Master Design adjusting Furniture That Fits line
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, June 20, 2005
Ontario, Calif. — A furniture collection Master Design created for smaller homes and rooms has not generated as much business as the company expected, which might lead the company to drop some SKUs and replace them with modified product.
The case goods importer launched its Furniture That Fits program in October with four bedroom, dining room and occasional collections targeted to consumers with second homes or homes with smaller rooms.
This April, it added two beds, some chests, counter-height tables and barstools, and occasional pieces, including wine servers, to each collection.
A key selling point is function. A chest in the program may not be as long as a standard chest, but is taller to emphasize vertical storage. Drawers are deep and wide to fit things like bulky sweaters. Other features include cedar-lined drawers, hidden jewelry compartments, beds with reading lights and occasional pieces with lift-top surfaces.
But while the line placed at about 50 retail accounts, Master Design had not done any cuttings by mid-May, said Gene Hodges, company president.
That didn't detract from Master Design's overall success this past market, when it set records in attendance and written business, Hodges said. But Furniture That Fits just hasn't produced the business the company had hope for.
Hodges believes the disconnect has occurred because of the price. A typical bedroom retails for $1,999. But because of the smaller scale, retailers were expecting a smaller price of around $1,499.
But he said he is optimistic about the program based on retailer response to product additions this past market.
More introductions also are planned for October. By the end of this month, Hodges said, the company will decide what to keep in the line and how much to add in the future.
"We'll stay with the concept," he said. "We won't drop it."
Still, the lackluster performance has been a disappointment. Before launching the program, Master Design did extensive market research that indicated many people were living in houses with smaller rooms. It even designed its High Point showroom to look like a model home, complete with floor plans.
"We were able to research the sizes of rooms in living spaces across America," Hodges said last October. "We were not surprised to see them getting smaller and smaller in new homes, apartments and condominiums.
"Although homes seem to be getting larger in terms of square footage, that doesn't mean the actual rooms are getting any larger."
The company also had some indications that consumers had to consider buying youth furniture for these smaller rooms.
