Southern Living line coming to life
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, April 20, 2009
HIGH POINT — Southern Living Magazine and furniture resource Chromcraft Revington have partnered to produce one of the larger collections planned for this month's High Point Market.
The Southern Living Collection by Chromcraft Revington has 150 SKUs in three collections that include bedroom, formal and casual dining, occasional, entertainment and upholstery.
The collection includes two cherry veneer groups, one a rustic farmhouse design and the other with urban influences. The third, an oak group, has cottage and lodge design motifs.
Four-piece bedrooms are targeted to retail from $2,400 to $3,400, while occasional tables retail between $250 and $300. Matching entertainment pieces will range from $700 to $1,000.
For Chromcraft Revington, the licensed collection offers an opportunity to reach a loyal base of Southern Living readers. The magazine claims a readership of about 16.1 million. Of those, 77% are female and 93% consider themselves to be avid readers, never missing an issue.
Many of these readers are in southern states, but the magazine also circulates in other parts of the country such as the Midwest and the Northeast. An estimated 82% of readers are homeowners, 88% have Internet access, and the median household income is $64,604.
“It starts with an exchange of demographics,” said Ron Butler, CEO of Chromcraft Revington. “What piques our interest is that their customer is our customer.”
The line has been in development since the licensing agreement was signed last July.
“With Southern Living's help, we took designer sketches and from that refined the look so it has more universal appeal,” Butler said. “When you hear the name Southern Living, it's not just the 19 states where they have strong readership, it's in all 50 states. Their appeal cuts across the population.”
Executive Editor Derick Belden, who helps oversee the magazine's coverage of the home, said furniture is a natural progression from the other license agreements Southern Living has for home products such as rugs, accent chairs, window treatments and plants.
“My end goal for what we are doing is to develop an all- encompassing product that reflects the brand,” Belden said. “The furniture portion of this is as important as the other products.”
He said Chromcraft has shared its furniture expertise, but also has listened to Southern Living's ideas. He is pleased with the resulting product mix, which he believes ties into the Great Idea moniker that the magazine is trying to incorporate onto its pages. For example, its Idea House feature gives readers design ideas in various home settings.
Some of the Southern Living pieces have a distinctly regional feel. But Belden said the goal wasn't to have a look that was bent on antebellum designs.
“We want to lead our consumer into the future, giving items a current appeal,” Belden said. “We are about the South of today, which we feel is casual, comfortable, welcoming and traditional — with a twist of wanting to be contemporary.”
“What we did is try to get into the head of our readership and get a sense of what they might be looking for as they decorate their houses,” he added. “I think it will have national appeal because we have found our brand has national appeal.”
Looking ahead, Belden said, Southern Living magazine will help market the line by including select pieces in home settings featured in the magazine and on its Web site.
“We hope it will hit really hit a nerve in what people are looking for and will evolve into a partnership that will be around for years,” Belden said.
“We are really excited,” added Mike Hanna, senior vice president of sales for Chromcraft Revington. “I think it's going to be a tremendous marriage.… We should be able to get on some retail floors we are not on today so we can expand our distribution.”
The goods are expected to begin shipping to retailers the first week in September and hit most floors about two weeks later. A national retail sale and launch is planned for early October.
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