

The Blue Ribbon Panel will be moderated by Kevin Kelley of Shook Kelley. Other panelists include Clive Lubner of Robb & Stucky Interiors, Nancy Webster of Thomasville Furniture Industries, Barclay Butera of Barclay Butera Inc., Sheila Long O’Mara of Home Furnishings Business, and Rob Casey of The Good Bed.

The cost for the morning workshops is $25 per workshop for members of the Lenoir-Rhyne Business Council or $35 per workshop for non-members. Underhill’s presentation and the Blue Ribbon Panel discussion are free to the public, although advance registration is required.

This forum should be of interest to key executives within the furniture industry, including those involved in manufacturing, importing and retailing. For additional information, contact Neal Orgain at 828-328-7314 – LRC News