Club 8 wins kudos for BoConcept stores
Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, February 8, 2004
COLOGNE, Germany — Danish ready-to-assemble furniture maker Club 8 had plenty to celebrate at the Cologne market — an international award for its BoConcept retail network and the grand opening of a BoConcept store here.
BoConcept received the Mapic Award for the most innovative retail concept in the household goods and electronics category. Mapic, the International Market for Retail Real Estate, selected BoConcept from more than 1,000 companies from 53 countries. Previous Mapic winners include Starbuck's and McDonald's.
The new Cologne store shows off the qualities the Mapic jury cited — good design at affordable prices, product flexibility and powerful showroom presentation in a small area.
"The stores usually have 4,000 to 9,000 square feet, and the Cologne store is 7,000," said Tina Pilgaard, brand and concept manager. "The store has done very well since a soft opening Dec. 27."
With an array of lifestyle presentations geared toward consumer tastes ranging from "safe" to "innovative," the store caters to whole-home shopping with a full array of accessories. Every furniture setting is fully accessorized, and an area near the entrance is dedicated to accessories only.
"We source a range of accessories that's a lot bigger than what a single store needs," Pilgaard said. "Different accents work better in different countries."
BoConcept has 135 stores in 51 countries, including eight in the United States. The first store opened in 1993 in Paris. The network represents 50% of Club 8's sales, up from 30% four years ago, and is targeting emerging consumer markets such as China, where BoConcept has 20 units.
"The first China store opened in 1996," Pilgaard said. "There's no real brand recognition in China for manufacturers, but the store name is well known there."
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