Big & Tall Furniture looks for growth on Web
Brian Carroll -- Furniture Today, March 5, 2006
Atlanta — America is getting bigger. More specifically, studies show, Americans are getting larger, and at least one e-commerce company is looking to capitalize on the growth trend.
Selling exclusively online, Big & Tall Furniture has been launched by E.A. Blackard of Tampa, Fla., and Karen Hitchcock of Knoxville, Tenn. The pair has a combined experience in the residential furniture industry of five decades.
Hitchcock said Big & Tall specializes in furniture accommodating extra height, width or weight, offering products from several manufacturers.
Upholstered chairs, for example, are designed to be comfortable for adults weighing anywhere from 275 to 500 pounds. Big & Tall Furniture also sells "medical" chairs for people weighing up to 750 pounds, a demographic known as the bariatric market, or people with clinical obesity.
According to a study by Trust for America's Health, America's adult obesity rate rose in 48 of the nation's 50 states in 2004. More than a quarter of adults in 10 states were categorized as obese.
The study put the number of obese Americans at 119 million and projected that by 2008 as many as 73% of U.S. adults could be classified as overweight or obese.
"There was a need for an accessible central location featuring a large variety of chairs and desks that would accommodate people who are out of the norm, size-wise," Hitchcock said.
The new company also markets to the uncommonly tall, selling chairs and desks. Desks, for example, are 33 inches tall. Desk heights in residential furniture are typically 29 inches.
Big & Tall is located on the Web at www.bigandtallfurniture.com, a site that, at least for now, is being hosted by eBay. The company also is advertising on the site PlusSizeUSA.com.
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