Gary Evans — Furniture Today,
\nNew approach includes Klaussnerhome store network
\nASHEBORO, N.C. \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Long known as a behind-the-scenes truckload supplier to major accounts, upholstery manufacturer and case goods importer Klaussner Furniture is making itself more visible as a brand, and taking sweeping initiatives to change how it does business.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The company has been immersed with some really big retail partners and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really need anything to be pushed because they were big enough to carry us,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Bryan Myers, the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s marketing and brand manager.
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\n But in an essentially flat retail market, suppliers are forced to find new ways to grow, and this Top 5 manufacturer is no exception.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really looking to do is move forward and move Klaussner from behind the rocks, so to speak,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Myers.<\/p>\n
At the heart of the process is the rollout of a new chain of licensed stores called Klaussnerhome furnishings. The company also has announced a new transportation and logistics program, a new e-commerce initiative, a new logo and a major revamping of its showroom here. Visitors to the market next week will get a sampling of things to come.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the beginning of an entirely new era for Klaussner Furniture,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Jeff Davis, senior vice president of marketing and business development, and mastermind of a strategy that he says will make the company \u00e2\u20ac\u0153better, more efficient, more effective and in keeping with the demands of today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supply chain \u00e2\u20ac\u201d be it wholesale, retail or otherwise.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The store rollout will be a major tool in defining the Klaussner brand. But Davis said that turning the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s transportation program over to Salem Logistics is the most sweeping immediate development and one of the most important initiatives. The change will allow Klaussner to offer less-than-truckload shipments, guaranteeing delivery in seven days or less on selected items and 30-day delivery on custom orders \u00e2\u20ac\u201d an important element in supplying stores quickly and helping them keep inventory to a minimum.<\/p>\n
Klaussner has opened four Klaussnerhome stores, and will add three to five more by the end of the year. The company plans to have as many as 100 stores by the end of 2016, and has identified more than 200 markets that can sustain a store, Davis said. In all, he said research indicates those markets can support as many as 336 stores.<\/p>\n
Besides bearing the company name, the Klaussnerhome units differentiate themselves from 20 company-owned Sofa Express and More stores in that they will carry only Klaussner product, while the other stores can source from outside vendors.<\/p>\n
In developing the new stores, officials are keeping the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s target customer in the forefront. Since Klaussnerhome is focused on the middle market, with customization a priority, stores will be merchandised in three categories, called the 3Cs \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Contemporary, Casual and Classic. If a market area leans toward contemporary, the store\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s selection will be weighted that way; likewise for other categories.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do the traditional or the transitional (categories) or all that because a lot of customers don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what that is. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a clue,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Myers.<\/p>\n
He said sifting through hundreds of fabric choices can be perplexing to consumers, so selections will be separated into plain and patterned sections and grouped by color and price point. Myers said the company wants to give the stores \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a fun atmosphere \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not a place where consumers go and they automatically hate it before they get there because they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what the prices are going to be and if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be hoo-dooed.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Designer and TV host Genevieve Gorder, the spokesperson for Sofa Express and More, will play a larger role in Klaussnerhome. Hollis Anderson, creative director for Red Squirrel, a brand marketing firm working with Klaussner, said Gorder\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s role will ease consumer anxiety by defining trends and inspiring the consumer not to be afraid of making choices that reflect her personality and lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be kind of a shopping twin, providing reassurance and saying it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s OK to be different, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s OK to get that purple sofa,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Anderson.<\/p>\n
The Klaussnerhome model also will give the company an opportunity to expand categories such as accessories.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of business out there that we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even touched,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Myers. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Accessories are a great tool on the retail floor to make your product really look nice. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re items that people will come back to buy frequently, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a way to get them into the store more often than a bigger purchase like a piece of furniture.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Davis said he expects the first 30 to 50 of the Klaussnerhome stores, which will average 22,000 square feet, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153will come relatively slow. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m an optimist but also a realist. But I think the next 50 will come like a landslide.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
He said that if the company reaches its goal of 100 stores in three years, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153that can constitute between $300 million and $400 million in wholesale business for us.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
He added the company will continue to support truckload customers, but \u00e2\u20ac\u0153also make it just as feasible for those who chose to buy and flow products to do so in a multi-stop, LTL environment.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The company won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t implement any initiative at the cost of disrupting or upsetting existing distribution, Davis emphasized.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our dealer partners in the marketplace are just that \u00e2\u20ac\u201d partners,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, adding the company won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seek licensees to open new stores in areas where it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comfortable with its market share.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There are a lot of markets where we enjoy less than an acceptable percent of the market and we have to address that,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And the first way we will address that is by working with the dealers we have in the market area.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a threat. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tool to help us grow our business together with a group of partners.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gary Evans — Furniture Today, New approach includes Klaussnerhome store network ASHEBORO, N.C. \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Long known as a behind-the-scenes truckload supplier to major accounts, upholstery manufacturer and case goods importer Klaussner Furniture is making itself more visible as a brand, and taking sweeping initiatives to change how it does business. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The company has been immersed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-furniture-indonesia-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5005\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}