Thomasville team lays out strategy
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, November 23, 2003
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Some 150 owners of Thomasville Home Furnishings stores gathered here this month to learn about plans to more than double sales to $1.3 billion and increase store count from 147 this year to 250 by the end of 2007.
With a new executive team under President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Tilley, highlights of the growth strategy include:
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A major new sourcing alliance with Chinese manufacturer Lacquer Craft.
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New product throughout the line.
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A push to increase upholstery from around 30% of business to 40%.
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Brand extensions to make Thomasville a consumer authority for the entire home.
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The company's first standards manual, which is intended to create consistency in store operations and in the presentation of the brand to consumers.
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National and local advertising through a single source, The Martin Agency of Richmond, Va.
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Ongoing commitment to dedicated distribution.
With nearly its entire dealer network in one place for the first time in almost 10 years, the Furniture Brands International company also introduced a full case goods collection, Irving Park, and additions to its fabric and leather upholstery lines.
Commenting on the need for new product, Tilley said the strength of the Hemingway and Bogart licensed collections had masked deficiencies in the rest of the line.
"To strengthen Thomasville's presence at retail, we'll need at least 10 to 12 major statement collections in the good, better, best categories," he said. "There's room for five or six short collections that don't demand major commitment on showroom floors to get their message across.
"We'll continue to offer a limited assortment in youth, home office and fun categories like Color Café (casual dining)."
Tilley said Thomasville, coming off a record market for upholstery, plans to build that portion of its business through leather sourced in China, plus the addition of capacity with the former Highland House plant.
Sharon Bosworth, vice president of upholstery design, unveiled two upholstery flavors — Earthly Edens, with wheat, natural and organic colors; and Homespun Hideouts, featuring authentic Arts & Crafts fabrics, Indian blanket patterns, denim and leather.
Thomasville is testing a direct-container program for leather with Shupei Chiao, who owns Thomasville stores in Arizona and San Diego.
"We want to work through a few back-end issues before rolling it out," said Michelle Rosson, general manager for leather and motion. "With containers, you will choose from six styles, get an average 10% price differential, and gain a week or two on handling."
Also new is a partnership with Italian leather manufacturer Gamma, which will make leather upholstery with the tailoring and stitching found on fine handbags and shoes.
In case goods, Irving Park, which should ship in June, is a refined country look in mahogany veneers with some bleaching on light, bright brown-finish alder.
The collection will feature Thomasville's new drawer construction — solid-wood sides, oak veneer bottoms and a new brass nameplate — which will be phased into the entire line.
To reach its growth objectives, Thomasville has a new commitment from Lacquer Craft, which will dedicate a part of its new manufacturing complex in Dong Guan, China, to Thomasville production.
Markor, another Chinese manufacturer, also will devote significant capacity in its new plant to Thomasville.
"We're going to be working with the Furniture Brands' sourcing conglomerate, so we'll be a key part of our other sourcing partners' business," said Doug Rozenboom, director of case goods design. "Seventy percent of our product is still made in Thomasville, but to grow we need to do a lot more business, and (importing) gives us the opportunity to do the added products, the added sales."
Mickey Holliman, chairman and CEO of parent Furniture Brands, told dealers FBI would never reach its full potential unless Thomasville does so.
"Our opportunity for increasing market share here has never been better," Holliman said, adding that focusing on dedicated distribution entails a cost that he views as an investment in Thomasville's future.
"In the past, we had to tap the breaks on development of Thomasville stores in areas where we did business with (other dealers), but in the last two years we've chosen to walk away from north of $100 million in wholesale revenue," he said. "We've used this time to get Thomasville's business focused, its cost structure in line, and continue a blended strategy (of imports and domestic production)."
Holliman said Thomasville's store expansion will rely mainly on independent owners.
"Company-owned stores will be located only where we can't do it through owners such as yourselves," he said. "(Those stores) help us stay closer to retailers' problems and the needs of the consumers."
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