Storehouse aims for growth with catalog, Internet
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, September 15, 2003
Atlanta — Storehouse, the retail home furnishings chain owned by The Rowe Cos., is making an aggressive bid to expand distribution through new catalog and Internet initiatives.
The company, which operates 60 midpriced lifestyle shops in malls and other style-driven retail locations, has published its first catalog, revamped its Web site and opened a call center and small-parcel shipping facility in Atlanta.
The 64-page catalog is a more comprehensive presentation of the Top 100 retailer's casually elegant merchandise than the four-color newspaper inserts the company has distributed.
"We are responding to consumers who tell us they prefer the convenience of a catalog they can enjoy at home," said Storehouse President Caroline Hipple. "Combined with our neighborhood stores, the catalog will be an introduction to Storehouse. It's an important showcase for our new collections while providing more convenient at-home ordering."
The inserts will continue, while the six-times-a-year catalog will be mailed widely and also serve as an in-store sales aid, said Dixon Bartlett, senior vice president of merchandising and marketing. "The catalog is a much bigger vehicle for us," he said. "We're able to show a far, far deeper range of our product."
The company is redesigning its Web site, storehouse.com, and soon will provide on-line ordering, Bartlett said. However, most catalog and Internet customers are expected to place orders over the phone if they don't come into a store, he said. That's why the company has set up a new call center, open seven days a week.
To prepare for anticipated orders, Storehouse also has established a new distribution center in Atlanta to process orders for accessories, lamps and other non-furniture purchases. The small-package center also will process shipments of those items to the chain's stores.
"We have significantly upgraded our infrastructure," Bartlett said. "Our goal is to ensure that the at-home shopping experience is a delightful process of discovery."
The company is projecting the two new channels gradually could develop into a sizable chunk of business.
"In any project, you're really never 100% sure how the customer is going to react," Barlett said. "We think that within three years 15% of our sales could be from the Internet and another 25% from the catalog. It's all very synergistic with our stores, and we're trying to make it easier for the customer to work with us, however she chooses to do so."
Furniture/Today's listing of Top 100 furniture stores has Storehouse ranked No. 53, with 2002 sales of $106.5 million. Last year, Storehouse absorbed 19 Home Elements upholstery stores, also owned by Rowe. Bartlett said sales this year have been "very positive," but he declined to be more specific.
Storehouse shops, which average about 8,000 square feet, feature upholstery from Rowe and Mitchell Gold and private-label imported case goods and home office furniture from Baronet, Copeland and d-Scan.
