Ethan Allen cuts ribbon on new Las Vegas Market showroom

Design Center space will be open year-round to consumers

Ray Allegrezza -- Furniture Today, September 15, 2009

Cutting the ribbon on the new Ethan Allen space are Randy Wells, left, Las Vegas Development Center; Laura Franklin and Farooq Kathwari, Ethan Allen; Bob Maricich, World Market Center; and Nora Murphy, Ethan Allen.

LAS VEGAS — When Farooq Kathwari, chairman and CEO of Ethan Allen, officially opened the company's permanent 10,000-square-foot store here Monday, he also ushered in the next generation of retail formats that will target new retail footprints in some 100 new markets.

Between markets, the Ethan Allen Design Center in World Market Center C-196 will be open to consumers.

"While this ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official launch of our Design Center, which will be open to the public year-round, it also marks a reintroduction of Ethan Allen to entrepreneurs who are looking to open exciting, state-of-the-art Design Centers in about 100 markets both here in the U.S. and across the world," Kathwari told Furniture/Today.

Kathwari, who has earned a reputation for his ability to proactively reinvent Ethan Allen in the midst of market paradigms, said that over the years, the company has evolved from a manufacturer and seller of furniture into an interior design company with a growing custom business that features innovative retail display, a state-of-the-art Web presence and new retail footprints.

"The Design Center is our largest new-concept retail design destination, operated by the independent dealer. Best suited for larger markets, this footprint runs from about 7,500 to 12,500 square feet," he said.

A second new format, the Design Studio, starts at about 3,000 square feet and according to Kathwari, is a creative mix of display, design tools, and technology that works best in small and mid-sized markets.

In each new footprint, the selling space will be segmented by lifestyle function. In the Design Studio, areas will be devoted to living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, media rooms and more. There will also be areas displaying textiles and accent furniture.

The Design Centers, meanwhile, will have areas devoted to living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms.

Kathwari credits Web technology for not only enabling the company to roll out new retail footprints, but for helping support Ethan Allen's evolution as a supplier of custom furniture.

"Twenty years ago, you sold what you showed in the store. But now, thanks to our powerful Web platform, which includes high resolution photos of all our products, no one has to stock every piece in order to sell it," he said.

And since the Web site lets end-users see finish choices online, "This has allowed us to transition our domestically made wooden dining furniture into a custom business," Kathwari added.

"What we've done with these new formats is to truly offer classic design with a modern perspective," added Nora Murphy, the company's executive vice president of style and advertising. "Some clients want more of a traditional shopping experience. Some have worked with designers in the past while others many have never worked with designers. What we've done is to create a format that if flexible enough to help all of our customers."