Martin looks to capitalize on Ireland brand alliance
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, January 25, 2004
San Diego — San Diego– With little more than an announcement of an alliance with Kathy Ireland Home, Martin Furniture picked up more than a dozen "substantial" new retail accounts for its line of office and home entertainment furniture during the second half of 2003.
Now, with floor samples in the stores, supported by new marketing materials touting the Kathy Ireland connection, the company is projecting strong retail sell-through that should translate into another year of 20%-plus sales growth.
"We have been very fortunate," said Duane Utt, vice president of sales and marketing for Martin. "Even before we met the people from Kathy Ireland, our value story seemed to be strong enough for retailers and consumers. Now that we have the Kathy Ireland brand as a partner, we think it's only going to get better."
At the San Francisco market, Kathy Ireland Home by Martin Furniture, as it is now known, will introduce 10 new entertainment units. Four of them are specifically designed for plasma televisions, while the others are hybrids that can accommodate thin-profile televisions as well as more traditional TV styles. The designs of these units range from traditional to soft contemporary with price points up to about $1,500.
More important, Utt said, the company is focusing its energies on communicating the strong brand connection to its retailers and the consumer. "Instead of new product, this market cycle is going to be about us fully implementing the strengths of the Kathy Ireland brand," he said.
For the first time in several years, Martin will have all its sales representatives out to its San Diego factory to discuss the brand program and how it impacts Martin's line of imports and domestic product. With the point-of-sale marketing materials complete, the reps will be asked to disseminate the Kathy Ireland message to retailers, who will now have the signs and brochures necessary to pass that along to shoppers.
"We're now ready to promote this program all the way to the consumer," Utt said. "We can talk about the brand and tell the retailers about it, but until we are speaking to the consumer, we can't get that incremental increase from having the brand association."•
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