Replay shows Palliser design strategy
By Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, April 14, 2002
HIGH POINT — Palliser wants to be an industry design leader, and clues to its direction is evident at market in Replay, the new collection in its EQ3 offerings.
The 70-piece Euro-contemporary line of case goods, upholstery, accessories and home office features high-sheen lacquer finishes in red, white or silver, curved chrome legs, nickel-plated aluminum hardware and cotton corduroy covers in red or yellow on seating.
London-based Swedish designer Lisa Norinder designed Replay, Palliser's take on American Retro.
But where leading-edge design really will be seen is at the October market, when Palliser will debut new pieces throughout its entire line, said Marie Thiman, recently named corporate product development and design manager.
"We want to make a stronger statement with our design," she said. "To compete these days, it's not just price. It's design and it's design with value."
The emphasis, as with Replay, will be decidedly contemporary and European. "We want to have that flavor throughout our regular line," Thiman said. "But it has to be adjusted to what the North American consumer is ready to accept."
Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Palliser is a key supplier to such mass-market merchants as Sears, The Brick, City Furniture and Rooms To Go.
"We have to create great product for retailers such as these," said Thiman, a Swedish-born designer with degrees in both architecture and interior design.
Palliser believes the industry mostly is reactive to design trends, making furniture based on what was popular last year.
"Our customers often tell us what they needed yesterday, not what they will need tomorrow," Thiman said. "We want to be ahead of them in that regard."
Executing this strategy has entailed changing the approach to product development, which is now very research driven. The process is guided by a document called the Palliser Design Brief.
"It's a tool that guides the design process by asking critical questions of product designers before development begins," Thiman said. "It's a tool that will allow us to create more added value for the customer."
Among the questions to be answered are: Where will new product fit in the style grid? Does it require high innovation? Does it take advantage of present technology? Is it a quality product to fill a certain price point? What support and sales volumes are projected?
"Answering these and other questions provides the foundation upon which everything else is built. The end result — that is, the product — will inevitably fall into place," she said. "We can do almost anything, but sometimes we're not utilizing what we already have to best benefit."
Palliser will be experimenting with new materials and with new applications for old materials, she said. Thiman has been working with Material ConneXion, a New York-based company specializing in the sourcing and evaluation of new materials for architects, designers, builders and artists who work with a wide variety of applications, including home and office furniture.
"We're thinking about what kinds of materials would be suitable for furniture," Thiman said.
Until recently, Palliser's product designers worked in the various divisions and concentrated on creating goods specifically for that division. Now, they work together, and Thiman said the company's design emphasis will be more consistent throughout the line.
"My goal is to have design cross over between all of the categories we produce," she said. "This does not necessarily mean we're going to make collections, but we are going to take a more coordinated approach to designing the product. After all, our retailers don't buy by collection. Their focus is on categories and we will continue to respect that."
Excellence in design, Thiman said, gives a distinct competitive advantage. "The idea is to do an excellent job in design and do it so that our customer is comfortable with it, while at the same time giving the consumer something exciting and new," she said.
| Thiman |
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