Klaussner kicks off licensing move
Got strong response at Oct. market
Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, November 29, 2005
ASHEBORO, N.C. -- Klaussner Furniture Inds. has high hopes for its new retail licensing program for its Sofa Express and More stores, which received a strong response from dealers at the October High Point market.
“We saw a tremendous amount of interest from a lot of people in a lot of markets,” said Jeff Davis, senior vice president of marketing and strategic development for KFI. Meanwhile, the company also is happy with initial results from the first conversions of Sofa Express and More stores to a full-line furnishings format from a living room specialty store. Sales at five converted stores in the Columbus, Ohio, area — the retail chain’s home market — were up more than 100% from the same period a year ago, blowing past Klaussner’s expectations. Davis said the company used those results during the furniture market to help pitch the licensing program. He said 10 to 15 licensed stores are in the planning stages, and the company hopes to have some up and running by as early as the first quarter of next year.He declined to name the dealers, saying Klaussner wasn’t ready to go beyond verbal commitments until it refines the licensing program. But he did say the prospects include existing furniture retailers looking to convert or open new Sofa Express and More stores, as well as entrepreneurs new to the industry.Among the first licensed stores expected to open will be one in Hattiesburg, Miss. Klaussner also has commitments for stores in Baltimore, Philadelphia, upstate New York and Calgary, Alberta.Klaussner and Sofa Express aim to offer a turnkey program complete with floor planning, design and décor work, signage and graphics packages, and help with demographic market research and site selection.“We’re not asking them to blaze any trails,” Davis said. “You have a proven retail concept that’s only getting better, and they’re able to become a part of that without much guesswork involved.”The upside for Klaussner is more business. “What we really get out of this is an accurate representation of the products and services we offer as a manufacturer and wholesaler,” he added.Davis predicted the majority of its stores — 60% or so — would remain company owned. Because Klaussner already is widely distributed, he doesn’t see more than 100 to 200 licensed Sofa Express stores eventually.Acquired by Klaussner in 2002, Groveport, Ohio-based Sofa Express is ranked No. 36 on Furniture/Today’s list of Top 100 U.S. furniture stores, with estimated 2004 furniture, bedding and accessory sales of $200 million.There are 65 Sofa Express stores today, including 21 converted to the Sofa Express and More format.
“Sofa Express’s goal will be to continue to grow … into the marketplace in a friendly way to current distribution,” Davis said. “Where (Klaussner) needs distribution and where there is not sufficient interest in the licensing arrangement, we would open company-owned stores, but we’re not going to hurt existing relationships.” The licensing plan and full-line conversion are among several initiatives by Klaussner to expand and strengthen its retail distribution. Others include the possible opening of a 60,000- to 70,000-square-foot dedicated store in Jamestown, N.C., on a stretch of Business Interstate 85 near Boyles and Furnitureland South, and a new retail concept — which the company hasn’t detailed, but which it says will take the Klaussner brand to some of the hottest markets across the country.In addition to Columbus, markets with the converted Sofa Express and More stores include Dayton, Ohio; Nashville, Tenn.; Louisville, Ky.; and Evansville, Ind., said Scott Glenn, vice president of merchandising and advertising for Sofa Express.Klaussner expects to have just under half of the current stores converted by year’s end and all but a few small units converted by mid-2006.The converted stores are 20,000 to 30,000 square feet and feature a wide assortment of upholstery and case goods in living room, bedroom and dining room categories. Roughly 90% of the product is made or sourced by Klaussner. The bedding is a private-label program through Carolina Mattress.In markets where Sofa Express has converted, initial sales have been up 50% to more than 100% as the stores have gained sales from both the new categories and incremental upholstery business, Glenn said.Helping the effort is a new advertising campaign that Glenn said has been well received. It plays up the “and more” expansion and an “expressly your style” tagline, and features Genevieve Gorder, a TV decorating consultant on TLC’s “Trading Spaces” and “Town Haul” shows.The humorous spots feature Gorder helping various consumers, from a woman so at home in the store that she’s setting up a dining table for a dinner party, to a motionless couple rolled onto the scene because they are “scared stiff” about shopping for furniture.The commercials and print advertising also promote free financing until 2010. Print ads also feature Gorder.
“She just has such a great connect to both males and females, even those who haven’t seen her television show,” Glenn said.
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Klaussner kicks off licensing move
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