HIGH POINT MARKET: Furniture First promoting HDTV program
Offering variety of big-screen, name-brand TVs
Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, April 27, 2009
HIGH POINT — Furniture First buying group is here promoting a new high-definition television merchandising program to its member/owner stores.
 Bill Hale of DSI Systems stands with a 52-inch Sharp high-definition television packaged with a Welton Furniture entertainment center. The package retails for $2,900 and the television sells alone for $1,899. |
The group has brought on new supplier DSI Systems of Des Moines, Iowa, to offer a variety of big-screen, name-brand TVs, latching on to a hot consumer product category to drive sales.
In its High Point space on the seventh floor of the Radio Building, Furniture First and DSI are showing a small sample of what's available to members — 11 LCD and DLP high-definition TVs from Mitsubishi, Toshiba and Sharp. Furniture First also has access to LCD and plasma TV systems from Pioneer, Hitachi and Haier.
"We want to sell more home entertainment furniture and we want to build our ticket for the family room," said Bill Hartman, president of the Harrisburg, Pa.-based buying group with 167 members and 350 stores. He added that Circuit City's recent shutdown wasn't a reason for creating the program, but said the decrease in big-box competition in the category doesn't hurt.
He said the addition of TVs should at least increase Furniture First dealers' home entertainment case goods business, but it could also lead to sales of more family room, living room and bedroom furniture.
"The whole point is to package it and increase our sales," Hartman said.
Bill Hale, vice president of DSI's Northeast region, said his company sells primarily to independent retailers and helps them compete with big-box stores by offering the latest HDTV technology and competitive pricing.
Furniture First dealers can start large or small in the program, but Hale said a good starting package for many would cost the dealer about $5,000 for four TVs on the floor and four in stock. DSI also offers next-day delivery on orders placed before 2 p.m. from its 30 warehouses across the country.
The TV size and pricing ranges from $399 retail for a 22-inch LCD from Toshiba or Haier to a $5,000 plasma set from Pioneer.
Hale said DSI's television sales are "flat" this year, but by that he means they are up only 7% from a year ago, compared with the double-digit increases it had been enjoying. The mandatory move from analog to digital television signals in six states, and the new June 10 deadline for a national switch, should help keep business chugging for some time, he said.
Hale added that dealers will be able to create package deals for consumers -offering, for example, a living group for $2,500 and a 46-inch or 52-inch HDTV for $999 with the purchase.
"That's where it fits in really good for these guys," Hale said. "They're not making a lot of money on the TVs, but through display and (packaging) they can build that ticket."
Dealers also can offer DIRECTV service through DSI.
Also standing to gain from the program are Furniture First's biggest home entertainment supplier partners, including Aspenhome, Legends, Broyhill, Hillsdale, Intercon and Jofran.
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