Largo International launches revamped website

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, December 23, 2011

HOUSTON — Case goods and upholstery resource Largo International has revamped its website as part of an effort to capture growth and industry market share.

The site, www.largofurniture.com, was developed in conjunction with Whereoware, a Web design and development firm that has served the home furnishings industry for more than 10 years.

Largo began making improvements to its website earlier this year following a $1 million investment in a new Web-based computer system that went live in early 2010. This replaced a disk operating system Largo had in place previously. The company wanted to make sure it was running smoothly before updating its website, said Glenn Wakefield, president.

Wakefield identified several important aspects of the upgrade. It offers the retailer and sales reps real-time information in terms of product availability, and it has more informative product descriptions and more product photography.

The new system also provides reps the ability to access information that allows them to make presentations geared specifically to their clients. Finally, Wakefield said, it allows retailers to check their purchase history and also keep track of order reports and determine which items or groups have sold the most at their stores.

The site also contains pricing, a feature not available previously.

The site is accessible to consumers. However, while consumers can view different items and see where Largo product is sold, they can't view pricing or other details unique to reps and retailers, who need to log in to access this information.

Because the two systems are tied together, anytime information is updated on the company's new computer system, it is updated on the website, too, Wakefield said.

"It's been a major undertaking," he said. "We are still tweaking it, but it should be more user friendly for the retailer and the sales reps."

"Largo International has made a name for itself by combining high quality products with timely delivery," said Joe Harris, vice president of Web developer Whereoware. "We brought both of those aspects - attractiveness and functionality - to the website as well."