Bush Gearing Up for Growth
Reaps benefits of re-branding, licensing initiatives
Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, December 23, 2010
The Aero TV stand is part of Bush Furniture’s My/Space collection. Retailing at $179, it holds up to a 46- inch TV and has adjustable component shelves and tinted tempered glass doors and a gray tinted tempered glass top shelf.
JAMESTOWN, N.Y. - The year just ending may wind up as one of the most dynamic in Bush Inds.' 50-plus year history, thanks to a host of re-branding and licensing initiatives.
Those moves, which the company says represent millions of dollars in investments, are aimed at positioning the ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturer and importer for greater brand recognition and gains in market share in 2011.
Among the key changes it made in 2010 was to reorganize its Bush Furniture home office and home entertainment division into four major collections offering a range of starting and step-up price points - My/Space by Bush Furniture, Bush Furniture Signature, Office Connect and Workplace Solutions.
The goal was to add a greater variety of products, particularly those beyond entry level price points, to suit more consumer needs.
Sourced overseas, My/Space is a value-priced home office and home entertainment line featuring items retailing below $200. Among them are the $179 Alamosa ladder desk, with a 36-inch work surface and bottom and top shelves for storage, and the $149 Echelon entertainment unit, which holds a 46-inch TV and has three back support slats and a framed top shelf.
Made largely with a mix of metal, glass and paper laminates over medium density fiberboard, My/Space is geared toward smaller, starter homes
Bush Furniture Signature, as much as 70% of which is sourced overseas, offers home office and home entertainment starting around $199 retail for a lateral file unit. Other items include a 60-inch computer credenza that retails at $330 and several TV stands in the $329 range.
Made with higher grade laminates and some veneers, the Signature office products are geared toward small business users and growing families with dedicated office settings in their homes.
Office Connect and Workplace Solutions are domestic lines that offer multiple configurations for both home and commercial office uses. The Envoy hutch in Office Connect retails at $249, while a desk and return in the same collection retail at $329 and $99 respectively.
Complete office set ups in Office Connect generally run below $700 retail, the company said, while Workplace Solutions setups range from $500 to $1,000.
"Reorganizing our (home furnishings) division was a big priority for us this year, as our goal was to provide customers an easy and practical way to determine the best furniture to fit both their life and work style needs," Bush CEO Jim Sherbert said in a statement. "We've designed each logo and our bushliving.com website so that collections can be viewed easily and grouped together according to the targeted consumer."
In 2010, the company also re-branded its commercial office division as BBF, short for its former title of Bush Business Furniture. In making this change, the company sought to become more focused on the commercial market with more flexible, contemporary office setups that address the needs of the changing economy and workplace.
Sherbert
The BBF line includes modular configurations for both open and private office settings, produced largely in the company's 500,000-square-foot Jamestown, N.Y., facility. The company also operates a 1 million- square-foot facility in Erie, Pa. that handles distribution and assembly.
Also in 2010, the company announced two new licensing partnerships.
One is the Christopher Lowell Office Collections launched in May exclusively at Office Depot. Designed in partnership with the Emmy-award-winning designer and TV personality, the line includes three modular office groups for residential and professional office settings.
At the August Las Vegas Market, the company also announced it was developing an office furniture line with celebrity designer Kathy Ireland, which will be available at retail and online as early as next summer. The company said the lines will be designed and developed to meet the needs of both business owners and busy moms.
In an interview with Furniture/Today earlier this year, Sherbert said the new product strategy is allowing retailers and consumers to see more well-defined options in the Bush line.
"They can pick and choose what they want and fully understand the values they are getting for the price," he said of the residential line, about 65% of which is home office, with the rest home entertainment.
Without revealing specifics, he said the slow economy has affected sales. However, he also said Bush is operating from a strong cash position and has paid down most of its debt.
"While the economy has affected the top line, we are investing very heavily in key marketing initiatives we think will position us very strongly when the market does start to accelerate, and hopefully that is not in the too distant future," said Sherbert.
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