Kincaid Shoppe retail program offers options

Revamped display promotes custom capabilities

Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, May 10, 2010

HUDSON, N.C. — Case goods and upholstery manufacturer Kincaid Furniture has revamped its Kincaid Shoppe retail display program in order to better promote its custom capabilities.

This computer work station is an integral part of the Kincaid Shoppe program. It allows consumers to see any custom options available, prices and estimated availability, and delivery times.

Kincaid launched the Shoppe concept last fall. Dealers liked the idea, but asked the company to expand it with a broader assortment of furniture and accessories.

The revamped concept, launched in April, seeks to accomplish that.

A typical Kincaid Shoppe will carry at least eight case goods collections and three living room vignettes. The latest version has added a new display of armchairs on risers, as well as more accessories and updated vignettes designed to appeal to various lifestyles.

These and other products in the line also are available for the consumer to see on a computer work station set up in the Kincaid Shoppe. Along with viewing the entire Kincaid line, including custom options, consumers can determine the price of any piece as well as its availability and estimated shipping time.

The computer set up in the original Shoppe program primarily focused on case goods. The updated version now also lets consumers view the company's custom upholstery program, which includes about 55 frames and 600 fabric options.

The program is available as a freestanding display option, but also ties in with existing galleries, said Steve Kincaid, president.

"We are opening up brand new dealers with the Shoppes and are also having existing dealers put the Shoppes in their galleries," he said, noting that there are now about 75 Kincaid galleries, mostly between 5,000 and 6,000 square feet.

While the galleries focus on product as it is presented on the sales floor, the Shoppe concept touts Kincaid's custom capabilities. In addition to the fabric and frame choices, there are 33 finish options for the company's solid wood bedroom and dining room lines.

Max Dyer, the Kincaid vice president of sales who spearheaded the Shoppe concept, said the program is partly designed to augment the galleries so retailers can better take advantage of the company's broad selection and quick-ship inventory, and increase their sales per square foot.

"The whole idea is that they can be very profitable doing so as the inventory commitment is minimal for the amount of product that can then be purchased through special orders," he said.

Kincaid said eight Shoppes are now in place. Another 45 are in process or are committed to opening and should be up and running in the next 12 months or so, he said.

The Shoppe concept occupies at least 1,500 square feet, but many are in the 3,000 square foot range, occupying at least half of a 6,000-square-foot gallery.

"We think the Shoppe can be either freestanding or an integral part of the gallery," Kincaid said, noting that most of the gallery operators have bought into the Shoppe concept.

Kincaid also provides signage and other point of purchase materials that promote the line. Much of the message relates to the company's status as a solid wood producer and its efforts in sustainability.

Stacy Furniture & Accessories of Grapevine, Texas, has 3,000-square-foot Kincaid galleries in both its Grapevine and Allen, Texas, locations, and is adopting the Shoppe concept.

"When we were approached about the gallery concept as it stands today, it was a whole lot more retail friendly than what Kincaid pitched before," said company President Dorian Sims.

She said she likes the Shoppe concept's special order focus because it lets the store tap into a multitude of products without tying up floor space. She also likes the way the computer shows upholstery.

"We are very excited and encouraged about drapability of the fabrics," she said. "I think any way you can get a consumer more involved in the purchase and see it comes together on a computer screen, it will be huge in reeling them in."

She added that having pricing information available on the computer also takes guesswork out of the equation for custom orders.