Drexel takes first steps toward rebuilding brand
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, October 28, 2002
High Point — Market represented the first steps toward creating a new Drexel Heritage, one that appeals to a broader cross-section of consumers with a brand that is more stylish and relevant.
Acquired by Furniture Brands International 10 months ago and with a new management team, the venerable company announced here that it would be re-engineered, including an overhaul of its retail presentation and a new "tri-branding" strategy for its merchandising. A new brand called dh will target Generation X, and also will take the company into youth furniture.
According to Jeff Young, president and chief executive officer, Drexel Heritage passed the test with its first constituency: its dealers.
"We had buy-in for what we were doing both on the branding side and the product side," he said. "We're real pleased, and we think we just made a strong first step."
Young has promised that "we're going to turn the company inside out, and then we're going to turn it around. We're going to get this brand back where it belongs."
Retailers who visited the Drexel Heritage showroom got a good feel for the company's new direction. An audio tour of the showroom was developed, with headsets like those used in museums, and the Disney-style experience — which will soon be tested in stores — shows how the company intends to connect with consumers on an emotional level.
Drexel Heritage Home Inspirations stores will be redesigned to reflect the company's three brands, he said. The interior plans are not complete yet, but the company has unveiled its new exterior prototype with brick facades and green awnings. "We want to look more residential," Young said.
In the new merchandising mix, Heritage will be the highest-priced brand in the line, for mature, quality-conscious households with annual incomes of $150,000 and more. Drexel is the middle brand, for established but younger families where the parents are 35 to 55 with household incomes of $100,000.
And the new dh brand is targeted at younger adults who are outgrowing their college furniture, have some money to spend but are still young and hip. The line will include dh Kids, the company's first youth furniture, which debuted at market with two groups and 27 pieces. Made for Drexel by Canadian manufacturer Shermag, the line will have midrange price points, with a Sweet Dreams sleigh bed priced to retail at $799, and a Colorscapes panel bed retailing at $649.
"The youth introduction works in parallel with our new tri-branding strategy," said Lenwood Rich, executive vice president of sales and marketing. "Before, the Drexel Heritage product line had drifted to the top. Now we have dh and Drexel, and the kids furniture fits in perfectly."
Young said the average age of Drexel Heritage shoppers is too high at 48.
"In order to grow our business, we realized Drexel Heritage must reach a much larger consumer market. To accomplish this, we developed these very targeted brands," he said.
At the market, the company brought out five new collections in the Drexel brand, one in Heritage and launched dh with dining and kids programs.
