For New Buyer’s Eyes Only

This Blog has been written for newly hired or promoted furniture buyers just getting into their new jobs. 

Experienced merchants need not read this as they probably already understand and appreciate what is written in these lines. This piece is about preparation and organization and being fully ready to work a furniture market and derive the greatest benefit from having done so.

I wonder how many retailers get the most from visiting a furniture market. Do they all take the fullest advantage of the opportunities that market has to offer? That attending and working a market is expensive in both dollars and time is a given. That it is tiring and towards the end of the week, even exhausting, is an accepted reality. That it requires constant concentration and alertness to potential opportunities as they arise is understood. New merchandisers and buyers will most surely come to appreciate these realities after the newness and excitement wears off.

But, do all merchants really exploit the furniture market experience to its fullest? Many buyers go to market to shop their sources and see what is new and exciting that their vendors are offering; to see what they think they can sell until the proverbial cows come home from wherever cows go. Isn’t that what markets are for? My answer to the question is a spirited and definite yes and no. From my observations over the last thirty or so years, I believe that buyers that get the most from market share three things in common.

Preparedness Buyers that really use the market tend to go with a plan. They know what the needs and voids in their assortment are; they have outlined slots in their line-up that need to be filled. They know their line-ups’ strengths and weaknesses and have determined the resources most likely to fill their needs. They plan their market experience to spend their time wisely and resourcefully at showrooms that offer the greatest opportunity to strengthen their assortment. 

In the volume of my new book set, “Furniture Retailing 101: The Business”, a strategy for intense planning for going to market is included in the Merchandising section. Of course, each buyer is different and each has his or her own habits and methods…the one in my book is just “A” methodology”, not “The” methodology.

Sourcing Many retailers go to market to see what’s new from their vendors. What’s wrong with that? Nothing…except going to market just to visit current vendors is like going to a restaurant and only ordering an entrée. It’s very good but you miss out on the delicious appetizers, soups, salads, vegetables, breads, and desserts, not to mention that aromatic cup of coffee or cappuccino. Spending all the time in current suppliers’ showrooms (unless dedicated manufacturers’ networks) comes at the expense of visiting other competing resources.

Here are the realities. First, many companies’ vendors have been their vendors for years. The buyer knows how the furniture is made, knows pretty much its quality levels, knows its finishing capabilities or seating comfort, in short knows (or should know) the products the supplier sells pretty well. Two, manufacturers may shoot me for divulging this secret (not such a great secret) but the longer they keep a buyer in their showrooms, the more limited the time the buyer has to shop competitors. Three, if a buyer knows that there is no ‘open to buy’ in a particular category or price point it makes little sense to spend much time waltzing through showrooms that market these categories or price points. I’m not suggesting that buyers should not go to their own vendors spaces; far from it. Just that the time might be limited. (Retailers are in fact, responsible for their own time at market. They can come and go as they please.) Four, merchants that get the most from market spend nearly as much time visiting vendors they don’t buy from as visiting those they do. Merchants might be rewarded by planning their market experience by percentages. Perhaps, spending 65% of their time at their own vendors’ showrooms, 25% of their time visiting competing vendors that they are familiar with and 10% visiting vendors they have never seen before. Merchants that take the time to see other suppliers are rewarded by keeping their own manufacturers honest and sometimes finding some real gems to boot.

Schedule Merchants that get the most from market tend to recognize that a market is not the time to just drift. Many plan their markets and schedule their time with exacting precision. Before they leave their store these buyers, know where they are going to be at 2:45PM on Tuesday and where they are going to eat lunch on Wednesday and that they have twenty minutes to do it; and within reason (after all, things do come up and the schedule may need to be altered on the run) they keep to their schedule. It may seem overly anal retentive to be so structured, but this type of planning results in a more productive market experience because the merchant is able to cover much more ground, no small feat in today’s market environment, and sometimes find more pearls.

So, that’s it. Preparation and Planning, Organization, Source Selection, and Scheduling–Common elements for getting more from the furniture market, and in the process getting more for the company. New buyers and merchandisers might be well served by at least considering these principles before journeying to the exciting and glamorous trade event called a furniture market.