Heath E. Combs — Furniture Today,
Company says action will help dealers promote

THOMASVILLE, N.C. — Thomasville Furniture has pulled prices from its Web site, a move the manufacturer and importer said was designed to help dealers promote more aggressively.

The company began listing prices earlier this year, saying that would help provide consumers with a more consistent shopping experience through Thomasville’s various retail channels.

The majority of its volume is believed to be sold through its dedicated network of company- and dealer-owned stores, which number about 150 in major U.S. markets. Furniture/Today ranks the network No. 15 on its latest list of Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores, with estimated 2013 sales of furniture, bedding and accessories of $510 million, down 3.8% from 2012.

“Thomasville continues to remain focused on the consumer during these challenging times,” said Kathy Devereux, vice president of marketing. “To better help our markets promote themselves, we have chosen to temporarily remove the published Thomasville Price from Thomasville.com.

“This has been done to allow more involved interaction between customers and our Thomasville design consultants in the retail environment,” she added.

The Furniture Brands International-owned company said last year that about one in seven e-mails it received from consumers asked why it didn’t list prices online. The company does not sell product on the Internet.

Mark Smiley, manager of national brand communication, said Thomasville understands the Internet is an important tool for consumers.

“We are developing some new features to make Thomasville.com even more meaningful and helpful…. And we do have plans to reintroduce pricing when these enhancements are completed,” he said.