Courtney M. Paschal — Casual Living
If you’ve been to any trade shows lately, you have surely seen the increase in accessories vendors exhibiting next to casual furniture manufacturers, and for good reason. 


More specialty retailers are diving deeper into the category for various reasons, whether to help sell the furniture itself, generate repeat business and/or freshen vignettes. For many retailers, accessories have proved to be a successful venture. Here are a few words from retailers who have found success in the category:

Karen Galindo, The Greenhouse Mall
      We carry art, faux plants and flowers, whimsical accessories, windchimes, Tervis (tumblers), candles and hurricanes, candlesticks, toss pillows. Toss pillows by Laurie Bell and hurricane candle holders are most popular.
      We attend the Atlanta, Dallas and New York gift shows, the Casual Show and maybe soon, Paris. Atlanta is the best we found so far. Accessories are a great add-on and make the furniture look great.
      People don’t think twice about adding on hundreds of dollars of accessories. 
     
Maureen Recchia, Georgia Backyard
      We deal with a well balanced range of accessories that would appeal to anyone looking to accent their outdoor (or indoor) room. Outdoor rugs, accent tables, lighting, acrylic tableware and wall decor have been standard accessories. I like to add a few specialty products that make the stores unique and keep our customers coming back.
      The most popular accessory this year is the accent pillow. We decided to add color by accenting with pillows in different colors, shapes and sizes. The ladies absolutely love the designs and have been purchasing several at a time.
      We attend the Atlanta Gifts Show, High Point Market, the Dallas Market and the Casual Show in Chicago.
      The accessories help to sell the furniture because they help in completing the story. They are the final accent that helps give the furniture personality – something to help the customer identify with.

Cathy Galbreath-Watson, ABSCO Fireplace & Patio
      We carry many different kinds of accessories in our stores, but mainly we carry accessories that complement our furniture. Our main purpose for accessories is to make the customer want to purchase our furniture. If they buy the accessories too, then that’s just great. We do also sell a lot of accessories at Christmas as well as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
      Our regular customers know they can always find unique and fun items at our stores. We carry quite a bit of tabletop, which includes placemats, acrylic plates, acrylic drinkware, napkins, and napkin rings, etc. We try to stay away from glass or ceramic items due to the large amount of breakage. We also carry a lot of gift knick-knack items to accessorize our deep seating furniture. Once the fabric colors for the new season are chosen, we then choose the accessories that will make the furniture stand out. We try to make the furniture in our store as comfortable and homey looking as possible. We do also carry a lot of artificial plants, from small to very large, to give the store an outdoor feel.
      Our best-selling accessory would have to be throw pillows. We use throw pillows on almost all of our furniture to pull in colors and make it more inviting. When a customer purchases a deep seating set of furniture, they almost always purchase throw pillows to go with it. We carry pillows in many different sizes and fabrics ranging in retail price from $30 to $125 each. All of our throw pillows are made from outdoor fabrics.
      We always shop the gift floors at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago in July and again in September. We usually use the last day for the gift floors, because then we can pick out accessories to complement the furniture that we have chosen. We also try to go to the Atlanta gift mart at least once a year. I feel most importantly that I rely a lot on my sales reps. When they have product they feel that I would be interested in, they come by to see me.
      I feel that accessories are extremely important to our bottom line. If we didn’t have accessories, then our showroom floors would look similar to the mass merchants. Even top quality furniture needs to be “dressed.” A customer must be able to visualize how our furniture will look in their own home environment. 
     
Judy Edgar and Ajay Gupta, Housewarmings Outdoor
      We carry a lot of accessories, both indoors and out. They certainly help our sales. Most customers have a hard time visualizing the entire presentation – accessories help out tremendously. Accessories bring out the best from the main products.
      One more benefit from accessories – repeat business. Most customers will do a major buy once in a while, whereas accessories bring them back (and along with them their friends). Customers need gifts for all occasions: Mother’s Day, birthdays, weddings. Accessories help us connect with our customers and build stronger relationships. We can freshen up the vignettes more often and it gives us something to talk about … some customers frequent us just to see what is new.
      We attend the Atlanta Merchandise and Gift Marts and the Casual Show. Dallas is ill-timed for us as we are in full swing by then getting ready for regional Home and Garden Shows for the public. These bring us a lot of business.
      We carry indoor and outdoor accessories in our “Dreamhouse.” Bronze sculptures and fountains, large and small, both indoor and out are popular accessories. Ceramic and concrete sculptures and vessels of all shapes and sizes, lamps, candles and candlesticks, paintings, upscale foliage and florals, and gifts for men and boys, a market often overlooked, specialty items and some with nostalgic interest for the Baby Boomers.  Holiday decor is a big draw for us as our base business, fireplaces, is a natural for it.
      Since our outdoor focus is on awesome custom pergolas, imaginative custom dream barbecue islands and high-end furniture, large and small enhancements suited for weather are our main focus there. 
      Naming a best-selling accessory is difficult but I would say large and small bronze sculptures and fountains are one of our biggest attractions, the presentation of which is vital. We have the perfect canvas for displaying just about anything, so singling any one item out is a challenge. Because we are in Lexington, Ky., anything to do with horses is a big draw also. Color is important in our selections, too, as it is the thread that pulls everything together.
 
Ron Randall, Godby Hearth & Home
      Accessories help in many ways. Primarily they enhance the experience for the customer and make major product lines more appealing and thus easier to sell. They also help give customers a unique experience every time they enter the store, so every visit becomes something of an adventure. If done in a tasteful and exciting fashion, they can drive customers back into the store to see the latest offerings in giftware, and at the same time expose them to ones newest products in majors. I look at them as a sales tool, and as a free or self-validating form of advertising, it is the least expensive way I know to keep repeat customers coming back, and bringing friends with them. All merchants try to take advantage of holidays to boost their business, but by carrying products which could be classified as giftwares, a saavy merchant can add client birthdays and anniversaries to that list.
      We carry hanging art, whether in the form of paintings, photos, sculpture, tapestries or some other medium of expression ; fountains, waterfalls, candles and candle holders, bowls, vases, glassware (decorative over functional), statuary, finials, effusion lamps, electrical lamps, lights and chandeliers, outdoor rugs, frames, mirrors, etc.
      It’s been a very good year for fountains, outdoor rugs, decorative boxes and vases, crosses and effusion lamps.
      We attend the Casual show and HPBA, and anticipate Atlanta to be in our big three in the future.