By Robert Gold
\nDANBURY — Presentation matters in the world of interior design.
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\nThat’s why officials at Ethan Allen Interiors call the recent remodeling at their Danbury store a big deal despite no change in the building’s actual size.<\/p>\n
Products like fabrics and wallpaper no longer lie in drawers within the design center. Extra tables for designers and customers are dotted throughout the building. A room was added where customers can visualize their home’s new design via computer.<\/p>\n
“It makes it very visual and very easy to see” products, said Farah Kathwari, style director at Ethan Allen, referring to the changes this fall.<\/p>\n
About 3,500 square feet are used for the design center, roughly twice as much as before the remodeling. The rest of the nearly 23,000-square-foot building is used for the store.<\/p>\n
The store section underwent plenty of changes too, as the company created “lifestyle projections.” That mixes various product lines and styles into a room design.<\/p>\n
The new presentation is more realistic, Kathwari said, because people often decorate their homes with products from different lines and designs. The Danbury renovations will serve as a model for all new Ethan Allen stores, company officials said. It’s also looking at ways to incorporate the changes into existing design centers, which total about 300.<\/p>\n
The company typically adds 10 to 15 new stores every year.<\/p>\n
The move makes sense, said Ray Allegrezza, editor-in-chief of the home furniture industry newspaper Furniture Today.<\/p>\n
While many furniture companies focus their advertising on price or a specific product, Allegrezza said Danbury-based Ethan Allen focuses on the overall design experience.<\/p>\n
“They realize the designers hold the key to unlocking the consumer’s heart, their imagination, and guess what, their wallet,” he said.<\/p>\n
Ethan Allen posted record sales of nearly $1.1 billion for its fiscal year that ended June 30, a 12.4 percent jump from the previous year.<\/p>\n
In the first quarter of its latest year, however, sales dropped 3.5 percent from the same period the previous year to $242.8 million.<\/p>\n
Farooq Kathwari, the company’s CEO, attributed slower business partially to the recent elections. The political ads took space and attention away from retailers, he said.<\/p>\n
“We’ve already seen positive trends in traffic” since the Nov. 7 elections, Farooq Kathwari said.<\/p>\n
Laura Champine, an analyst for Morgan Keegan & Company Inc, who follows Ethan Allen, said the industry overall is struggling.<\/p>\n
“I think the industry faces a downturn in the cycle driven by higher interest rates,” she said.<\/p>\n
Farooq Kathwari said the company’s long-term strategy includes an increased focus on strong design staff.<\/p>\n
Within the past two years, it added a two-week training program for design consultants, which total more than 3,000 nationwide.<\/p>\n
And with the new design centers, they’ll have even greater contact with customers.<\/p>\n
“We focus on one business,” he said. “We want to be the best in what we do.”<\/p>\n
Contact Robert Gold<\/p>\n
at rgold@newstimes.com<\/p>\n
or at (203) 731-3350<\/p>\n
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