Missed opportunities in U.S. stores
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, September 30, 2001
The home furnishings shows in Europe in September — and the stores that I visited there during the month — illustrate and reinforce what many in the American marketplace have been saying for decades: American furniture retailers truly are missing major opportunities in product areas beyond their core furniture categories.
Whether it's an Ikea or a Conran's on the one hand, or the constantly proliferating chains of leather furniture stores on the other, there's typically an abundance of non-core furniture product offered as an integral part of the mix.
Today, there still are but a few U.S. furniture retailers who place much importance on non-core businesses like lamps, rugs, accessories and textiles. These few mostly are at the upper middle to upper end of the spectrum, and tend to think of themselves more as home furnishings retailers than furniture stores. And even for these folks, the percentage of non-core product to total volume is low, mostly well below the hopes of senior management.
Department stores come to mind as one group that has, with few exceptions, abandoned these categories. And where they do merchandise accessories and rugs, the process is uneven at best, even where they are expanding their furniture presence.
As for furniture stores, the task of moving furniture from factory to consumer remains a challenge, leaving many saying they haven't the time nor space to expand what little accessory, rug and textile offerings they presently have.
Even broad licensed or gallery programs tend to falter in this regard.
With the sputtering economy, furniture retailers will have to become more creative and energetic in their efforts to bring customers into their stores, beyond the next bedding or leather supersale.
Taking a fresh look at accessories, rugs and textiles could be part of the answer.
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