Canadel investing heavily in 3-D software
Casual dining giant to give consumers vivid choices
By Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, July 30, 2007
Louiseville, Quebec — Canadel's latest sales tool looks like it might've come from EA Games rather than a casual dining manufacturer.
The company is investing $1.3 million in its new room configuration software, downloading images of thousands of SKUs and using the same software toolbox that "Jurassic Park" used to bring dinosaurs to life.
The result is custom software every bit as realistic as the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" game for Xbox 360.
In December, Canadel — whose home province of Quebec happens to be a hub of the software industry — created a 3-D Division, hiring a staff of 17- to 26-year-olds, including some former employees of software designer Ubisoft.
In addition to letting users choose which Canadel products they want to put in a room, the new software will allow users to pick everything from wall and carpet colors to windows locations.
The task of loading images for Canadel product is daunting, because the casual dining powerhouse is a custom specialist whose options create millions of combinations of color, size, fabric, china, buffet and server choices.
When complete, the room configuration software also will incorporate thousands of room options such as accessories and windows.
On a demonstration model, the resolution is so sharp that even the reflection of the sun shows up in the glass of china cabinets in the room depiction.
Canadel is one of the few furniture companies developing its own room configuration software, something more commonly done by third-party providers. The manufacturer's executives decided that with Canadel's flexibility as a private company, and a critical mass of software engineers close by, why not do it themselves?
Jean Deveault, vice president of sales and marketing, said he became intrigued with the possibility of a computer-based marketing tool as he watched his son order a pair of sneakers online. Didn't he want to try them on before buying?
Apparently not. The emerging generation of Web users, in their mid-30s and younger, isn't just using the Internet for fun, Deveault said. They look online for solutions that help them get exactly what they want. If it's not quite right, they will just ship it back and order something else, he said.
The furniture industry has lagged behind industries like apparel in creating software applications for consumers. Deveault said in the past seven years, it has been hard for the industry to pursue the newest consumer advances in the face of serious price deflation.
Meanwhile, consumers have gotten used to interacting with Web sites to get exactly what they want, he said.
"Who are we to decide what the consumer wants? Give them all the options and wait for the answer," Deveault said. "This generation has been raised on computers. They shop on the Internet. They don't have a travel agency. They buy direct."
Canadel hopes to have the software in stores by January. Half of Canadel's custom options should be available through the software by 2008, with a goal of having the program complete by 2010, Deveault said.
Retailers were impressed by a short demo video at the High Point Market in March, he said. Deveault told them that by showing such accurate images of product, the software could significantly reduce order cancellations.
He said Canadel currently plans to charge stores a $150 monthly fee for the software, which would include updates. By the end of summer, Deveault plans to have a better demo with higher resolution available.
In addition to giving customers a chance to visualize their purchases, the tool should save time for stores and shoppers, he said.
"A normal sale now takes 30 to 60 minutes in a store, minimum," he said. "If we can bring it to a maximum of 30 minutes, can you imagine the benefits for the retailers?"
At Canadel's price points, customers already are pre-shopping on the Internet, Deveault said.
"I assume they will come into a store now totally prepared, and the final selection (will be) made. They will want to see the quality, colors and so forth. This behavior is my guess; nobody really knows," he said.
While the furniture industry will be different than others — one big challenge is that furniture is harder to return than, say, sneakers — consumers will become educated on the process, Deveault said.
He added he would like to seek other licensee partners that would be depicted in the room configurations for paint, window coverings and floors, among other items. The company is looking at such questions as how licensee partners would be compensated, and how products offered on a Canadel site would be sold through stores.
"Everybody agrees that it's the right time to ask these questions," Deveault said.
