Cashing in on the test drive
American Furniture Warehouse unlocks full potential of entertainment segment with new home-theater display rooms
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, January 23, 2005
Englewood, Colo. — For a few thousand dollars, Jake Jabs found the key to unlock the full potential of his entertainment department.
The American Furniture Warehouse impresario recently installed home-theater display rooms in his stores, and the box office results have been boffo.
A few new walls, some dark paint and a potent speaker system with a nice video screen playing a popular, non-offensive but loud movie have contributed to sales gains in both home theater seating and entertainment cabinetry for the Colorado chain.
This idea grew out of American's participation in a recent Parade of Homes tour. American furnished four of the five homes.
"A couple of them had these home theater rooms built in," said Jabs. "People just loved it, and from that we decided to try it out in a couple of our stores."
The test was immediately successful, and it was soon expanded to all nine stores. In the last month, the final installations were completed, and Jabs said each home theater room has contributed to some remarkable sales increases.
"I would say it tripled the sales on our home-theater upholstery, and it doubled the sales on the stands and wall systems," he said.
Jabs said he didn't spend a lot of money — about $3,000 per store for the carpentry work, including risers for the upholstery, and the paint, and maybe another $5,000 for the speakers and televisions. "But we've already gotten that back," he added.
Featuring popular movies with plenty of action, the surround sound and the video attract consumers into the display rooms, where they are exposed to home theater recliners, curved sofas and wall systems.
"It's worth it just to have a place where the kids will sit down and relax," Jabs said. "What you'll see a lot is the father with the kids watching a movie while the wife is out in the store shopping."
In American's Thornton superstore, the setup includes three tiers of seating, and it's not uncommon on weekends for all the chairs to be occupied.
According to Tony Mitchell, AFW's buyer for entertainment centers and walls, the home theater rooms showed consumers the full potential of setting up a media room properly.
"It brought the concept to life, transforming a fairly sterile display to something that gives the customer the full experience," he said.
"It answers all the questions the consumers may have about how the furniture is going to function in their environment."
As a result, Jabs said, "It's been way bigger than I thought it would be."
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