Sutton launches consumer magazine that rates furniture
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, May 26, 2003
Winston-Salem, N.C. — After two years of planning, industry veteran Charles Sutton has launched a magazine that aims to make it easier for consumers to buy furniture.
Furniture Review, A Consumer's Guide to Buying Furniture debuted at the April market with a printing of 30,000 issues. The publication will have spring/summer and fall/winter issues and may have a special issue for outdoor furniture, Sutton said.
The first issue includes reviews and quality ratings of upholstery, leather, accent and lounge chairs, entertainment units, metal and wood beds and home office products from 41 manufacturers. More than 200 pieces of furniture are grouped by price point and rated on a scale of one to four stars (good to excellent).
There also are primers on two of the magazine's categories called "Upholstery 101" and "Leather 101."
Sutton said the target audience is the 25-to-40 consumer, particularly women.
Product reviews come from a network of 30 "insiders," mostly storeowners and buyers averaging 12 to 15 years experience, scattered across the United States. They submit recommendations that are included in the publication because they are best sellers, offer value, are backed by a name brand and are available nationally.
Furniture Review's mission is to take the uncertainty out of furniture buying by give consumers the information they crave without overwhelming them, said Sutton.
"They want to be educated. They love the Internet. They want to get control of the situation. They want to spend the time but they don't want to build the clock," he said.
He plans to have the magazine distributed through furniture stores, especially those carrying reviewed products, and at other outlets like auto dealerships for BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo and Mini Cooper, as complimentary waiting-area reading material from the local furniture retailer.
"That's the consumer we're going after," Sutton said.
The magazine accepts no advertising, and manufacturers don't pay for product placement, he said. He does expect to sell copies to manufacturers who are featured, who in turn will have them distributed at furniture stores. The magazine is free to consumers.
In addition, Furniture Review will be available at High Point markets at the Furniture Discovery Center, the Bienenstock Furniture Library and at market bookstand locations.
Sutton said that feedback from the first issue centers around people wanting "a couple more sentences" in the product reviews, which are purposely short and pithy. They especially want more information about items given four stars, he added.
The publication is independent of any other resource and is solely owned by Sutton, who has extensive experience in the industry. He was president of Sutton House Furniture, president and chief executive officer of Arthur Brett & Sons USA, which specialized in fine English furniture, president of Sutton Fine Furniture, a division of Century Furniture, and founder and president of Sutton Reproductions.
The targeted consumers "do enjoy buying things for their home," said Sutton, but he said they often "fear the process" and "fear making a mistake. They go about it cautiously and slowly. There are roughly 3,000 names (of manufacturers) floating around with everything under the sun. We're just trying to break down the universe."
