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The many challenges of differentiation

Carole Sloan, Senior Contributing Editor -- Furniture Today, January 15, 2006

Differentiation is a word used more and more by folks in furnitureland these days as they grapple with what's going to keep them going in this business — and even more importantly, what's going to set them apart and help them grow.

Many agree the old ways of selling furniture aren't going to cut it with today's consumers, no matter what their ages. When you consider how the retail landscape has changed — not just where the stuff is made but with all sorts of other factors — it's pretty easy to see they're right.

The days when the same stuff was sold in every nook and cranny of Main Town USA is gone. But the differentiation challenge remains, since it's not just Main Town USA furniture retailers that are selling the stuff, but stores with names like Home Depot, Costco, Sundance, Anthropologie and many more.

Most significantly, these guys just don't show and sell furniture the same way the classic furniture businesses do. For them, it's not a matter of displaying room after room with similar looking stuff that stretches on almost forever. More likely, they'll show a statement collection, or maybe three at most, with special pieces to highlight everything.

For the manufacturing community, the challenge is to develop products that are distinguishable, and that offer a benefit or a fashion flavor that others don't or can't have. Not to mention developing a marketing presence.

Branding is becoming an even bigger story than before, whether it's self-branding as in manufacturing-retailing entities, or branding as in licensing. The supplier side of the world certainly has changed dramatically, and with it the slow recognition that marketing — yes, marketing — is a key to success.

For those not up and about in the new world of furniture, this could be a year of trauma.

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