November/December 2014—Finding the Right Employee

NOV/DEC 2014

ALL THE ACCESSORIES YOU WANT, ALL IN ONE PLACE The BEST SELECTION of home accessories, creative merchandising solutions and unsurpassed sales support—TOGETHER IN ONE SHOWROOM —to give you more ways to profit and inspire your success.

ACCESSORIES MADE EASY RUGS

PILLOWS

THROWS

WALL DECOR

ACCENT FURNITURE

SHOWROOMS: ATLANTA DALLAS HIGH POINT LAS VEGAS NEW DELHI TORONTO | INFO@SURYA.COM 877.275.7847

LIGHTING

BEDDING

SURYASOCIAL SURYA.COM

RUGS: STN-1004, STN-1006, THY-5004 // PILLOWS: LS-001, TO-002, TO-004, TO-025 // THROW: THL-4003 // ACCENT FURNITURE: MLPF-002, MLPF-003, MLPF-004 // WALL DECOR: AR174A // DECORATIVE ACCENT: CMV-151 // LIGHTING: LMP-1013

INSIDE NOV / DEC 2014

in each issue 04. NAHFA President’s Message 06. Editor's Message 10. Retailer2Retailer/Inspired Reading 11. Roving Reporter High Point Market

14.

12. Connections The Furniture Bank Association 19. Community Today Casual Market 32. Product Focus Upholstery 50. Government Relations Gearing up for 2015 52. The Scoop 54. Industry Calendar 56. The NOW List

features

14. Looking to Hire?

30. NGN Spotlight: Jordan Barrick 38. High Point Recap

departments

38.

Sales & Marketing

24. Retailer Voice Buying the Be Back 26. The Roller Coaster of Sales 40. Ready, Set...Send!

42. Sales to Plan. Do You Have One?

Technology

08. TechNOW 47. Content Marketing Membership

49. Increase Your Online Presence Operations

28. Selling Out? Think Again

30.

Home furnishings retailers know how difficult making the right hire can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Our experts offer advice on Page 14. Check out page 38 for the fresh finds we discovered in High Point. Jordan Barrick’s boss goes by another name: Father-in-law. His story begins on Page 30. www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

1

thePlayers What we are so passionate about. . .

To have the courage to pursue purposeful dialogues that challenge conventional thinking, to engage and entertain our readers by delivering content that creates a fervent following ready to change the landscape of our industry.

Published by the North American Home Furnishings Association 500 Giuseppe Court, Suite Six, Roseville, CA 95678 800.422.3778 • retailernowmag.com

RetailerNOW is the magazine for today’s home furnishings professional.

Developed for a specialized community, RetailerNOW brings a unique editorial focus on progressive and relevant issues concerning the home furnishings industry in the retailer’s voice, with a focus on issues impacting retailers NOW. Contact Information:

Mailing – Editorial and Advertising 500 Giuseppe Ct., Suite 6

RetailerNOW Staff

Executive Staff

Lisa Casinger Editorial Director lisac@retailerNOWmag.com

Sharron Bradley CEO NAHFA sbradley@NAHFA.org

Robert Bell Editor robert@retailerNOWmag.com

Mary Frye EVP NAHFA mfrye@NAHFA.org

Lisa Tilley Creative Director lisa@retailerNOWmag.com

Membership Staff

Michelle Nygaard Sales Executive michelle@retailerNOWmag.com

Roseville CA 95678 Online: retailerNOWmag.com Phone: Editorial: (800) 422-3778 Advertising: (800) 422-3778 Social: Facebook.com/retailerNOW

Sydnee Seites Webmaster sseites@retailerNOWmag.com

Twitter.com/retailerNOW Pinterest.com/retailerNOW

Retail Advisory Team Carol Bell Contents Interiors Tucson, AZ

Subscription: $70/year RetailerNOW, ISSN# 2166-5249, is published monthly (except March and December) by the North American Home Furnishings Association, 500 Giuseppe Court, Ste 6, Roseville, CA 95678.

Application to Mail at the Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at Roseville, CA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please address changes to: RetailerNOW, The North American Home Furnishings Association, 500 Giuseppe Court, Ste 6, Roseville CA 95678.

Kaprice Crawford Membership Team Leader kcrawford@NAHFA.org Jordan Boyst jboyst@NAHFA.org Michael Hill mhill@NAHFA.org

POINT MARKET 45 HIGH Robyn Schupp , 2014 OCTOBER18-22 rschupp@NAHFA.org

Jana Sutherland jsutherland@NAHFA.org

Travis Garrish Forma Furniture Fort Collins, CO

Dianne Therry dtherry@NAHFA.org

Rick Howard Sklar Furnishings Boca Raton, FL

Please call (800) 422-3778 for all membership inquires.

Mike Luna Pedigo’s Furniture Livingston TX Andrew Tepperman Tepperman's Windsor, ON

If you would like to stop receiving RetailerNOW, please send an email to unsubscribe@retailerNOWmag.com.

If you would like to only receive an electronic version of RetailerNOW, please send an email to gogreen@retailerNOWmag.com. © 2014 North American Home Furnishings Association. Published by the North American Home Furnishings Association. Material herein may not be reproduced, copied or reprinted without prior written consent of the publisher. Acceptance of advertising or indication of sponsorship does not imply endorsement of publisher or the North American Home Furnishings Association. The views expressed in this publication may not reflect those of the publisher, editor or the North American Home Furnishings Association, and North American Retail Services Corp. Content herein is for general information only; readers are encouraged to consult their own attorney, accountant, tax expert and other professionals for specific advice before taking any action.

2

NOV / DEC | 2014

Contributors Kaprice Crawford, Jeff Giagnocavo, Marty Grosse, Ken Mahar, Sue Masaracchia-Roberts, David McMahon, Sydnee Seites and Tom Shay

www.retailerNOWmag.com

President's Message President’s

Goodbye!

W

hat a great honor it has been to preside over the launch of NAHFA. Next month the torch will be passed to our new president, Marty Cramer. I want you to know how much I’ve enjoyed serving you and how thankful I am for the talented board and staff we have in place.

I would like to thank my good friend Howard Haimsohn for the remarkable number of years he has served our industry both as a director and past president of WHFA and NHFA. He was also a key leader on the merger transition team and our first chairman of NAHFA. Having Howard as chairman and partner while we worked to help our board of director’s and staff become a cohesive unit has meant a lot to me. It not only made my role much easier, but we worked so well together that issues were always resolved quickly and calmly.

Your association is fortunate to have so many wonderful people who step up and dedicate their time to make our association better for all our members. We have strengthened our board and executive team over the last 18 months and really become an efficient and powerful team that strives to help Sharron Bradley and her staff with good governance and creative direction. There are issues remaining to tackle, but with such a great team in place it can and will be done!

As chairman next year I look forward to working with our new president, our board and team at NAHFA to continue to raise the bar and tackle some of the issues that face our association and industry.

I can’t leave without telling our NAHFA staff and our board of directors how proud I am of your efforts and all that you have accomplished. Thank you all for your friendship, dedication, commitment and willingness to serve. We are also grateful for our strong and faithful membership base.

Rick Howard

4

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

4,000+ HOME FURNISHING PARTNERS

1 FINANCING SOLUTIONS PROVIDER Synchrony Financial, formerly GE Capital Retail Finance, is bringing new meaning to the word partnership. We offer credit and financing solutions for small and medium independent retailers as well as top home furnishing retailers.

With over 80 years of retail heritage, we have the products, services and industry expertise to help our partners improve customer loyalty and increase average transaction sizes.

Find out what Synchrony Financial can do for your home furnishing business at synchronybusiness.com/furniture or 1-855-973-3552. Engage with us.

Banking. Loyalty. Analytics. Š2014 Synchrony Financial

Editor’s Message

Wanted: A Few Good Retailers

I

had the opportunity to speak at my children’s middle school this fall about what careers they might be interested in pursuing. If the students of Brown Summit Middle School are a microcosm of the rest of the county, there’s going to be a wave of professional athletes, fashion designers and dancers infusing the workforce in the coming years. There’s also going to be a lot of doctors, lawyers, teachers and military, too.

Good for them. But one occupation was conspicuously absent from the discussion that day: The Retailer.

I’m sure this comes as no surprise to the home furnishings industry. Like other retail businesses, we’ve had our share of problems luring the best and the brightest to our profession.

Somewhere along the way retail positions got pushed aside in the rush for finding prosperous, meaningful work. Maybe that’s because the glamour and money of the tech and banking industries are too hard to ignore. Yet here’s the thing: The home furnishings industry is filled with well-paying careers that can bring purpose to one’s life. In our cover story this month I spoke with retailers who know this to be true, but in the same breath lament their frustrations with finding enthused, qualified workers.

RetailerNOW talked with storeowners, recruiting experts and people in charge of hiring to come up with a few solutions. Some of the answers you might not like. For starters, are you sure you’re paying a competitive salary? We’ll point you to resources to find out. Can you make a future employee’s work schedule more attractive (read: fewer weekends)?

Check out our story starting on page 14 and let us know your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.

Speaking of hearing from you, RetailerNOW is going to be undergoing many changes in the coming months—from its look to its content. If you have something you’d like to see, drop me an email or pick up the phone.

Robert Bell robert@retailerNOWmag.com | (916) 757-1169

6

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

EXPERIENCE IT ALL Las Vegas Market Furniture | Home Décor | Gift

January 18 - 22, 2015

•

•

•

•

•

Shop thousands of new products Stay ahead of industry trends Freshen & diversify your product assortment with new brands across all categories Enjoy world-class amenities & affordable travel Grow your business

ALL AT THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE FURNITURE, HOME DÉCOR AND GIFT MARKET IN THE WESTERN US

MARKET NOW STARTS ON SUNDAY

Register Today www.LasVegasMarket.com

#LVMKT

Tech

What technology are you using in your store? Let us know at Robert@retailerNOWmag.com!

Tech Tip

Cool Apps

Hacking the Hiring Process

1Password

At-home ways to leverage technology to create an overall better experience for prospective employees.

Technology has transformed the hiring process for prospective employees and employers. Try these two “tech-niques”: Automatic reminders for all candidates: You (and/ or whoever does your hiring) are busy. Make sure you don’t miss anyone during your hiring process by setting up automatic reminders so you’re alerted when a candidate hasn’t heard from you in a while.

Even if you only have a few candidates for a position, you should still provide the best experience possible.

Everyone deserves to know where they stand, and this automation will help you inform candidates faster and ensure you miss no one.

Candidate satisfaction surveys: After you’ve hired someone, set up a survey that measures how well everyone considered for the position felt about the process. Narrow it down to three easy questions that will help you gather information on how your store’s recruiting process is perceived. Examples: Were you made to feel welcome? Were you treated professionally?

What did you learn about our company?

Not only will you gain valuable insight into your hiring process, these questions will keep the lines of communication open with your second or third choice, which may come in handy down the line.

NAHFA’s January webinar will focus on the move toward a true omnichannel shopping experience. Jesse Akre, senior vice president of ecommerce & managed services at MicroD, will break down the initial requirements and steps for furniture retailers making the move to ecommerce.

NAHFA’s webinars are free to members ($79 for non-members) and can be found on our website. Visit nahfa.org/events-education/ webinars for more information.

NOV / DEC | 2014

1Password can manage all of your online logins and passwords for you. It also creates strong, unique passwords for all of your sites and logs you in with a single tap. It’s simple, convenient security.

Put it to use: Do you have multiple employees who need access to shared accounts? 1Password is great for shared passwords as well. Create multiple “vaults” or “identities” in the app and give each person the master password.

That way, any time a single password gets changed, everyone automatically receives the updated password.

Free; Available for Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad, Android.

SwiftKey Replace your on-screen keyboard with one that adapts to the way you type.

Now available for iOS, SwiftKey is an onscreen keyboard that adapts to the way you type. SwiftKey learns your writing style to suggest your next word, and will even autocorrect based on your personal writing style.

We started using this app as soon as it became available for iOS (because it’s been such a big hit with Android users). While the first couple releases were buggy, SwiftKey has done a great job of fixing the app issues quickly. The keyboard actually does give you astonishingly accurate corrections and predictions, and gets smarter with every tap. You can make SwiftKey even smarter by enabling SwiftKey Cloud. `` Sign up with Facebook and Google Plus

Education

8

Have you ever forgotten a password?

`` Teach SwiftKey your writing style from Facebook and Gmail ``

Backup and sync your learning across your devices

Free; Available for iOS, iPad, Android.

facebook.com/RetailerNOW

@RetailerNOW

pinterest.com/RetailerNOW

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Grant Laidlaw VP of Sales Eric Clarke President

Locations: Puyallup, WA Mira Loma, CA • Morganton, NC Fax: 828-764-4461 • Phone: 855-208-6377 Email: sales@NWFXpress.com Please contact Grant Laidlaw VP Sales at 778-549-3188 or glaidlaw@nwfxpress.com to review your transportation needs.

The Northwest Furniture Transportation Leader

www.NWFXpress.com

Retailer2Retailer

Inspired Reading: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It—by Michael Gerber Put down your lunch.

It’s time for a pop quiz.

Which of these leadership roles best describes you at your store: A. I’ve got the vision and am always looking at my company’s future.

B. I see the business from a practical standpoint and know how to fix problems as they arise.

C. I love diving in and doing the work.

When a problem arises I take it as a challenge to fix it.

If you answered A you can return to your lunch. If you answered B or C here are some numbers you might have trouble digesting.

More than a million people a year start a business. Before that year is over, 40 percent throw in the towel. Within five years 80 percent of those who started are out of business.

And though that individual might have a firm grasp on the technical aspect of a business, that’s not the same thing as understanding how to actually run a business.

That concept, which Gerber calls the Fatal Assumption, is what dooms small businesses to failure. Working for yourself doesn’t mean working by yourself: some crucial elements of running a business, including hiring and business development, require different skill sets and, at times, entering into alliances with other people.

Remember our pop quiz? Gerber says there are three types of people in a work environment—the entrepreneur, who possess the vision, and is forever looking at the company’s future (A); the manager, who sees the business from a practical standpoint (B); and the technician, who is happiest doing work, yet is the one most likely to have an interest in setting out on their own path (C).

Gerber writes that there are too many technicians and not enough entrepreneurs. Technicians, in Gerber’s view, believe the only solution to the obstacles that keep coming up is to work harder.

Eventually, you realize that the business has become the boss you thought you The E in E-Myth stands for entrepreneurs. were replacing when you left your job The book is an update on Gerber’s 1980 to set out on your own. classic. Gerber believes most entrepreneur businesses are born of lofty ideals, workers Gerber notes that a technician plays a “bravely defying insurmountable odds” to vital role in any business, but that an entrepreneur is the one who will succeed in achieve their dream. the long run. For those people who want At least that’s in theory. In reality Gerber to sustain a small business, they either believes that fearless passion is fleeting in have to buy into the entrepreneur’s permost entrepreneurs. In fact, the author calls spective, or run the risk of failure—with the desire to start a business an “entrepre- considerable heartbreak and long hours neurial seizure,” something that takes place along the way. The E-Myth Revisited when someone has the sudden realization shows how small-business people can that he or she needs to be working on their become more entrepreneurial and less technical in their leadership. own—not for someone else.

In his book The E-Myth Revisited author Michael Gerber explores those failures in the book’s subtitle Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What To Do About It.

10

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Retailer2Retailer What are you most thankful for in your business?

“I’m thankful for my customers and their loyalty. Outside of business, I’m thankful for my family’s health. There’s a lot of things I’m thankful for, but our health is the biggest.”

Galen Swartzentruber Owner, Walnut Creek Furniture Walnut Creek, Ohio

“I am thankful that we still have freedoms and an opportunity in this country to conduct business and for the love and support of my family to work in a risky business segment. I’m thankful that we have made it through a very difficult time in our economic history, for our many great employees and I’m extremely thankful that we enjoy a great reputation in our community and that I earn an honest living.”

Ben Willis Owner, Willis Furniture Virginia Beach, Va.

“The holidays are a time for getting together with family and friends so I’m thankful that I have both in my life. At work I’m thankful for the opportunity to help people find the furniture that suits their lives. Not just let them settle on something that’s close to what they want, but something that really puts a smile on their face everyday when they walk in that front door.”

Ethan St. Michel Store manager St. Michel Furniture Bemidji, Minn.

Roving Reporter

Retailers offer advice to High Point officials

E

very retailer has an idea or two (OK, 17) for improving High Point Market, but they rarely get the chance to voice those opinions to someone who can make those changes. At last month’s market, a special group of retailers actually got to share their suggestions with the one who counts: Tom Conley, the president and chief executive officer of the High Point Market Authority.

Thursday or Friday, hoping to beat the crowds and, just as important, lock in exclusive rights on certain lines. Unfortunately, not every vendor is ready.

“I was here on Thursday and walking through some buildings it was like a construction zone,” said Burns. “That’s just not good business sense to me.”

Conley said official market dates have been announced through 2020, but the owners of the showroom buildConley, his staff members and some ings—not the market authority—have building owners, met with the North control over their buildings.

American Home Furnishings Association’s Retailer Advisory Council during market to discuss ways to make the fall and spring events even better. “In many ways we know we’re doing a good job,” Conley told the retailers at a Sunday morning gathering. “But we know we can be doing an even better job so we’re asking you for your help.”

There was one word NAHFA retailers used again and again as they spoke about improving the High Point market: Need. There needs to be consistent wireless Internet and cell phone service throughout the showrooms.

There needs to be more modestly priced hotels. There needs to be tighter enforcement of the actual market days. There needs to be a more visible security presence in the showrooms.

Retailers expressed frustration with the lack of wireless Internet and cell phone service in the bigger showrooms. “Everything is done on iPads now,” said Eric Easter, CEO of Kittles Furniture in Indiana. “I can’t tell you how frustrating it is not to have the access we need.”

Conley agreed and said he would talk with building owners about ways to improve wireless and cellular connections. Conley also heard from retailers complaining about the high cost of hotels in and around High Point for years.

“We are constantly meeting and discussing this (with area hotels),” he said. “I understand… wanting to take advantage of a time when there is great need for rooms, but we have frequently told them that if you kill the golden goose, it’s not coming back.”

Conely said he would be taking the retailers’ concerns to the HPMA board of directors to discuss how to improve the market. “Some of things we can act on for next market, others might take some time,” he said.

“We really needed a meeting like this.”

Conley asked retailers not to spare his or the Market Authority’s feelings and retailers took him up on the offer—especially when it came to the market’s dates.

Peggy Burns of Circle Furniture in Boston asked Conley why there is no clear starting date for market. Market officially begins on a Saturday, but buyers from bigger stores are increasingly meeting with manufacturers on

Dorian Sims, president of Stacy Furniture in Texas, told Conley the authority needs to become a stronger presence. “Market doesn’t need to be longer. You just need to enforce the days,” she said.

“I sympathize with what you are saying, but that’s not something we can control,” Conley said. “We can talk to (the building owners) and we have, but ultimately they have authority over their buildings.”

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Sharron Bradley, CEO of NAHFA, agreed. “This meeting was a great way to help our members be heard and conversations like these will create a better market experience in the future,” Bradley said. “When the market improves it attracts more attendees and everyone wins.”

NOV / DEC | 2014

11

Connections

HELP A FURNITURE BANK NEAR YOU The Furniture Bank Association of North American has members all across the country who need your help. Your product donation, in-store promotion or delivery assistance can make a difference in helping a family get back on its feet.

Learn more at Furniturebanks.org

West Bridging AZ, Mesa, Ariz.

Furniture for Families, Folsom, Calif.

Team Amvets Welcome Home, Fresno, Calif.

San Jose Furniture Bank, San Jose, Calif.

Providers Resource Clearinghouse, Aurora, Col. A Lift Up Furniture Bank, Elko, Nev. Benton Furniture Share, Corvallis, Ore. Community Warehouse – East, Portland, Ore. Community Warehouse – West, Tualatin, Ore. Home 2 Home, Bellevue, Wash.

House 2 House Network, Bellingham, Wash.

The Sharehouse, Seattle, Wash.

Spokane Community Warehouse, Spokane, Wash.

NW Furniture Bank, Tacoma, Wash.

Southwest Furniture Bank of OKC, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Community Sharehouse Furniture Bank of Tulsa County, Tulsa, Okla.

Dallas Furniture Bank, Carrollton, Texas Houston Furniture Bank, Houston, Texas Furniture For Families Inc., Killeen, Texas San Antonio Furniture Bank, San Antonio, Texas Furniture Bank of East Bell County, Temple, Texas 12

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Connections

Midwest

Midwest Cont.

Recycling Furniture for Families, Bloomington, Ill. The Shed, Decatur, Ill. Sharing Connections, Downers Grove, Ill. Central Illinois Christians in Mission, Mt. Zion, Ill. Comprehensive Community Solutions, Rockford, Ill. Mustard Seed Furniture Bank of Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, Ind. FreeStore, Inc., West Des Moines, Iowa Resurrection Furnishings Ministry, Leawood, Kan. His Helping Hands, Wichita, Kan. In The Image, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Partners in Housing Transition, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Furniture Bank of Southeastern, Mich., Pontiac, Mich.

Saginaw County Youth Protection Council, Saginaw, Mich.

Bridging, Inc. Bloomington, Minn.

Bridging, Inc. Roseville, Minn.

Community Furniture Program, St. Cloud, Minn.

Love, Inc. of Columbia, Columbia, Mo. New Life Furniture, Cincinnati, Ohio Furniture Bank of Central Ohio, Columbus, Ohio CORE Furniture Bank, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio SVDP Community Furniture Bank, Dayton, Ohio Cleveland Furniture Bank, Middleburg Heights, Ohio HopeNow Furniture Bank, Mount Vernon, Ohio Banner Mattress Furniture Bank, Toledo, Ohio The Lifewell Furniture Bank, Zanesville, Ohio The Neighbor’s Place, Wausau, Wisc.

Northeast

Vt.

Mass.

Conn. Rhode Island

D.C.

N.J.

Md.

Helping Hands Furniture Bank, North Haven, Conn.

Make A Home Foundation Inc., Sandy Hook, Conn.

New Haven Home Recovery, Inc., West Haven, Conn.

Greater Portland Charitable Furniture Center, Portland, Maine A Wider Circle, Silver Spring, Md. Household Goods Recycling of Massachusetts, Acton, Mass.

Project Home Again, Andover, Mass.

My Brothers Keeper, Easton, Mass.

The Wish Project, Lowell, Mass.

Mass. Coalition for the Homeless, Lynn, Mass.

Touchstone Furniture Depot, Marlborough, Mass.

Mission of Deeds, Reading, Mass.

New Life Home Refurnishing, Walpole, Mass.

Central MA Housing Alliance Donations Clearinghouse, Worcester, Mass.

Jaden’s Ladder, Rye, N.H. Home Front, Lawrenceville, N.J. Furniture Assist, Inc., Union, N.J. Furniture Sharehouse, White Plains, N.Y. CAADC Donations Warehouse, Folcroft, Pa. Off The Floor, Pittsburgh, Pa. Furniture Bank of Rhode Island, Providence, R.I.

Southeast Community Furniture Bank, Birmingham, Ala. Christmas Charities Year Round, Huntsville, Ala. Mustard Seed of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla. ECHO Furniture Bank, Tallahassee, Fla. Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta, Atlanta, Ga. Action Ministries – Augusta, Augusta, Ga. Crisis Assistance Ministry, Charlotte, N.C. The Barnabas Network, Greensboro, N.C. The Bin, Huntersville, N.C. Lowcountry Furniture Bank, Charleston, S.C. Chattanooga Furniture Bank, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Ecumenical Storehouse, Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Annandale Christian Community for Action, Annandale, Va. CARITAS Furniture Bank, Richmond, Va.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

13

Cover Story

LOOKING TO HIRE?

GET IN LINE. You’re not the only store trying to attract good help.

But you can—and must— stand out from the rest.

BY ROBERT BELL

14

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Cover Story

avid Carlson needs help. No, not that kind of help. Carlson needs a salesperson for his home furnishings store in Klamath Falls, Ore. And not just someone to ring up sales—anyone can do that. Carlson needs someone who can absorb the product information for hundreds of pieces of furniture, recite the fine print behind every warranty, engage the customer, find out what she really wants then fill that need. Oh, and if the warehouse needs help moving a new sofa on the floor, well, that’s part of the job description, too.

“We’re a small family store,” says Carlson, the third-generation owner of Carlson’s Furniture. “Whoever I hire has to be able to do a little bit of this, a little bit of that and they’ve got to do a professional job at all of it.”

Carlson’s hiring process will not include a newspaper ad, pricey headhunters or employment websites. In the coming weeks Carlson will find his next employee the way he’s found all the others the past 15 years–by asking around town. “I’ll talk to some other business owners and see if they know of anybody,” he says. “Retailers are the best source for hiring because we know it takes a special person to do this job. Contrary to what most people think about furniture stores, you can’t just hire anyone off the street. It’s just a very difficult process of finding the right person. They’re out there, but they’re hard to find.”

www.retailerNOWmag.com

And therein lies the dilemma for Carlson and his home-furnishings brethren: Even as the nation adds thousands of jobs—an average of 212,000 each month over the past year—store owners and hiring personnel find it increasingly difficult to attract qualified workers to an oft-unappreciated profession.

“When I say it’s easier to fire five people than to hire one good one I’m kidding, but only a little,” says Carlson. “It’s a very time-consuming process, and you have to get it right the first time.”

Jeff Lewis can sympathize. “Easily, the hardest part of the job is finding good, dependable people,” says Lewis, general manager of Shofers Furniture in Baltimore.

Lewis says the area’s top salespeople “fall into my lap” because the store, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year,

NOV / DEC | 2014

15

Cover Story

is an institution in the city. “But every other job is such a struggle for us,” he says. “Not just to hire them, but to hold onto them.”

Doug Fleener, president of Dynamic owners up all night,” said Ellen Davis, Experiences, Inc., a Massachusetts-based senior vice president of the National retail and customer-experience consult- Retail Federation. “And yet, in talking to ing firm. “You’re lucky if you get one store owners, it’s the one place they need chance—let alone a second chance—at the most help with.”

That’s not unusual, of course. The home that buyer. You need the strongest hires furnishings business, like most retail sec- you can get your hands on.”

Davis and others hear it all the time from tors, always struggles with an image probretailers: We can’t compete with other lem in the eyes of many looking for work. Many of O’Brien’s graduates are ready industries. Their response: Nonsense.

The part of home furnishings retail most to enter management positions at some potential employees see involves evening of the nation’s biggest retailers such as “Whenever you start out the hiring proand weekend work, frustrated customers, Target, Kohl’s and Home Depot. But cess thinking you’re going to have to setlong periods of standing and salaries that tle, you’re going to do just that,” O’Brien lag behind banking, technology and other says. “It doesn’t have to be that way.” promising fields. Storeowners say that image—real or not—sometimes makes it Start with the store itself. Don’t look at difficult to hire strong candidates across you business from the perspective of a all departments. customer, but rather from a potential employee. “The family brand most “There’s this skewed perception of retail furniture stores market on TV and as a default career,” says Jerry O’Brien. in print works for customers who are “A lot of people probably walk into a looking for a kitchen table and chairs,” furniture store and think the salesperson says O’Brien. “If you’re in the market they’re working with is on Plan B of his for an employee, you need a marketing or her career—maybe even Plan C.” campaign about what makes your store a good place to work.”

O’Brien is working to change that perception, one graduate at a time. He’s exFleener agrees. “The workplace environecutive director of the Kohl’s Department ment is probably important to you,” he Stores Center for Retail Excellence at the says. “I promise that environment is just University of Wisconsin-Madison. That’s important to people who might be workright, there’s a university—several, actuing there one day.” ally —geared to students who view retail and the science behind it as their Plan A If you company’s moral is low, you’ve for a career. got bigger problems than finding a new accountant or salesperson. On the other The need for qualified employees is even hand, if you’ve nurtured a close working more vital for brick-and-mortar stores in environment, where everyone enjoys mortal combat with their online brethren. just as many are interested in working at showing up each day and helping each ShoperTrak, which employs a network of family-owned or non-chain stores. other out, show that off to potential hires.

60,000 shopper-counting devices to track visits at malls and large retailers across Too often, however, O’Brien and others One way to do that is to let some of the country, reports shoppers aren’t using say storeowners fall short in attracting your employees help in the interviewing physical stores to browse as much. Seven strong candidates to the job. Hiring process. “A great working environment years ago shoppers visited an average experts say home furnishings storeown- is infectious,” says Fleener. “It’s going five stores per mall trip. Today they do ers might want to rethink their hiring to show in the faces and attitudes of the most of their research online and only process, many of which date back to people your job candidates meet. When visit three. when their parents or grandparents ran your employees say ‘we’re great,’ it bethe store. comes an awesome recruiting tool.”

“That makes it even more critical for furniture stores to have the most quali- “Hiring and finding good people is the Salary can’t be ignored. O’Brien believes fied people on the showroom floor,” says one part of the business that keeps many home furnishings stores price

16

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Cover Story

themselves out of a good hire right from the start because they aren’t willing to pay enough. “Retailers need to make sure their compensation is in line with everyone else,” says O’Brien. “If you haven’t updated your compensation in a few years, you’re going to get what you pay for.”

furniture stores–if you know they’ll be productive sellers during the week? If you’re answer is yes, you’ll get a lot more candidates, good candidates, wanting to work at your store.”

Over-qualified

employees? You Perhaps the biggest hurdle for many retailmight only have ers is convincing young employees to take them for two a job in a family-owned business knowing years, but isn’t O’Brien says websites such as glassceil- the opportunity for growth is limited. it a better choice ing.com are good indicators of what a than a mediocre salary in the home furnishings business O’Brien says to be up front about that employee for 10? should be based on experience. The NRF ceiling. “If there’s a hard cap as to how far conducted a survey recently that offers in- an employee can move up in your store sight into salary, benefits and commission you need to talk about it. Candidates for retailers of varying sizes and markets know its out there. Not talking about it can be a negative by default. Let them throughout the country. know they can get a good start, foundaFleener also says store owners need to tion if you will, for two or three years value for everyone. You need to find rethink their typical employee. As more before they move on. I’d rather have a that value and leverage it with potential Millenials enter the workforce, they really good employee for two years than employees,” O’Brien says. bring with them different expectations one who sulks around for 10.”

Making the perfect hire isn’t impossible, of what a job is. That doesn’t always mean full-time work and weekends–two If you think your store location is going but it takes effort. “It’s a big investment staples of the retail industry. “Retailers to make hiring hard, that’s not true. in time and that’s one commodity store need to balance what’s most important O’Brien says is you’re in a small town owners don’t have a lot of,” says Davis. with making the best hires,” Fleener says. like Klamath Falls, show how far your “But it’s worth it if you get it right the “As a store owner are you willing to give money goes in terms of housing and first time and you find the perfect emsomeone weekends–a busy period for other bills. “Most places to live have ployee to help you grow.”

Here’s the problem with interviews: Most candidates can sit in a chair for 45 minutes and look and sound perfect. We asked some retail hiring experts to offer some tips for making a great hire.

 PUT THEM TO WORK Instead of asking predictable questions that lead to predictable answers, throw the candidate onto the showroom floor and stay with them. Do they approach customers with a smile? Engage them in conversation? They don’t need to have product knowledge in that short time for you to see if they have what it takes to sell.

 TURN THE TABLES Save some time at the end of the interview to let the candidate interview you. “The questions they ask might give you good insight into what kind of employee they’ll be,” says Fleener. “Are they focused on compensation and benefits or do they want to know about their responsibilities and how they can grow within your business.”

 DITCH THE RESUME “Anyone who gives me good service—at the bank, the grocery store or church—is probably going to be a good candidate for selling or working in a furniture store,” says Doug Fleener, a retail consultant.

“Keep your eyes open when you’re not at work.”

 THINK LOCAL Nobody knows your community like you and other retailers. “Ask around to see if anyone knows of someone,” says Ellen Davis, senior vice president of the National Retail Federation. “Even if you’re not hiring, you should always be looking for that someone who gives you great service.”

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

17

Celebrating the outstanding achievements and progressive leadership of the nation’s most respected home furnishings retailers.

The North American Home Furnishings Association is now accepting nominations for its Retailer of the Year awards.

We’re looking for NAHFA members who demonstrate exemplary service to the industry and to their communities and who provide an exceptional customer experience in their store.

Nominees will be considered in two categories— • Businesses with sales volume under $10 million • Businesses with sales volume of $10 million or above

The 2015 Retailer of the Year awards will be presented on May 17th, at the annual Home Furnishings Networking Conference in Orlando, Florida. Nominations must be received by December 19, 2014.

Community Today

BY SUE MASARACCHIA-ROBERTS

Unique materials and designs, bold colors and novel

styling are among the highlights of the new trends that were displayed at this year’s Casual Furniture and Accessories Market held at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart.

Many manufacturers reported brisk sales tied into the surging economy and new home construction. “People also are replacing the sets they’ve had, as prices seem to be holding,” said Rick Pieth from Ebel Casual Furniture. “Wicker is starting to be a major part of the dealer showroom and a growing category.”

Top: A retailer takes home some design ideas from the Casual Furniture and Accessories Market in Chicago in September. Insert: Retailers check out a fire pit offered by Housewarmings at the market.

Byron Morton, vice president of leasing for the Mart said the popularity of Chicago’s market is a reflection of the popularity of extending the living space outdoors.

“Casual matters,” said Morton. “Outdoor space is much more than a table, chairs and an umbrella on the patio. It’s about lounging, fire, entertaining and cooking. The outdoor space is like no other canvas on which homeowners can express their tastes and enjoy their homes.” Morton likes the role the show plays as the “connection between the manufacturer, the specialty retailer channel and the homeowner.”

www.retailerNOWmag.com

—Byron Morton, vice president of leasing for the Merchandise Mart.

NOV / DEC | 2014

19

Community Today

Making a statement was a theme at the outdoor market.

Treasure Garden’s cantilever umbrella (above) makes a bold presence while The Little Cottage offers custom Adirondack chairs (right) in your favorite school colors.

Matt Peterson, showroom manager for rug manufacturer Jaipur noted that his booth attracted “a lot of new customers that were not at the other shows, so this market opened a new customer base for us.”

“This is a fuller show with more attendees,” said Cambridge Casual vice president Ann Croi, “both distributors and wholesalers.

Color has influenced everything—the use of color in frames, fabrics and a lot of new products with fresh ideas.”

“Color has influenced everything—the use of color in frames, fabrics and a lot of new products with fresh ideas.”

—Ann Croi, vice president, Cambridge Casual”

get the breadth of what is here and I ap- “We really enjoyed getting to meet all the preciate being able to attend such a large people who stopped by as well as getting feedback from buyers on what they loved market.” and would like to see next year.”

Some smaller retailers like Sean Schneider A first-time exhibitor, Caroline Hipple of Backyard Adventures in Iowa enjoyed from Patio Daddyo’s creative team, loved Among the more popular items were the the access to vendors in Chicago they “the craftsmanship and the retail-focus. weatherproof high-definition photography otherwise might not be able to see in Buyers are category-savvy and they see this of Rara Avis and unique pillow designs High Point. [show] as different. It is fun dealing with of ElaineSmith. These and others offered educated purchasers who understand their a distinctive twist on decorating spaces “I’m a small guy and it’s great to be able to customers and the products in the market.” indoors and out. Materials like Zuo’s come here and make contacts with people I concrete table, Samsonite’s customizable couldn’t get to if I wanted them to see me,” Second year participant, design director glass and metal table tops, and the array Schneider said. “It’s a great opportunity to Esther Parkhurst from TarHong, said, of furniture made from bamboo and boats 20

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

HOME FURNISHINGS

Exclusive Disney Institute Main Stage Sessions Exclusive Behind the Scene Tours Park Tickets for Attendees Staying at Host Hotel Disney Coronado Springs Resort $164 Per Night

“HFNC 2014 was my first conference and it was amazing! The quality of the speakers was beyond my expectations. The folks I met, no matter the size of their store were so incredibly friendly and helpful. I was most impressed with the industry as a whole and the overall message of the conference…helping others.”

—Michelle Caragol, Moxie Home Consign and Design, Steamboat Springs, CO

DISNEY INSTITUTE EXECUTIVE SPEAKER SERIES ON THE MAIN STAGE

Lee Cockerell— Former EVP of Operations, Walt Disney World® Resort

Lee’s book The Customer Rules

Compliments of:

will be available to session attendees

Find more Disney Institute and main stage education information at www.theHFNC.com

Community Today

Above, SunVilla’s Todd Wingrove (center) meets with retailers around a fire pit table.

As usual, accessories like fire pits and throw pillows like those from OW Lee’s Emblem series (left) were a hit at the casual market.

created a lot of buzz. New also were expandable tables with self-contained leaf storage.

“There were a lot of innovations in the protective corner as well as in outdoor room accessories with rugs and lamps, deep seating, versatilities of fire pits and innovative wicker looks.”

—Kathy Chapman, buyer for The Great Escape.

Aria’s Erin Corning said, “We are seeing coordinated collections between deep- and sling-seating. They have a contemporary design and colors that coordinate but don’t need to match.”

“There were a lot of innovations in the protective corner as well as in outdoor room accessories with rugs and lamps, deep seating, versatilities of fire pits and innovative wicker looks,” said Kathy Chapman, a buyer for The Great Escape.

“A new line of grill covers come out in 2015, in addition to sectional and custom covers,” said Ken Katz of PCI. “These are made of fleece and baked vinyl making it waterproof.”

PCI’s line of “e-Cloths” for cleaning outdoor furniture and grills requires only water.

IndoSoul elevates the lowly bean bag chair to a form of art and pushes it outdoors.

22

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Texas buyer Debbie Matlock said the market was infused with a lot of hues and colors, upholstered furniture and variations on metal finishes as well as straps on furniture.

“There seems to be a move from the traditional to transitional,” she said.

Morton said market attendance was up about 6 percent over last year. “This is really an opportunity to see new products, new trends and new ideas. Our exhibitors and showrooms were thrilled not with only the quantity of attendees, but also the quality,” Morton said.

That sentiment was backed up during market when market officials announced it had extended its lease with Mart, meaning the casual market will remain in Chicago through 2022.

Community Today

Best Sellers in the Windy City Technology was a driving force at Chicago’s International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market in September. Reclaimed, re-engineered and sustainable products, as well as woven and natural fabrics were especially big sellers. Also popular were American-made products.

Here’s a quick look at what was buzzing in Chicago: “There are a lot of new accessory lines like tea carts and smaller fire pits,” said Houston dealer Beverly Spence. “Elaine Smith is new, showing more accent pieces and bright colors. There are just more fabrics and more fun.”

“We were very pleased with the interest in our tabletop and drinkware patterns and had great customer feedback about our fresh and innovative designs,” said design director Esther Parkhurst from TarHong.

Top, Outdoor Room’s Broadway Gas Fire Pit table has a white marbelized onyx top that is easy to clean. Bottom, Jason Stoter, the owner of hammock company Vivere, meets with retailers.

“Fire tables are hot,” said Telescope Casual’s Bill Vanderminden. “We are doing a lot with aluminum stainless and polymers since they are not as hot to touch and offer a great mix of colors.” Vanderminden also noted a lot of interest in contemporary “compact sectional modular sets that need little assembly. We like to have bright colors, especially for the lower opening price points.”

Machine-washable canvas coated with PVC-polyester was the featured fabric for beanbags, while Sunbrella fabrics “are more supple and soft with a more residential look that performs well indoors and out,” said Harrison Wood, a residential sales associate with Sunbrella.

Many sustainable structural bamboo and poly furniture products are milled like wood with the density of oak, often finished with an Italian urethane for durability, according to Caroline Hipple of Patio Daddyo.

Patio Daddyo hired Hipple’s company, HB2 to help brand, design and launch its entrance into the casual market.

“Some of the more unique items (buyers liked) included the wave chair, the confab chair and Hang10 surf table, as well as the sports and team-colored Adirondack chairs made from recycled milk jugs,” Hipple said.

Surya’s machine-made Marina rug is 100-perfcent polypropylene so it will stand up to the outdoor elements.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

23

Retail Voice

Shoppers are always saying they’ll “be back.”

Here’s how to make sure they do.

BY JEFF GIAGNOCAVO

Jeff Giagnocavo is co-owner of Gardner’s Mattress & More in Lancaster, Pa. He is also co-owner of Mega Mattress Margins and regularly speaks at industry events on successful retail strategies.

n our high-touch, high-ticket retail they’ve stopped the discovery process and have environment many customers sim- selected our store as the place to do business. ply will not commit to a purchase You can do this too, here’s how. on their first store visit.

We follow very precise scripting and sales Traditionally, especially in the mat- language. There is choreography to what we tress world, retailers begin offering say, how we say it, what we present and when. a flurry of discounts once the Our customers’ responses help us navigate our customer indicates they aren’t buying now. store and position our mattresses as customThis actually damages any integrity the ized solutions. It’s because of this process that retailer built up prior to the prospective we can take the same mattress set and create a customer arriving at their store and likely customized solution using our adjustable bed leaves a bitter taste in the prospect’s mouth. bases, sheets, pillows, and mattress protectors Consumers don’t want to play Let’s Make a that solves each customer’s need.

Deal, they want to play let’s make a friend.

Home furnishings retailers can easily tailor I’ve read studies that suggest consumers questions to their specific needs and I suspect are checking as many as 13 places—both many of you already are. In our store, if the online and brick-and-mortar—before customer indicates that today is not the day to stepping foot into a business. Compare make their final decision we follow a second that number to five less than a decade ago. script that helps us buy the “be back.”

And why shouldn’t they check? Consumers have access to more information than ever While we ask the right closing questions, we and are more educated about the products find that about 35 percent of our prospects and brands and the stores they do business simply aren’t going to buy today no matter with, so it’s important to have a consistent what we say or do. That’s fine because our message across all media both online and goal is to get them to say yes to us, not just to offline (which is an entire system and pro- a one-time purchase, but yes to becoming a cess in and off itself ). loyal, repeat customer.

For the sake of this article I’m highlighting the strategy we use to buy the “be back” and make prospects become customers on their first visit even if they haven’t made a decision about their purchase.

That’s right, we buy the “be back.” We get the customer to do business with us before they make their final decision. By doing this, we take the customer off the market; they are now our customer and

24

NOV / DEC | 2014

If the customer indicates they are interested, but not making a purchase today, we ask: “With all we’ve uncovered today would you be open to visiting our store again?” Everyone says, “Yes, of course.” Maybe it’s because they simply want to be nice, but most are just relieved that they haven’t been pressured to buy anything. Next we say, “Great, because your decision to come back at a later date pays off and we have a gift for you.” Now they are intrigued. We continue with, “Our next steps

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Retail Voice

together are to do one of two things. You may book a Dream Room appointment to try out the sleep system we customized for you today, or if you feel we need a little more discovery of which system is best we can set up an appointment and pick up right where we left off, with the same sleep consultant you worked with today. Which do you feel is best for you?”

Notice that we are asking them to make a decision about how they want to proceed in doing business with us. Mostly people now ask us about the gift. You should know our gift is not a discount or freebie from our store, rather a complementary experience. We offer the chance for a free massage from a local salon and spa that we partner with. We go on to say “Our gift to you today is a $50 massage gift certificate when you book either a Dream Room appointment or your next mattress consultation for a $50 deposit. When you make a purchase the $50 is applied to your invoice making the massage a free gift to you. Would you be open to booking your appointment and claiming your massage gift certificate?”

The $50 deposit is non-refundable as they are booking an appointment for which we have to have personnel available either for a consultation or a Dream Room experience.

If they make a purchase this is applied to their invoice.

During any given week we book appointments for two out of 10 customers. We have a 64 percent closing rate. For every 10 customers we convert 84 percent into paying customers—64 percent today, 20 percent at a later date.

Digging deeper into the numbers for the 36 percent who choose not to purchase today

www.retailerNOWmag.com

we are getting more than 50 percent to commit to us on their first visit, thereby increasing our effective closing rate to 84 percent!

The system used here is based around two very robust systems. The first is sales scripting and the second is choreographing how we present the solutions, our mattresses and the free gift.

You can use the same system in your business. The key to all of this is to position the comeback offer (the massage) as value added. It’s a service that’s compatible with our business, but still a surprise, an item the customer never expected to receive for doing business with us.

When done right this system keeps the sales process pressure free. The customer doesn’t have to make a hasty decision and you have dramatically increased your closing percentage, increased sales and added bottom line profits with the same number of customers you already had walking through your door.

NOV / DEC | 2014

25

Sales & Marketing

You’ll enjoy more highs than lows if you follow a few of these tips BY MARTY GROSSE f all the important things you do in a furniture store, planning and holding effective sales meetings may be the most important. Anyone who has ever managed a store knows the work never ends.

There’s merchandising, operations and marketing that need to be taken care of, but let’s face it: nothing else ever happens (or matters) until a sale is made. It is easy to overlook the importance of a good sales meeting and the impact it can have on your selling success.

When salespeople are selling and everyone is buying, there’s no feeling like it. And when salespeople are selling and nobody’s buying, well, there’s no feeling quite like that either. Selling is an emotional roller coaster. That’s why your sales crew needs meetings that help them grow, improve and stay focused.

Think about how you plan sales meetings. What does a good one look like? What do you include in your meetings? Where do you divine your creative inspiration?

How do you deal with all the different sales people and their personalities? And if selling is a roller coaster, where is your seat?

26

NOV / DEC | 2014

Here are a few tips for improving the impact and effectiveness of your weekly sales meetings.

Create a sales meeting calendar This should be done after establishing your advertising and marketing calendar for the month or quarter. Good sales meetings will maximize advertising expenditures.

Advertising plans also provide a framework for sales meetings. When does the promotion run? What is the featured merchandise? Is there a finance offer or other specials with the promotion? All of this is important to review with your staff. Have you ever had a salesperson ask “Are we running any merchandise or other specials right now?” Not exactly reassuring, and a bit cringeworthy.

Create a meeting template Think of your meetings as a hamburger. The top bun is the basic information of the promotion including time frame, types of advertising, merchandise specials, financing or any information that the sales team should know. The meat of the meeting should be something

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Sales & Marketing

that enhances or reinforces one of the tenets of selling professionalism. Hairdressers must have all their tools such as the greeting, probing/qualifying, presentation, within reach to do their job and, of course, they rely overcoming objections, closing or following up after the upon repeat business and word of mouth from happy sale. The meat you choose may be guided by one of the key customers. Sounds like selling furniture doesn’t it? Train elements of your event. Maybe it is spending time in the yourself to look for selling situations everywhere you go. bedding department working on “qualifying” the mattress There is nothing like a story (good or bad) to reinforce customer during your gigantic “Pedic” event. The bottom selling skills. Another benefit of this could be you end bun of the burger is preparing the team mentally for the up recruiting that employee at the dry cleaners to be game of selling. We all have outside distractions in our lives part of your sales force. (relationships, pets, mortgages, children, vacations, etc.) it’s important to help salespeople focus on the day at hand and Be open to critique the customers. Use the bottom bun, or end of your meeting, to reinforce any sales contests and goals.

At the start of the next sales meeting ask for a rating of 1 – 10 on the previous meeting. By conveying a servant mentality to your team in helping them improve and Stay focused perform at higher levels, you may be surprised at the Do not use sales meetings as a venue to review operational feedback you receive. Let them know you want to or team dynamics issues. These items need to be addressed improve to help them get better, make more sales and but not here. I once attended a sales meeting where the ultimately make more money. manager reviewed a litany of problems and finished the meeting with an enthusiastic “Now let’s go out and have Use technology a big day!” Really?

Videos and movie clips can help make your point. Blogs devoted to selling can also help. There is even a Pinterest Spice it up board out there for sales motivation ideas.

Remember, selling is fun! Find creative ways to spice up your sales meetings and fight the “same old same Get everyone involved old” syndrome. Think about occasionally changing the meeting location. I once held a sales meeting outside Invite your non-selling staff to the meetings from time in front of the store. You can hold one in the back of a to time. It never hurts for them to gain a better undelivery truck complete with chairs and a movie screen. derstanding of the selling process. They may ask some Engage your staff by involving them in the meeting in enlightening questions that benefit everyone. some way. Think about a skit, a scavenger hunt, game or simply researching a new product on the floor to share Have fun the features/benefits with the other sales people. There is always the old standby of having a factory rep come in Take your work seriously but do not take yourself too and do part of the meeting. Make sure you trust the rep seriously. Sure you’re the boss and, yes, you are importo keep it positive and upbeat. tant and of course everyone should cling to all those nuggets of wisdom you utter and … Come on this is the furniture business! Have some fun. Be sure to celFind a story ebrate individual and group successes in your meeting.

Everyone has a story. Find selling stories in everyday life Most importantly keep every sales meeting positive! that parallel the selling process on your floor. I once held a sales meeting named “The Selling Secrets Only Your Effective salespeople and teams require positive, upbeat Hairdresser Knows.” The meeting was held with the and regular sales meetings if you want them to get back sales team behind me looking into the mirror complete on that roller coaster and ride it over and over again. with a customer in the chair in front. Think about it: Now get in the front car, buckle up, throw your arms Hairdressers have to ask careful questions of their cli- over your head and scream with delight when your ents to determine their needs. Hairdressers are always crew achieves sales goals. There is nothing like a roller looking in the mirror at themselves knowing that the coaster to get your blood pumping. And don’t worry, customer is evaluating their looks and evaluating their your sales people will be right behind you.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Furniche.com founder Marty Grosse has 35 years of experience including senior positions across six top-tier retailers. Furniche provides visitors real, relevant and timely shopping advice with access to research, local furniture stores and manufacturer information.

Contact him at martygrosse@ furniche.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

27

Operations

Knowing the real worth of your business might make you reconsider closing its doors.

T

he subtitle of a Van Morrison album is, ‘No Plan B’. The album comes to mind as I wander the aisles of a retail show and see so many vendors offering their services to help you close your business. Just before writing this column, I received an email from a couple who had been in business for 35 years and were looking at closing their doors.

Their business had been on the market for three years without producing a sale. They were asking if it was time to consider Plan B—closing the store. This is not the first time this scenario had been discussed, but to this writer, Plan B is not a good alternative.

While they mentioned visiting with their attorney and accountant, it appears the conversation is a few years too late.

When you want to sell a business, these discussions need to be held about five years before you want out.

There is a different strategy to operating a business through the last few years and the preceding years of the retail life cycle. When you are operating your business, as the owner you have an advantage that most people do not get.

28

NOV / DEC | 2014

Most people get a W-2 at the end of the year and there are a minimum number of tax and medical deductions they can take. The owner of a business can do a lot more.

From having the business provide you with a car to giving your children a salary instead of an allowance, there are many opportunities for the small business owner to place a lot of expenses within the operation of the store.

Of course, this makes the store earn less, but there’s something neat about paying your children to take out the trash at the store and being able to pay them money as a legitimate business expense instead of giving an allowance which is not tax deductible. You are not as concerned with the bottom line of the business when you are getting these perks.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Operations

However, when someone wants to buy your store, in addition to looking at the store they will want to look at as many as five years of financials. This is the same five-year time frame we were just mentioning.

When the buyer is going to offer a contract, they are going to pay for the inventory at landed cost, a fair valuation of the fixtures, equipment and the build out of the store, and the best part—‘good will’ or ‘blue sky’ money which is calculated as a multiplier of the average of your net profit for the last three to five years.

Stop and do the math for your store right now. Look at the net profit for the past five years and add those numbers together.

Divide by five to get the average, and then we will assume your buyer is going to offer you 2.4 times that average amount. Nice pile of money?

That explains why for the last five years you own the store, you want to get all of these ‘marginal expenses’ out of the business.

Look at all of that other money we talked about in inventory, fixtures and other items. If you choose Plan B and close the store, you are getting none of the blue sky or good will, pennies on the dollar for the fixtures, equipment, and build-out. Also, your nowempty building is not only worth less, but your insurance is going to be more expensive for an empty building.

I bet the couple who contacted me would think differently about closing their store if they knew how much money they could get by selling.

I have many questions for my prospective selling couple.

How many different brokers have you utilized in these past three years? Were those brokers specialists in small business? Where have they been advertising the business? Have you had someone give you a qualified business evaluation so that you know you are asking the right price? Have you considered keeping the building, but selling the business?

There are a lot of questions to be asked when you are thinking about selling the business. Those questions need to be asked—and answered—well before the day you want out. And knowing now what you can get from selling a profitable business, there should be no Plan B. Subscribe to Tom Shay’s e-ret@iler, a free monthly newsletter packed with tips for improving the profitability of your store, at profitsplus.org.

Next Gen NOW Spotlight

GETTING TO KNOW JORDAN BARRICK Chief Operating Officer Quality Furniture & Appliance Mesquite, Texas : You married into the retail business, right?

Jordan: Exactly. I took a job in GameStop

and moved up pretty quickly. I think it was seven promotions in a very short time. My father-in-law (Stan Pickett) was watching all of this and one day he came up to me and said, ‘Hey would you like to come work for us?’

RN: Did you feel any pressure, seeing as he was your father-in-law?

Jordan: No, not a bit. GameStop was a nice

place to work, but I knew that wasn’t where I wanted to spend the rest of my life, and it only took me a little while to completely fall in love with this place.

RN: Why? What’s so different between Quality Furniture & Appliance and Game Stop?

Jordan: It’s a world of difference in terms of customer engagement. Here you’re meeting and talking with people, helping them learn what it is they need or want. It’s so much more fulfilling.

RN: You handle your store’s online advertising. How has that changed your business?

Jordan: I’d say in the three-plus years I’ve

been here our company has grown by 50 percent. A lot of that growth can be attributed to our online advertising. We’re in front of so many more people who are already shopping.

That’s a big difference from trying to entice them into the market.

30

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Next Gen NOW Spotlight

RN: What would you tell another retailer who’s reluctant to invest in online advertising or doesn’t see its worth?

RN: You’re back in school studying business. Best business book?

Jordan: Jim Collins’ book Good to Great

takes the highest place in my required reads. Between my coursework and protime you invest in and stress over you’re fessional life it takes some discipline to print budget you’d be swayed. We were add time to read, but his writing is so spending 90 percent of our energy on get- clear, transparent and necessary I find it ting our print material together and distrib- much easier to come back to. After our uted. Online is so much more efficient and company has grown 50 percent in three you can easily track your (ROI). years, which is easier when you’re at our volume, it is tempting to keep pushing RN: What about the stores out the same rock uphill to try and keep these there who don’t have someone who’s results. However, Good to Great is all about tech-savvy? sustainable breakthrough—not one threeyear period.

Jordan: You mean like us? We learned it. Google and others are making it easier RN: You worked at GameStop. and easier to understand and use. Or find What kind of video game would the somebody you know has integrity and is furniture industry be? not going to spend a lot of money and who knows computers.

Jordan: There was an 80s game called E.T. that Atari made and people thought RN: Five years ago, did you see your- it was going to be great, but it was a flop. self in retail?

I’m not saying the furniture industry is a flop. Video games are constantly changing Jordan: Oh, absolutely not. I was going to and experimenting and a lot of times they be an actor or a musician. I also wanted to fail—but they learn from those failures go into ministry, but I love what I’m doing and become better. The home furnishing now. I love being around family every day. industry is so far behind the curve on some things. We’re afraid to experiment and fail, RN: And you’re not around just your but really that’s the only way we’re going father-in-law. Your father works for to grow.

Jordan: If you really measure how much

you?

Jordan (laughing): Yeah, I know that sounds

a little weird. People say it sounds like an Everybody Loves Raymond episode, but it’s been great. Watching my dad (Bill Barrick) work and the humility he showed after losing his job has been inspiring to me. He started here part-time, but the past few months he’s been full time. I’ve been very blessed to have him around and part of my life.

RN: Why did you join NextGen? Jordan: The relationships and friendships

I’ve been able to build are the biggest reasons. You shouldn’t be the smartest guy in the room and with NextGen, you never are—or at least I never am. We’re all learning from each other. We’re all sharing ideas and stories and even frustrations, but we’re also growing and getting better.

Top, Jordan Barrick, right, kicks back with his father in law and boss, Steve Pickett. Below, Jordan and his wife Caitlin.

Next Gen NOW (NGN) is a community of young, passionate, engaged industry professionals whose mission is to give a voice to the needs and goals of the up-and-coming future generations. NGN strives to educate the industry on how and why it should attract and keep young talent. The NAHFA supports NGN by facilitating meetings and educational opportunities and introducing the industry to its members through RetailerNow. Connect with NGN members at ngnow.org or on Twitter @ngnow.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

31

Product Focus

Klaussner’s Studio theater seating (below) is the perfect mix of comfort and technology with its power recliners and lighted cup holders.

Norwalk makes furniture shopping fun and interactive with its mobile app developed exclusively for its Kent collection.

The Best Seat in the House

Manufacturers offer a snapshot of the upholstery market

BY LISA CASINGER

W

hether you call it a sofa, couch, divan, davenport or settee, few can refute the satisfaction it brings to plop down and relax on a comfy surface at the end of a long day. RetailerNOW spoke with four upholstery manufacturers for this snapshot of the market—Reyna Moore, vice president of marketing and merchandising for Norwalk Furniture, Len Burke, vice president of marketing at Klaussner Furniture, Mark Gilmore, vice president of sales at CR Laine and La-Z-Boy’s Paula Hoyas, vice president of merchandising, Chuck Seilnacht, director of retail excellence and Mark Wagner, vice president of brand and retail marketing.

RetailerNOW: What’s been the big- Norwalk has launched an app for our gest innovation in upholstery in the last five years?

Moore: Function and technology.

Consumers want to maximize the use of their furniture. We’re not just talking about ottomans with built in storage but also about pieces traditionally reserved for use in one room showing up elsewhere. People are building master suites with sitting rooms furnished with elegant chairs and smaller sofas.

Technology has been the biggest change in the industry. We need to embrace how we use technology to reach consumers.

32

NOV / DEC | 2014

not true today. To keep up with new technology, Klaussner sends staff to the Consumer Electronics Show. We need to know what’s happening in technology.

We’re fighting for disposable income and competing with electronics, travel, auto, not just furniture. CES is a very exciting show and we try to bring that back to our showroom. We show 12-15 Burke: It’s important to keep up with big screens (55”— 90” TVs) and the technology so you can anticipate how new 4K; we do it to show dealers what that will translate to consumers’ fur- they’re competing with. We partner with niture needs. For example, we used to one of the largest electronic distributors have to keep in mind that users would in the U.S. to make these TVs available. need to sit right in front of the TV for Dealers need to embrace technology— maximum viewing pleasure—that’s not run from it. We also have to keep Kent group—retailers download the app in-store and consumers can “play” with the furniture, changing arms, seats, fabric. It’s a nice tool to discover the collection and it diffuses the nervousness people may have about buying furniture; it’s a great icebreaker.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

33

Product Focus

CR Laine provides dealers with tools and resources to help them recreate the vignettes that draw consumers attention.

up with components that are compatible with Apple products. Everyone is sitting there with iPads/iPhones; everyone is connected and everyone is looking to integrate those components into the furniture. Tech dictates the consumers’ lives.

Hoyas: In motion the innovation is all

about power, power, and more power.

It’s finally here—I’ve been in the industry for many years and always felt it was coming. Powered motion offers comfort and adjustability literally at the touch of the button. The technology and design offer more angle options and the ability to independently recline the back or the foot rest. And the wallaways are perfect for smaller spaces.

exist like they do today. Facebook has slowed and Instagram is huge. Houzz, Twitter, Pinterest—they allow us to reach out to consumers and inspire designers.

They’re looking for ideas and using these tools. Our dealer portal on the website is filled with information and available 24/7 so they can look up orders, fabrics, access the digital library—our customers don’t have to wait to get their questions answered. Then there’s the technology in manufacturing itself—we’ve made several capital expenditures in our cutting equipment and manufacturing that’s helped us with capacity in that last few years.

RetailerNOW: There are so many colors and patterns in upholstery at market,

necessarily the big pieces. When we look at our patterns we don’t judge the performance of a fabric by the yard, but where it’s placed. Consumers are trying to be more on trend and with us having more custom options they’re able to do that.

Burke: As domestic business comes

back to the U.S. you’ll see more retailers using color. Before, if you ordered a container of red sofas for example, and it didn’t sell you were stuck with lots of red sofas. We offer 600 fabrics but 40 percent of our business is special order.

We give retailers choices; our business has come back and retailers are looking for a domestic supplier. This is a fashion industry and everything derives from apparel and paint; we’re seeing retailers taking a bit more risks now.

Hoyas: We’ve been enamored

Gilmore: Absolutely the changes in

technology, from the way we communicate via social media to our dealer’s ability to access information through our web portal. We’re using iPads and at some point catalogs won’t be used as much (though not right now). Five years ago the social media platforms didn’t

34

NOV / DEC | 2014

but on the retail floor there are a lot of blues/browns and neutrals. What is the consumer really after and are we giving them what they want?

Moore: Consumers want their furniture to have longevity; they add more color with accent chairs and pillows not www.retailerNOWmag.com

with color; consumers love it and tell us that and then when they have all of the options in front of them they pay homage to the neutrals.

But the colors can come in accessories and accent pieces so their investment is safe for a number of years with the base colors. Retailers are pulling in more color on their sales floor. With patterns we see a lot of the smaller

Product Focus

Updated transitional looks are popular with La-Z-Boy consumers.

They bring in pops of color with accent chairs and patterns on pillows.

scale patterns, geometrics, abstracts, floral abstracts. We’re also seeing more traditional transitional looks—consumers want a traditional foundation but not grandma’s traditional. Think textural menswear looks, leather, tweed and natural fibers—the foundation is tradition, but updated it’s actually what you’re seeing in fashion with boyfriend cuts and oversized menswear cuts in women’s wear. Furniture always follows fashion, but with everything out there on TV and the Internet, we’re closing the gap and people don’t have to go off to study these designs or styles—everything is instantaneously available.

Gilmore: Market is the fashion runway;

everything we do will get somewhat boiled down to the end consumer and the end consumer plays it far safer.

Consumers want design help; they say ‘I’ll know it when I see it.’ We try to help dealers see the possibilities or ideas and then replicate them in their showrooms.

We give them paint colors, and design ideas and information on the vendors we use for our lighting, rugs, accessories, etc. We’re trying to inspire the dealer to do this so the customer will just walk in and love it—and buy it. The reality is it doesn’t always happen that way. The way we merchandise our showroom takes a significant financial commitment; but

retailers can take pieces of it and make it their own.

We put quite a bit of time and effort twice a year into designing and merchandising our showrooms, but retailers are doing it every day and that’s hard work. Their sales floors are always changing. When dealers sell stuff it’s great, but it adds to your work.

It takes a significant amount of effort to be done right.

took the (flame retardents) out. There are a few who are socially minded who are asking.

RetailerNOW: What type of product

information or training do you offer your retail partners?

Moore: We have a corporate trainer

and we have training here at the factory. We just hosted a two-day training class and we had everyone from a new designer to someone who’s been selling for 15 years. After market we bring product back to the factory and merchandise our showroom here because we use it as a training ground. We do RetailerNOW: How do the ever- product training and sales techniques. changing regulations (such as in flame Right now we have monthly classes, retardants) impact your business? Do 35 people per class, and retailers are your retail partners seem concerned asking for regional training. Coming here is a huge success because they can about this issue? see the factory and see how product is Moore: In areas of the country where made. We follow their sales afterwards people are a little more exposed to the and we see huge spikes. information, we get more questions.

Moms are concerned about safety in the Burke: We launched Klaussner home—those customers are asking for it. University in April, an online training Norwalk is more of any early adopter of course for sales associations. There are these types of things; we want to take a modules on Klaussner product knowledge, upholstery, casegoods, motion, position of leadership. sleepers, and leather. It’s interactive Burke: The retailers are asking questions. and allows them to work at their own There’s been a lot of press about it; is it pace. There’s backend reporting for harmful? Is it not harmful? For us it hasn’t managers, printable worksheets and been an issue because we pour our own testing and certification. Training is foam, we aren’t dependent on a third-party important and our reps do a good job supplier and we can react quickly to what- but this new program provides instant ever needs to be done. We’ve been able to training. adjust to that.

Seilnacht: La-Z-Boy offers all of Gilmore: The issue is the regulations are our retailers a comprehensive online an ever-moving target for manufacturers training curriculum. Our product and what [legislators] don’t realize is the knowledge courses cover upholstered number of steps in the manufacturing products, new introductions, and process. It’s not as simple as slapping a mattresses. Our selling techniques label on something. The reality of the courses include a seven-module seflame retardant issue is very few dealers ries and other selling skills courses ask the questions. Quite some time ago we are focused on presenting finance www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

35

Product Focus

options, selling casegoods, and more. We also have a suite of more than 20 management training courses that has both basic management skills training and courses specific to retail management.

Gilmore: The web portal is helpful, but

our reps are consistently out in front of the dealers—training is important. Retail stores have turnover so you are constantly training; we have product-knowledge meetings multiple times a year. For the last three years we’ve offered intensive two-day training sessions here at CR Laine. The training is on things they should know about selling leather furniture or patterns on curved backed chairs, not specific to our product—we keep the numbers low—small groups (20 people).

When they walk out of here they feel confident. More knowledge brings confidence, confidence brings trust and trust brings sales. If you can achieve those things…if you show that confidence to the consumer they will believe you and they will buy, it’s not complicated.

RetailerNOW: How are you effectively

marketing to Millennials and/or how are you helping your retail partners do the same?

our brand is the dealer’s brand; we have to help them come up with ideas.

Wagner: Our products are designed to

Moore: We’re marketing to them through

appeal to consumers who are interested in creating a comfortable and inviting home, and are seeking high-quality furniture at a great value.

social media and we’re reaching out to younger retailers to see how to go after that group. Our Urban Studio collection was designed for the younger customers as We market to more of a mindset, rather well as small space living (baby boomers than a specific age demographic. We offer downsizing). It’s for the young executive consumers a full line of products in a wide who invests in quality product and they range of customized styles for the living tend to be more contemporary; they’re room and family room. We support retail also more comfortable with colors and the partners with comprehensive marketing color palette in that collection is strong. programs, including national media camThis members of this demographic group paigns, in-store promotions, public relaare curators of their own home and we tions and social media efforts. recognize that.

Gilmore: Our focus is how to meet conBurke: We’re obviously designing product sumer needs not just one demographic. for them. We’re trying to stay informed on We build a product with the consumer social media and we’re keeping our retailers in mind—does it have the right sit, pitch, tuned in. Photography changes every day, comfort, styling, color. There are people in videos are important and we supply the their 20-50s driving Mercedes; Mercedes marketing assets and ideas to the retailers; doesn’t go after a certain demographic.

Here’s something that might come as a surprise to you: The majority of upholstery sold in the United States is made in the United States.

“These are not jobs that have returned home, these are jobs that never left,” said Pat Bowling, vice president of communications for the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA).

Interestingly enough, these upholstery factories are having a hard time finding workers. AHFA’s Solutions Partners division is trying to help uncover the reasons why these jobs have been difficult to fill and possibly develop a campaign to help recruit new workers.

Part of the problem may be training.

Lower end upholstery factories used to be a training ground for factories that specialize in higher end, more custom products. But as production of lower priced products moved overseas, U.S. factories lost their pipeline of trained workers.

36

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Another problem might be the misconception that all the furniture jobs are going overseas. “If you think about it, all the media attention focused on plant closings over the last decade has most people thinking ‘no one makes furniture in the U.S. anymore’,” Bowling said.

Mark Gilmore, vice president of sales, CR Laine said “It takes a trained person to do eight-way hand tied and it’s not as simple to get those people. There aren’t as many people out there doing that.”

Gilmore and others in the upholstery industry are encouraged however.

Catawba Valley Community College, Hickory, N.C. now offers a two-year course in upholstery manufacturing and it’s first class (soon to be graduates) was full.

INTRODUCING

Use any time, anywhere, on any device!

Finally… a furniture retail business system that will allow you access to your critical information from anywhere, at any time and on any device.

No app required for this comprehensive web-based, touch navigation retail furniture software.

> Increase customer engagement with real time data and unparalleled mobility.

> Improve efficiency and accuracy with its intuitive interface and touch screen navigation.

> Maximize results with minimal investment.

PointCentric™ is designed for any browser on any tablet, smart phone or laptop.

No app required, no extra fees.

> Leverage customization options to integrate sales, inventory, vendors and customers.

> Boost your productivity with PointCentric™— this Web-based software provides access anywhere, any time.

To make an appointment please contact us at sales@myriadsoftware.com or call Sales at (800) 676-4243

(800) 676-4243 • sales@myriadsoftware.com • myriadsoftware.com

High Point Recap

Boogie Nights Like a modern Scandinavian disco ball, Renwil’s polished and lacquered brass fixture ($118) will send delight every which way with its square cut-outs and multifaceted design. renwil.com

Curve Appeal The Contemporare Chair ($4,128), part of Hurtado’s MON Collection features a chrome base with an ultracomfortable, detachable seat. It’s available in customizable fabrics. hurtadofurniture.com

Sleeping Beauty The Contour Bedroom ($3,628 for a queen), by Copeland is crafted in solid American black walnut hardwood with a natural finish and solid ash in three finishes. Made to order in America. copelandfurniture.com

Precious Gem The Diamond Console ($1,797) from Alden Parkes features a plank top and a diamond patterned apron. It comes with either a crackled painted turquoise finish (shown) or a rustic black painted finish, which can be paired with the Diamond cocktail table. aldenparkes.com

Ahead of the Curve Make a statement with a new perspective on an accent chair from Elements. The Durian ($199) boasts tons of flair with a modern design and comes in four different colors. elementsgrp.com All prices shown are MSRP. 38

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

High Point Recap

Handcrafted Beauty The Oasis rug collection is inspired by famous Moroccan rugs of the past. Harounian Rug International’s master artisans hand knot this warm, yet authentic pattern ($799 for a 5x8), a favorite of designers. hrirugs.com

Thin is In Tronk Design’s elegant and light table ($800) can be customized to any shape–oval, circular, square or rectangle–size and color desired.

Its natural walnut top merged with industrial hairpin legs creates a timeless design. tronkdesign.com

Transitional Youth Big Sur by Wendy Bellissimo, part of Legacy Classic’s youth collection, features a saddle brown, warm cherry tone finish with a subtle burnishing and distressing. The Monterey Bonded Leather Headboard Platform Bed ($599 full, $499 twin) is the centerpiece of the group. legacyclassic.com

Clearly Appealing The Marilyn Acrylic Side Chair from Global Views ($4,999) is made of acrylic (surprise!) and upholstered with 100% mohair. The upholstery comes in Emerald Green, Brown Sugar Gold, Sultana Lavender and Pewter Grey. The arm chair option is $6,249. globalviews.com Boston Blues Pianca’s Boston sofa ($4,200) offers details of the past made and embellished with handcrafted workmanship quality. pianca.com

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

39

Sales & Marketing

READY, SET …. SEND! It’s never too late to launch an email campaign Last month I wrote about winning strategies and common pitfalls of running an email marketing campaign. This month, I’d like to address how to get started.

H

ave you launched an email campaign? If not, you have an amazing opportunity on your hands.

According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing delivers the best ROI of any marketing tool. Email is better than TV, radio, newspaper, social media and even search engine marketing. Think about it: You read your email every day. Since nine out of 10 consumers check their email daily, and six out of 10 do it first thing in the morning—the inbox is where you want your message to be. But first you have to earn the right to be there.

40

NOV / DEC | 2014

doing.

First, it’s important the entire management team buy in that email marketing works. Last year companies attributed 23 percent of their total sales to email marketing and 70 percent of respondents had used a coupon they received via email in the previous month.

Those numbers should get anyone’s attention. Campaigns for furniture retailers have delivered millions of dollars in annual sales, so it’s definitely worth

Next, it’s important to actually launch your campaign before beginning to collect email addresses. This in counterintuitive to some with the thinking that it would be smart to collect emails first, and then once there is critical mass begin a program. The reasons this is a flawed strategy are numerous, but I’ll tell you the biggies. First, your people are not going to keep asking people for email addresses when they don’t have a good story about what it will be used for. Second is that email addresses get old and die, so

www.retailerNOWmag.com

you need to communicate immediately.

If those two reasons aren’t enough, your messages will likely get labeled as spam when they start coming six months later because the recipients will forget they gave you permission, and that will get you black listed resulting in all of your future efforts getting labeled as spam.

When launching the program you’ll have an important decision—do you spiff or not? Since commissioned sales people will closely align their activities with their pay plan, this may be a smart move. But you have to then decide if you can accurately and easily measure their efforts, and also be able to detect fraud. Another idea is to have a kick-off contest that rewards top collection performance for a limited time.

This creates some excitement and gets the new habits formed.

Speaking of salespeople, it’s absolutely critical that this group buys into your program. One of the techniques we implement with our campaigns is to make sure that all future email to that customer has the salesperson’s name included in the email. It doesn’t take long before your salespeople start seeing previous customers holding an email in their hand and asking for them by name, which will cement their new habits for life! Until then, they will need encouragement to have the faith that it’s in their best interests to ask for an email address with every sale. Be sure to “inspect what you expect” or your new program will certainly fall flat. Simply measuring and publicly posting collection percentage results may be enough to motivate competitive salespeople, but also be ready and willing to offer more training to those with challenges.

Sales & Marketing

To get the best performance from your salespeople, you need to give them the proper tools. I’d highly recommend some role-playing as part of your launch.

Write down the top five objections your salespeople think your customers will have, and make sure that each is addressed. One common concern is “What are you going to do with my email address?” Salespeople should be ready to answer this question with something like: “Now that you are a customer of ours, we’d like to give you the VIP treatment.

About once a month you’ll hear something from us that is actually interesting, and you’ll also be invited to private events and sales that we don’t advertise to the public. And of course we never share your email address. Since you can always unsubscribe with a single click, let’s give it a try!”

In addition to your in-store efforts, you’ll need to make a decision of whether or not to collect email addresses on your website.

If you have substantial web traffic, this can be an excellent way to gather prospects and then use email to get them in the door. We implement a “Super Collector” for many of our clients, which is about three times as likely to gather an email address than just having a form on your site. The Super Collector is a pop-up that asks the visitor if they would like to receive email. We have

lots of tips around how to design this for best results, but mainly you should offer a great reason to sign up. You should send these new prospects several emails spaced out over a period of time on your company’s USP (unique selling proposition).

By now you may be thinking about who on your executive team is going to handle

email marketing. It can be a big job to shop for an email platform, implement it, and then keep it running correctly. You’ll also want to make sure your content is excellent and focused on your customers not on your company. If your messages are all about your next sale, you’ll lose the attention of your audience. With the amazing potential email marketing offers, you’ll want to make a serious commitment to your campaign. You may have a marketing executive that has experience in this area, or you may be wise to look outside your firm for a company that can do all the heavy lifting so that you can stay focused on selling furniture. Alternatively, you may look for a hybrid solution—hire a firm to get you started and then see if you can take it over.

Ken Mahar enjoyed a successful career in retail sales, including furniture, before founding Email Broadcast. That retail experience has helped him become an expert in email marketing. Learn more about email marketing at www.emailbroadcast. com or call 206-714-4767.

Celebrating 25 Years

Serving the Home Furnishings Industry

Server & Cloud Leading Retail Software Solutions “With the STORIS system we have experienced unparalleled stability.

Stoney Creek Furniture prides itself in setting the right expectations for the consumer and STORIS provides us with the business tools needed to meet those expectations. STORIS listens to their clients which translates into more versatile software solutions and ultimately a higher level of customer satisfaction both from our point of view as well as our customers’ experience.”

Eric Jansen IT Manager Stoney Creek Furniture Client Since 1990 Optimize your business today!

Discover the Difference www.retailerNOWmag.com

1.888.4.STORIS www.STORIS.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

41

Sales & Marketing

SALES TO PLAN. DO YOU HAVE ONE?

Without this Key Performance Indicator, you may be setting yourself up for failure

BY DAVID MCMAHON

Achieving your desired sales volume is critical to growing your profits and cash flow, but the truth is that many small home furnishings stores don’t have a good handle on what their targets should be and how to achieve them.

42

NOV / DEC | 2014

A

few years ago, I attended a sales leadership conference of a multi-billion dollar

corporation in Hawaii. I sat with the

top 20 percent of a sales force that numbered in the thousands. It was like a rock-n-roll show with two massive screens on either side of the stage in the auditorium.

The vice president came on the stage. Before speaking, he presented two slides: The first slide was plain and simple: “Sales to Plan.” The second slide was even simpler: “104%.” Music erupted and a standing ovation ensued.

There are many Key Performance Indicators to measure a company’s success. Sales to Plan was the most important performance indicator that this company’s team was concerned with. Most other numbers in the company relied on the sales team achieving this metric. Profitability, operating spend, inventory, number of employees and liquidity levels—all required sales to achieve their plan. Your home furnishings store is no different. It is interesting, though, that many other smaller businesses don’t always share the same focus on setting and achieving an actionable plan as this top corporation.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Achieving your desired sales volume is critical to growing your profits and cash flow. If you fall short of your sales target, your fixed expenses will eat into your profits and make payables difficult. This is fairly obvious, but the truth is that many small home furnishings stores don’t have a good handle on what their targets should be and how to achieve them. Some retailers even ignore company-wide sales goals altogether choosing instead to focus only on the goals of individuals. Best-practice businesses, on the other hand, set achievable sales volume targets. They ensure they have sales and marketing teams in place that can match or exceed their targets.

Actual sales are easy enough to determine.

The tricky part is setting the target. Should you just pick a number, say 10 percent, and add it to the previous year? Should you keep the number flat? Should you ask your salespeople what they think they can achieve? Or, should you figure out what sales you need to produce a certain profit?

Whatever you decide it is a prediction.

Your sales target will rarely be perfect. No one can see the future and everything that will occur in a market while factoring regional and national economies. However, setting this target is the best way to send a message to your team of the direction of your business. Without this goal, your chances of getting there and surpassing it become much less likely.

Sales & Marketing

There are six steps to setting sales to plan: Determine your annual sales plan on written business. You can use a percentage-increase-overlast-year method or a profit-up method. With a profit-up method, you start with your bottom-line net income and factor all fixed and variable expenses to determine a required sales volume. A third way is to use this formula: Planned Sales = Planned Number of Customer Visits x Planned Average Sale x Planned Close Rate. Just make it realistic.

Break down your sales target into four quarters and 12 months. Review your three prior years to determine if there is any significant seasonality. You cannot just take annual goals and divide by 12 as different months have a different number of weekend days.

Break down your sales target into 52 weeks, sevenday weeks. (Monday-Sunday). This accounts for full weekends and allows you to set an average weekly volume target.

Review the company goals with your sales team.

Help your salespeople set achievable targets.

Individuals are just that—individuals. Some are proven top writers, some are average. Do not set everyone with the same sales goal. This is less motivating to the top people and unrealistic to others.

Define your strategy. What do you need to do to make your numbers? This will involve defining specific operational tactics. For example, if you determine that planned customer visits and close rates are going to remain constant, average sale size must increase to produce a higher volume. This may be done through focusing on add-ons, group pricing and merchandising tactics.

So how do you use Sales to Plan as a Key Performance Indicator to grow your business?

It’s easy, really. At the end of each week, report the results for each salesperson and for the entire operation. Weekly

Actual Sales/Weekly Planned Sales. This is your weekly report card.

On a weekly basis, report the month-to-date numbers with respect to the target. If you are above 100 percent, you are on target. Once the month is over, nothing can be done. The purpose of weekly tracking is to check your progress while you can still do something about it.

Remember to spend some time after the month has concluded to analyze why you exceeded your planned volume or why you missed. Make tactical adjustments to correct when necessary. Here are some areas to dig into when determining how you ended up where you are: `` Break down sales into its parts: Total number of customer visits, average sale, and close rate. `` Look at sales produced by each one of your sales reps. `` Review sales by inventory, vendor and category. `` Review return on promotional activities.

Your sales plan needs to be assessed every quarter—not just for the prior three months, but also year-to-date. You want to be over 100 percent here. If you’re off target by more than 5 percent, you should re-examine your strategy. Are your goals unrealistic or too low? If you find that hitting your numbers is not possible, you may need to reduce other expenses to maintain proper profit levels. If you find that you are well ahead of your target level, it may be time to up the bar. That’s a good thing!

Your annual review is a time to reflect on the past. Use what you learn from that review to set a new strategy for the following year.

Build on your successes and, just as important, learn from your failures. Go through the entire process of setting a new planned level of sales.

The first step to improving something is to track it. The absence of a plan is either a plan to fail or a just dream. The KPI Sales to Plan allows your organization to be forward looking and gives you a performance report on arguably the most important number in your business: Your Sales Revenue.

David McMahon is an industry business consultant and certified management accountant. He is director of consulting and performance groups for PROFITsystems, a HighJump Product. He can be reached for questions or comments at david. mcmahon@accellos.com.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

43

NEXT LIVE WEBINAR: JAN. 29, 2015 @11am PDT The move towards true omni-channel; breaking down the initial ecommerce requirements and steps PAST WEBINARS AVAILABLE ONLINE Reputation Management–Handling Negative Reviews on Yelp Hiring the Best Candidate–Do’s and Don’ts in the Interview Blending Traditional Media & Social Content

CHECK OUT OUR ARCHIVES:

Reputation Management–Handling Negative Reviews on Yelp In this webinar, Brian will cover how you can take control of what shows up in Yelp when someone searches for information about your store.

GO TO NAHFA.ORG to register for the next webinar or to view previous webinars.

PRESENTER:

Brian Patterson

• • • • •

The inner-workings of Yelp’s review filter How to respond to negative reviews Tactics for resolving fake reviews Best practices for getting more positive reviews Proven ways to increase your star rating

is an Online Reputation Management consultant who's work has been seen and heard on ABC and NPR. Brian works with businesses both small and large to manage complex search engine optimization and online reputation management initiatives.

Hiring the Best Candidate–Do’s and Don’ts in the Interview This webinar covers best practices seminar that will provide specific tips concerning the hiring process.

PRESENTER:

• • • • • 44

The actual job posting Proper interviewing Questions interviewers can and cannot ask The use of social medial in the hiring process Screening candidates legally NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Pascal Benyamini is a partner in Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLC's Labor & Employment Practice Group. His practice includes defending employers in all aspects of employment law including wage and hour, wrongful termination, retaliation discrimination, harassment, and unlawful employment practice claims.

MORE Programs – MORE Benefits – MORE Savings

NATIONAL PROGRAMS mean HUGE SAVINGS

Delivering Discounts Coast to Coast Small Package Save up to

27%*

LTL Freight Save at least

h Highly discounted Small Package shipping services with select services from FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Home Delivery® h Already have a FedEx account? PartnerShip will link the accounts to ensure the best possible pricing

70%

Tradeshows Get a Discounted Quote at PartnerShip.com/Quote

h Affordable LTL Freight shipping options with reputable national and regional carriers h Cost-effective Tradeshow shipping solutions, with guaranteed on-time delivery h Dedicated team of shipping experts for personalized attention

Working with reputable national carriers and negotiating the best shipping discounts available for more than 20 years, PartnerShip is the best partner for YOU. How to Enroll: Sign up for exclusive discounts at www.PartnerShip.com/NAHFA or contact PartnerShip directly at 800-599-2902 where a dedicated service representative is available to complete the enrollment. *Includes a bonus 5% online processing discount. Full details at www.PartnerShip.com/NAHFA/FedExdiscounts

The North American Home Furnishings Association is committed to helping you Sell More, Make More and Keep More

BY SYDNEE SEITES

T

he furniture industry’s image problem is real. The competition we face—cool start-ups, sexy tech firms, even our online brethren—makes it difficult to recruit top talent.

Compounding this problem is the growth of social recruiting, the practice of using social media to reinforce existing recruiting methods—which has made it easier for potential candidates to scrutinize every detail of a job before an initial interview.

Current hiring trends—especially in the areas of online and social recruiting—actually present a unique opportunity for you to stand out. With 1.7 billion active users on social media, your store can connect with people it usually wouldn’t. So it’s time to step up your game.

Bill O’Malley, chief recruiting officer at Connector Team Recruiting, has worked in home furnishings since he was 19 when he began with Levitz Furniture. O’Malley started his own recruitment firm in 2012 and has worked with high profile furniture retailers and numerous NAHFA members across the country.

“Furniture is a great industry that has seen a lot of change, but with these changes an opportunity has been created, especially as the economy has improved” says O’Malley, “But we have to work really hard to bring great people in because there are a lot of old habits that die hard.”

One of these habits is passive hiring: hiring based on a friend of a friend or circulating a job posting and waiting for candidates to apply. “This is not 2008. It’s not even 2012,” O’Malley said. “The job market two years later is so different, and it’s becoming more and more of a candidate-driven market.”

Here are a few tips to help you start engaging potential candidates online:

Have a robust online career center.

Add compelling employee s t a t e m e n t s t o yo u r we b s i t e .

Include employee photos and spotlights.

Focus on building a following just like you’d build a customer following. People want to know that your business is a great place to work—candidates are asking more and more about the workplace and the people they work with versus money.

Follow, share and engage with potential candidates.

You’re defeating the purpose of social recruiting if you don’t actually interact with Identify your ideal candidate potential candidates on your social media channels.

Again, involve your employees. If and seek her out. your operation is big enough, create a social As O’Malley states, we are living in a can- recruiting account on which you and your didate-driven market. Businesses have to employees can talk specifically about open act to get their hands on the much-desired positions and the exciting things happening passive talent—those who are working and with your store. happy but looking for opportunity and advancement. These candidates are the tough- For smaller operations, assign one socially est to reach, but because of their talent they strong employee to lead employee advooffer the most return on investment. This cacy—to create content that is genuine, requires someone within the company to informative or entertaining. Encourage build a rapport via social media and make employees to join industry-specific groups that critical connection. (say, on LinkedIn), participate in industryrelated Twitter chats, share enticing content Make this easier on yourself by involving about your business and interact with poyour employees. Employees should enjoy tential candidates who’s values align with where they work and want to see your those of your business. business grow and thrive. Their advocacy helps expand your social reach. Undercover Hiring might be a process, but it’s still about Recruiter found that an average employee creating real relationships with real people, will have 150 contacts on their social net- and connecting with people through online works—even 20 employees means reaching social media channels is a great way to start 3,000 potential candidates. and build that relationship. www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

47

NAHFA FEATURED PRODUCT Safeguard against marred floors Self-Adhesive Felt Guard Pads & Strips

Clear Vinyl Self-Adhesive Surface Guard

Felt Dots

Protective Vinyl Pads & Non-Adhesive Vinyl Pads

Nail-In Glide & Tap-In Safeglides

CALL TODAY TO PLACE YOUR ORDER!

Exclusive pricing for association members! Non-members add 25%.

SURFACE PROTECTION

PRICE PER BAG

ITEM #

DESCRIPTION

SIZE

#PER BAG

1-3

4-7

8+

SELF-ADHESIVE W3002B

HEAVY DUTY FELT PADS — Tan

W3034B

MEDIUM DUTY FELT PADS — Dark Brown

W3032B

MEDIUM DUTY FELT PADS — Dark Brown

W3004B

HEAVY DUTY STRIPS — Tan

W3034LDR

1”

100

$5.46

$4.91

$4.55

3/4”

102

$4.58

$4.12

$3.81

1/2”

96

$2.88

$2.59

$2.40

6” x 1/2”

108

$10.98

$9.88

$9.15

LIGHT DUTY FELT DOTS ROLL — Dark Brown

3/4”

1000 roll

$17.00

$14.88

$12.75

W3008B

CLEAR VINYL PADS — Round

3/4”

100

$12.90

$11.61

$10.75

W3006B

CLEAR VINYL PADS — Round & Adhesive

3/8”

112

$6.83

$6.15

$5.69

W3012B

LIGHT DUTY FELT PADS — Dark Brown

3/8”

100

$1.10

W3014B

CORK PADS — Round & Adhesive

1/2”

100

$1.99

M903-3334

NAIL-IN PLASTIC GLIDE— Off white

5/8”

400

$19.97

M903-3344

NAIL-IN PLASTIC GLIDE— Off white

3/4”

400

$21.66

M903-8654

FLAT GLIDE BEIGE

5/8”

400

$31.66

M903-8664 TAP-IN

NAIL-IN

NAIL & TAP IN

FLAT GLIDE BEIGE

3/4”

400

W20150

BROWN TAP-IN SAFEGLIDES

7/8”

150

W20100

BROWN TAP-IN SAFEGLIDES

1”

W20050

BROWN TAP-IN SAFEGLIDES

1-1/2”

$30.01 $41.00

$40.00

$39.00

100

$36.00

$35.00

$34.00

50

$22.50

$22.00

$21.50

Look no further than your association to help you

Sell More, Make More and Keep More Phone: (800) 422-3778 or (916) 784-7677 Fax: (916) 784-7697 Website: www.nahfa.org Email: orders@nahfa.org Address: 500 Giuseppe Ct, Ste 6, Roseville, CA 95678

48

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Membership

INCREASE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE NAHFA’s Get It Near Me Program Can Help

BY KAPRICE CRAWFORD

I

n the last several years, consumers have been more empowered by the web and mobile phones than ever before. GE Capital Retail Bank’s 2013 survey indicated that about 81 percent of consumers researched online before visiting a store, up 20 percent from 2012, and on average they spent 78 days gathering information before buying. This trend highlights the importance of a digital presence; brand information must be easy to find, helpful, and understandable.

The age of information is not the swan song of the brick-andmortars, however, just the opposite—this may be your greatest opportunity yet.

Shopper habits are constantly evolving with modern tools, but the driving force behind consumer motivation is as relatable as ever; they want the best information, the best warranty, the best product and the best deal. Shoppers are simply more informed than they have ever been, and they are equally more willing to interact with well-represented brands outside of physical retailers.

Webrooming—browsing online and purchasing in store—is on the rise with 78 percent of respondents having done so in the past 12 months. On average, consumers visited five unique retailers for large purchases—at least three online merchants and two brick-and-mortar stores—before making their decision.

Consumers who research online and buy offline are attracted to data, they want to be fully educated before they enter a retail outlet. Consumers visiting websites are rarely there to make a

purchase, instead, they are collecting product details, shopping for inspiration or educating themselves on options and competition. Home furnishing stores best aligned to take advantage of digital habits will create an informative digital presence. A great brand must have a cloud of information floating digitally, so when consumers are flipping through options on their phones, they’re doing it walking into your store.

NAHFA has aligned with Wayfair.com, an ecommerce retailer and content publisher that focuses on home goods. Their goal is to give their visitors easy access to “a zillion things home” all in one place. With more than 10 million unique monthly visitors and 100 million page views you too can increase your online presence.

Wayfair’s Get It Near Me program offers brick-and-mortar retail stores the opportunity to advertise on the Wayfair website network.

Retailers can target local shoppers based on geography, product category, brand and price point. This program works on a costper-click structure which only charges retailers when a shopper clicks on their ad and is taken from the Wayfair site to the retailer’s site. As an NAHFA member you will receive a rebate of up to five percent on your pay-per-click charges.

Wayfair’s Get It Near Me program allows retailers to advertise on the popular online furniture store’s website.

Kaprice Crawford is NAHFA’s membership team leader. For more information about Wayfair’s Get It Near Me program, call Kaprice at 800.422.3778. www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

49

Government Relations

Care to Join Us?

BY LISA CASINGER

B

y the time this issue of RetailerNOW hits your desk the midterm elections will be over and the dust will have settled a bit even though the real work won’t start until after the new year. The outcome (i.e. which party comes out on top) will determine the course of action we, and many industry and national associations, take on those big issues that affect us all—Internet sales tax, Hours of Service, tax and healthcare reform, regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and more.

and formaldehyde use in furniture; we’ve helped prevent a proposed requirement in a California labeling law that would have retailers responsible for posting point-ofsale signs on upholstery stating whether it contained flame retardants or not; we’ve created a team of retailers focused on government relations who are driving change, inspiring fellow members, and sharing their ideas and passion throughout our industry and the retail industry as a whole; and we’ve continually educated our members on the ins-and outs of myriad issues, big and small.

The North American Home Furnishings Association (NAHFA) will also have results from a membership survey we fielded after the High Point Market in October. We questioned members about the above issues to ensure we’re championing the causes they find important. Everyone has a voice and each is important.

Government relations isn’t glamorous.

Many of you find it boring and frustrating and possibly even unimportant. But, I’m noticing change. More people are calling or emailing looking for clarification on the nuances of the language in regulations or asking how to get more information or who to talk to about getting something changed or even declaring that we should initiate new laws. Sometimes people thank us for keeping them informed, some express their frustration. Everyone has a voice and each is important.

As you take time to set your goals and make your business plans for 2015, take a minute to think about some of the struggles you may be up against. Rising healthcare costs; increased restrictions for your delivery drivers; labor law updates and changes; sales taxes; regulatory compliance. Before you get frustrated and overwhelmed—we can help.

NAHFA helps its members navigate these issues. And, if you’re passionate about finding solutions and raising discussions, join our members-only Government Relations Action Team. Everyone has a voice and each is important.

It is fascinating, this system of government we have. Granted, for me it often moves too slow. The fact that the CPSC has been considering a national flammability

Lisa Casinger is NAHFA’s government relations liaison. Contact her at lcasinger@nahfa.org or 800-422-3778.

Since the NAHFA refocused its attention on government relations last year, we’ve helped affect change. We’ve rallied members on more than one occasion to support the Marketplace Fairness Act (Internet sales tax); we’ve worked in coalition with the American Home Furnishings Alliance on both California regulations and proposed national regulations on flame retardant 50

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

standard since 2008 and we still don’t have one baffles me. Who gets those kinds of deadlines? The fact that an elected official can propose a bill in March (California SB1019, the bill that requires manufacturers to check a box on the label on upholstered furniture to indicate whether it contains flame retardant chemicals for example), and we the people can make suggestions and comments on it and they’re actually considered is empowering. We can influence change. We can make a difference. Everyone has a voice and each is important.

Our Association gratefully recognizes all of our sponsors whose dedication and commitment have strengthened our industry.

Signature Sponsor

Serta Mattress Company

Premier Sponsor Furniture Today Surya Rugs

Titanium Sponsors

aspenhome Coaster Company of America Cory 1st Choice Home Delivery Emerald Home Furnishings Furniture Wizard Synchrony Financial International Market Centers Jaipur Rugs Inc. Leggett & Platt MicroD, Inc. Myriad Software Nourison STORIS

Platinum Sponsors

ACA Advertising Concepts of America • American Leather Ashley Furniture Industries • Best Buy for Business Furniture of America • FurnitureDealer.net • High Point Market Authority Netsertive • Northwest Furniture Express • PROFITsystems, Inc. • R & A Marketing Simmons USA • Steve Silver Co.

Gold/Silver/Bronze Sponsors

Aramark • BrandSource AVB • Color Ad • DSI Companies • Horich Hector Lebow Advertising Mail America • ShockWatch • Therapedic Idaho • TruckSkin, LLC.

To become an industry sponsor contact: North American Home Furnishings Association 800.422.3778 or email: cwilliams@nahfa.org

www.retailerNOWmag.com

O C T*List O B Eas R of | 2October 0 1 4 15, 2014 51

vvRiver of Goods helping bring pieces of Downton Abby to consumers’ homes River of Goods, a national leader in sourcing, designing, and developing unique lighting and home décor, has been granted the license to produce the first Downton Abbey Lighting collection. Downton Abbey Lighting

by River of Goods will feature an exclusive collection of decorative floor and table lamps, wall sconces, accent lamps, pendants and chandeliers inspired by the award-winning period drama.

The collection intends to capture the grand style of the popular series that is set in an English castle, spanning the years leading up to World War I through the 1920s.

The Downton Abbey Lighting collection will include approximately 20 exclusive designs that range from Edwardian-inspired to Art Deco, including one-of-a-kind and hand-crafted stained glass, crystal pendants and chandeliers,

vvRetailers learn how to strengthen their web presence at networking conference Furniture retailers from Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina gathered in Charlotte last month for a Southern Regional Lunch & Learn sponsored by the North American Home Furnishings Association and hosted by furniture store web designer Micro D. Retailers learned about how to update their websites and offer relevant content to their shoppers. With more than 73 percent of U.S. shoppers doing their research online before heading into a store, an engaging web site is more important than ever.

After the Lunch & Learn attendees toured the Havertys store in Charlotte.

elaborate shades with tassels and fringe, and ornate bases. Retail price points for the lamps range from $35 to $400.

The collection will debut to retailers during the AmericasMart Atlanta market in January in River of Goods’ showroom located in Building 2, Suite 1135. The debut will coordinate with the airing of the Downton Abbey Season Five premiere on PBS January 4, 2015.

vvNAHFA President passes the gavel During the High Point Market in October, the North American Home Furnishings Association held its annual membership meeting in the Retailer Resource Center during which out-going president Rick Howard, Sklar Furniture, Boca Raton, FL passed the gavel to the incoming 2015 president, Mary Cramer, Cramer’s Home Furnishings, Ellensburg, WA. Howard also recognized Howard Haimsohn, Lawrance Contemporary, San Diego, CA as he stepped down from the board. Haimsohn was instrumental in working on the merger and has served the retail associations for more than 30 years in many capacities, including president of the former NHFA and WHFA.

vvFurnishings store owner Rex Maynard honored for commitment to tennis NAHFA member Rex Maynard has been selected as the recipient of the United States Tennis Association’s Eve F. Kraft Community Service Aw a r d . M a y n a r d , w h o o w n s Maynard’s Home Furnishings in Greenville, S.C., was honored earlier this month in Atlanta.

as well. From 10 and Under Tennis to the upper ends of junior competition—and now collegiate—Maynard embraces tennis players of all abilities

state, section and national positions, my best and most important place to serve and grow tennis is in my community.”

“I feel flattered, humbled and surprised to win this award, but most importantly, very honored knowing there are many others doing even greater work at the local level,” said Maynard.

The USTA awards the Eve F. Kraft Community Service Award annually to an individual who best exemplifies Kraft’s selfless mission to bring the sport of tennis to everyone who wants to play.

Maynard, who never played tennis in college or professionally, runs multiple tennis programs focused on the youth in Belton, S.C. These “This is both unexpected and unbeprograms impact the lives of more lievable,” Maynard added. “It conthan 600 juniors, and this year will firms my belief that even though I’ve impact some collegiate varsity players had the opportunity to serve in some 52

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

The USTA said Kraft was a tennis pioneer whose ability to touch people’s lives exceeded the boundaries of the tennis court.

The Scoop

vvSklar Furnishings owners recognized

by Office Depot for green practices “We are so very honored to be recognized by Office Depot along with major corporate, education, municipality, healthcare and professional sports leaders that are making outstanding strides in sustainability,” said Sklar co-owner Rick Howard, who is also the outgoing president of the North American Home Furnishings Association. “Our team at Sklar knows that to truly be effective, environmental awareness, advocacy and ultimately engagement must be a continuous year ‘round The Office Depot Leadership In mission.”

Greener Purchasing Award program annually recognizes no more than 30 Right: Sklar Furnishings owners Rick organizations throughout the U.S. and Pat Howard were honored recently

by Office Depot for their commitment to out of thousands evaluated. environmental awareness.

South Florida-based Sklar Furnishings was the only small business in Florida to be recognized with a 2014 Office Depot Leadership In Greener Purchasing Award. Sklar was in good company, joining prominent fellow nationally ranked award winners this year in a variety of categories that included the City of Chicago, TD Bank, JM Family Enterprises, Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center, University of Michigan and the Miami Heat.

vvBravo’s Jeff Lewis will headline Dallas’ Total Home & Gift Market Jeff Lewis, the star of Bravo’s Flipping Out “We’re thrilled to have Jeff join us in and Interior Therapy will headline Dallas’ January to commemorate 10 years of providing innovative and on-trend Total Home & Gift Market in January. manufacturers to our buyers,” said Cody Lewis is widely regarded as America’s most Hutcheson-Ables, chief executive officer well-known house flipper and designer. He for Codarus, a sales management orgawill participate in a moderated Q&A session nization that represents home accessories, at the World Trade Center Hall of Nations furniture, bedding, rugs and lighting. “His on January 16 at 1 p.m. He’ll also appear at knowledge of house flipping combined Codarus for a meet and greet in celebration with expertise in design will be a great of the company’s 10th anniversary. addition to the celebration.”

“Jeff has pioneered the high visibility of house flipping, and we look forward to hearing his insight on renovating exterior and interior living spaces,” said Cindy Morris, chief operating officer for the Dallas Market Center. “We continue to look for new ways to inspire our buyers and know that Jeff will be an exciting addition to our events, Above: House flipper Jeff Lewis will appear at education and wide range of unique product Dallas’ Total Home & Gift Market in January. to launch 2015.”

Lewis believes in finding the true integrity of a house during renovation and then breathing life back into the space in a way that will connect with a certain type of buyer. By taking his knowledge of more than 20 years of designing and renovating his own homes, Lewis is now designing and consulting on client projects across the countr y with his one-of-a-kind personality.

Share your stories with RetailerNOW. Did you or your business receive an award? Host an event? Open a new location? Hire someone amazing? Send your news or press releases to us at scoop@retailernow.com

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

53

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THESE INDUSTRY EVENTS Showtime

KEM Furniture and Accessory Mart

Home Furnishings Networking Conference

December 7-10

February 1-3, 2015

May 17-19, 2015

High Point, North Carolina showtime-market.com

Edison, New Jersey kemexpo.com

Orlando, Florida nahfa.org

Atlanta Winter Gift, Home Furnishings Market

Tupelo Furniture Market

Showtime

January 6-13, 2015

February 5-8, 2015

May 31-June 3, 2015

Tupelo, Mississippi tupelofurnituremarket.com

High Point, North Carolina showtime-market.com

Atlanta, Georgia americasmart.com

High Point Market

Dallas Total Home & Gift Market

April 18-23, 2015

June 24-30, 2015

High Point, North Carolina highpointmarket.org

Dallas, Texas dallasmarketcenter.com

Las Vegas Market

International Contemporary Furniture Fair

Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market

January 18-22, 2015

May 16-19, 2015

July 7-14, 2015

Las Vegas, Nevada lasvegasmarket.com

New York, New York icff.com

Atlanta, Georgia americasmart.com

Dallas Total Home & Gift Market January 14-20, 2015 Dallas, Texas dallasmarketcenter.com

Don’t Run Your Next High-Impact Sale

Yourself

Doing so could cost you far more than you’ll save. A high-impact sale event, utilizing the time-proven, copyrighted Lynch sale plan will double the results you can get on your own.

Don’t risk your next sale. Choose the leading professional in the sale event Calendar Submissions Do you have an industry event industry, the Lynch Sales Company.

you’d like to see published in our

Contact us for details and receive a special, 100th anniversary commemorative calendar? Send the event name, gift. Plus, if you hold a Lynch Sale during 2014 you’ll become eligible for our date, location and website to Grand Prize trip for two to Ireland! robert@retailernowmag.com.

Serving the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Call (800) 824 - 2238 or www.LynchSales.com Copyright 2014 Lynch Brothers Licensing Corporation

54

NOV / DEC | 2014

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NE Holiday Bash AD RNOW2014.pdf

1 10/23/14 AD Index

12:00 PM

Contact Our Advertisers

For information on advertising in RetailerNOW contact Michelle Nygaard (916) 757-1160.

When contacting our advertisers, please be sure to mention that you saw their ads in RetailerNOW.

Furniture Wizard

(619) 869-7200 furniturewizard.com furniturewizard @furniturewiz Page 33

High Point Market

(336) 869-1000 highpointmarket.org http://tinyurl.com/HighPtMarket @hpmarketnews Page 3

Jaipur Rugs

(404) 351-2360 jaipurrugs.com jaipurlifestyle @jaipurlifestyle Inside Back Cover

Las Vegas Market

(888) 962-7469 lasvegasmarket.com facebook.com/wmclv @worldmarketctr Page 7

Lynch Sales

(616) 458-6662 lynchsales.com facebook.com/lynchsales @lynchsales Page 21

MicroD

(800) 964-3876 microdinc.com microdinc @microdinc Back Cover

Myriad

(800) 676-4243 myriadsoftware.com Myriad Page 37

NAHFA Sponsors

(800) 422-3778 retailerNOWmag.com retailernow @retailerNow Page 51

Northwest Furniture Xpress

(828) 475-6377 nwfxpress.com Page 9

RetailerNOW

(800) 422-3778 retailerNOWmag.com retailernow @retailerNow Page 54

Join us for

The 6th Annual New England Chapter Holiday Bash

Serta

(888) 557-3782 serta.com SertaMattress @SertaMattresses Page 45

Celebrate the Holidays with Industry Friends Image from Kincade Furniture All members of the home furnishings industry are welcome.

STORIS

(888) 4-STORIS storis.com STORIS.solutions @STORIS Page 41

Papa-Razzi 155 Worcester Rd (Route 9) Framingham, MA

Surya

(877) 275-7847 surya.com SuryaSocial SuryaSocial Inside Cover

Thursday, December 11, 2014 6:00 to 9:00pm

Synchrony Financial

(800) 422-3778 nahfa.org Pages 5

Tidewater Finance Company

(800) 535-4087 x6553 tidewaterfinance.com Tidewater Finance Company @TidewaterMotor Page 29

Hosted by the New England Region of the North American Home Furnishings Association

RetailerNOW

is the only association publication delivered to dedicated home furnishings retailers across the U.S. and Canada. We’re devoted to helping furntiure retailers grow their businesses— just like you.

TM

RSVP

by Tuesday, December 2, 2014 events@nahfa.org 1-800-422-3778

Door Prizes • No Cover Charge • Complimentary Food & Drinks

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOV / DEC | 2014

55

The Now List A quick dose of fun facts, random trivia, and useful (or useless) bits of info

The Now List Visual stimulation

Compensation

Canadian shoppers

Health bennies

The Internet Archive has added 2.4 million images to Flickr’s Creative Commons section. The nonprofit plans to add about 14 million total.

Indie Alaskans

In the midst of a competitive election for U.S. senate in Alaska, 59% of Alaskans identify as political independents. Fewer Alaskans identify as Republicans (25%) and as Democrats (13%) than in recent years.

Definitely don’t kiss it

“Mistletoe” is from the Anglo-Saxon word misteltan, which means “little dung twig” because the plant spreads though bird droppings.

Canadian shoppers spend an average of C$954 (about $855) annually online.

Online retail sales in Canada are expected to reach C$34 billion (about $30 billion) by 2018, about 10% of retail transactions, up from 7% in 2013.

Employers spent $8.8 trillion on total compensation in 2013; $7.1 trillion on wages and salaries, and $1.7 trillion on benefits.

Employers spent $735.1 billion on health benefits in 2013; the average total cost of health benefits per employee is $10,779.

Throwing it all away

133 billion pounds; that’s how much food was wasted in the U.S. in 2010— that was 31% of the food supply.

AARPPad?

AARP launched its own tablet, the RealPad. It’s a $189 tablet with iPad-like looks, easy-to-use for the association’s demographic, supports Android and hit retail stores (namely Wal-Mart) in October.

Online estimates

U.S. online retail sales will total $294 billion by the end of the year and $325 billion by the end of 2015.

Videos $core

In a recent social media platform study that tracked purchase interaction— YouTube affected more online sales.

Try Florida

Based on affordability, jobs, activities, quality of life and healthcare, these cities ranked as the worst places to retire: 15. Boston, 14. Fayetteville, NC, 13. Buffalo, NY, 12. Modesto, CA, 11. Fontana, CA, 10. Jersey City, NJ, 9. Baltimore, MD, 8. Fresno, CA, 7. Worcester, MA, 6. Stockton, CA, 5.

Chicago, 4. New York, 3. Philadelphia, 2. Newark, NJ and 1. Providence, RI.

56

NOV / DEC | 2014

Concrete designs

Neal Aronowitz’s concrete canvas table was on display at ShowPDX’s October event. The Portland, Ore.-based ShowPDX coincided with Design Week Portland and featured pieces from 75 furniture makers.

All work, no play

57% of small business owners plan to go on vacation; of those who do, 67% will check in at least once a day. About 48% don’t make vacations a priority.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Seeking security

Only 5% of U.S. Internet users have shopped via social media sites; 42% said they would be more likely to if they knew their financial information was secure and 38% said they’d be more likely to buy if they knew their purchase info wouldn’t be shared.

Sources: Gallup, VentureBeat, AARP, ThinkAdvisor, Internet Archive, Ipsos, Forrester, OnDeck Capital, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Harris Poll

Collection

Natural Treasure Our Natural Treasure Collection features classic geometic patterns and is made with 100% eco-friendly hemp.

Now on the12th Floor

BUILDING 1

12-F-9 open year round

To become a dealer call 888.676.7330 or visit our website at JaipurRugs.com

OmniVue

by

new designs that communicate your unique branding.

large product images. clean lines. dynamic navigation.

mobile-friendly. responsive designs. social media integration.

OmniVue is a merchandising and eCommerce website solution that improves the shopping experience and supports the common goals of manufacturers and retailers. Find out more: solutions@microdinc.com