Retailers keep tech vendors busy in Vegas
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, February 18, 2007
Las Vegas — They don't sell sofas or dining tables or dressers or any of the things most furniture retailers come to market to buy.
Yet, retail technology vendors were unusually busy at the recent winter market in Las Vegas, even after a tough year at retail that might be expected to discourage merchants from spending on anything.
Tech vendors — those who put hardware, software and cyberspace together to help operate stores — said some retailers here were willing to spend thousands of dollars on technology and software.
But, overall, they reported a mixed bag, with other retailers unwilling to shell out money until there's some certainty about the economy, housing and furniture sales.
"Our business has picked up," said Terry Nelson, vice president of sales and marketing for ProfitSystems, a major vendor based in Colorado Springs, Colo. "It's when tough times come that you need sharper, better, more efficient tools. That's what our software and the rest of our systems provide."
He said technology is not only about cutting expenses but can "improve gross margin return on the retail dollars you already have. We really focus on gross margin return on inventory, and that's really the bottom line.... One of our retail clients ... said that sales actually declined last year but his profits went up substantially because he's using more of the system to help."
Christina Pitt, a consultant for Easy Chair Software, said furniture clients will invest in technology "if you can make it affordable ... where they don't have to go out and spend a lot of money."
In previous years, Pitt said most retailers focused mainly on acquiring accounting packages, but it's now turned to inventory control software.
"They need to be on the leading edge of different time order systems," she said. "It's become an efficiency model. Not only are they using their computer for business, it's also becomes a tool for streamlining their entire line."
Easy Chair also saw interest in Vegas on automated data backup, particularly on the part of a few retailers who had lost entire systems and all their data to fires and other disasters, Pitt said.
Although Myriad Software connected with several good prospects in Las Vegas, President Carolyn Crowley said the company never signs contracts at markets, leaving that for subsequent face-to-face meetings and demonstrations of product.
Crowley saw mixed reactions here from merchants thinking about technology. Some realize it can help them in tough times, while others won't spend money unless they're making it themselves.
Jeff Henneforth, vice president of sales and marketing at E-Z Process Pro, said, "The biggest thing we've had to overcome with the larger retailers is our prices — because they'll look at our programs and ask what's wrong with us because we're not charging enough. They're used to paying six figures for a program.
"The furniture industry is no exception when it comes to technology," he continued. "Things that are available to Wal-Mart are going to be available to the small-business owner, and it's available now. It's just a matter of finding it."
But no matter what a software product costs, if it doesn't work it's not worth the money, Henneforth said.
Steve Pulver, vice president at Escalate, said, "I'd say e-commerce is one of the broader things people are looking for. It's getting a lot of attention in the trade press, and such retailers as Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware and Ikea are putting effort into it. I think everybody's realizing that to retain market share, let alone expand it, you've got to be a part of e-commerce."
Consumers already are shopping both on the Internet and in brick-and-mortar stores, Pulver said. "They want to go into the store, measure, go home, research the sofa on line, get the sizes, get the styles, get the fabrics they're thinking of, go back to the store to look at the sofa, and maybe buy it there," he said.
Carolina Cuan, senior manager of marketing for Storis, said the Las Vegas Market gave the company a chance to show off its broad array of technology and services, "and let (retailers) know we cover every aspect of their business."
She said the company also was able to convey that its scope extends beyond the Top 100 — those with their own hardware and IT departments — and covers smaller dealers, even those with a single store.
"They can access our software through the Internet and it's very affordable," Cuan said. "We give them training and they're on their way."
Tim O'Neill, regional sales manager for Storis, said his company can meet retailers' needs for inventory control with software that not only tracks the number of pieces in inventory, but also handles price changes, wrong charges from vendors, damaged pieces and other vital information.
"Our user base requires that kind of detail," he said.
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