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D2C DIRECTIONS
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RISKY BUSINESS Driven to diversify, more and more furniture manufacturers are choosing to supplement/augment their established sales channels by going direct to the consumer (D2C). But what might this mean for the traditional supplierretailer model?
ONE IMPORTANT FACTOR IS WHERE THEY ARE IN THEIR D2C JOURNEY Steve Adams, CEO, Mattress Online
Furniture brands have long sold their products directly to the public at the same time as going through stockists, but the practice rarely sits comfortably. Manufacturers might argue that they go D2C out of necessity, or because establishing their own stores or transactional websites is the most effective way to raise their brand’s profile. Retailers generally see such approach as cannibalistic – biting the hand that feeds, so to say – and potentially depriving them of sales. Pandemic pressure created even greater need for manufacturers to explore new ways to stay solvent, and, given repeated store closures, a direct ecommerce channel must have looked a very attractive option. But how might taking this path be received by stockists, and how can such reinvention be negotiated? Faced with opposition, some pull back. Others press on, regardless of the potential fallout. Others still formulate a hybrid
model, insisting that doing so delivers the best results for both parties. In 2019, for example, Ekornes opened its first Stressless brand store, on Tottenham Court Road. UK MD James Thompson said the move would support independent retailers, lifting the brand’s profile and offering stockists training and merchandising assistance, while giving the manufacturer a greater understanding of the challenges those stockists faced – all while selling at RRP. Early on, James stated that the majority of the “vast number of quotes” the store generated were eventually converted in customers’ local retailers. “Many are choosing to support their local shop,” he said. Either way, without close consultation and a firm understanding of the benefits, most retailers meet any mention of ‘going D2C’ with suspicion – if not outright hostility. Furniture News asked its regular contributors for their thoughts …
Cutting out the middleman often comes at a price … (photo courtesy 123RF/ilixe48)
