Harden aiming to boost brand with new gallery
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, October 20, 2005
At the Market — Full-line high-end supplier Harden Furniture is looking to reposition itself in stores with Harden Expo, a new research-backed retail flooring concept designed to drive sales for key customers.
An Expo presentation is on display in Harden's showroom at 200 N. Hamilton St., suite 110, where the company will host a party from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday to celebrate the debut of the program.
Strategic design consultant Grid2 International developed Expo with McConnellsville, N.Y.-based Harden. The concept will be installed at select retailers in November, with a national rollout in 2006.
At 1,000 square feet, the Expo prototype is designed for easy absorption in midsized to large furniture stores, and integrates Harden's line in a whole home atmosphere.
The floor plan and all-new point-of-purchase program feature communication kiosks and other branding tools that allow consumers to find out for themselves about Harden's quality, its 32 finish options, its customizable construction elements, its fabric selection, and furniture care.
The gallery contains examples of Harden's key brand offerings and includes the history of brand attributes, brand benefits and features. At the center of the gallery is the Harden information center, covering craftsmanship, tradition, responsible resource use, reliability and trust. Finish and hardware options are featured in strategically placed, user-friendly displays.
Through Expo, Harden hopes to replicate the line's performance with its best customers at other accounts, which don't do as well.
Grid2 worked with consumer research firm Strategic Decisions to collect and compile the information propelling Expo's development. The firms did in-depth audits of Harden's existing marketing materials, retail accounts analysis, consumer research and concept testing.
"We have not paid an appropriate amount of attention over the years to what happens at retail with our product," said Harden CEO Greg Harden. "As a high-end, largely domestic line, we've found ourselves getting displaced by lower-priced container programs in some cases."
The Expo research revealed that Harden's line does well on floors where salespeople tell the company's story and there's a good representation of product.
"The key is to bring that universe of dealers out there up to the level of our best performers," Harden said. "We aren't coming out and asking for 4,000 square feet with this, and we're hoping Expo will be the most productive 1,000 square feet on a retailer's floor."
With the product itself merchandised into POP displays, Expo looks for an intuitive presentation that guides consumers through Harden's product attributes.
"The Expo concept is like having a silent salesperson in the store," said Grid2 President Martin Roberts. "We want to break the mold on the gallery concept. Expo shows (consumers) how everything works."
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