November/December 2015 — Retail with a Cause

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

INSPIRATION+EDUCATION

Retail with a Cause Engage your customers through cause marketing

ACCESSORIES MADE EASY The best selection of home accessories, creative merchandising solutions and unsurpassed sales support to give you more ways to profit and inspire your success. Surya provides a wide variety of styles for every price point.

SURYA.COM/TRENDS/NEUTRALS

RUGS PILLOWS THROWS WALL DECOR ACCENT FURNITURE LIGHTING BEDDING | ATLANTA DALLAS HIGH POINT LAS VEGAS NEW DELHI TORONTO

NOV/DEC2015

TAKE 5!

Five takeaways you can implement this month:

1 Do good and good

business will follow. 10

2 A uniform system. 22 3 Ask good questions. 32 4 Sell safe furniture. 40 5 Get involved. 42

10 WHAT’S INSIDE 2.

4.

18.

24.

28.

30.

34.

38.

NAHFA President’s Letter Editor’s Note Member Portrait: Nigbur’s Fine Furniture Product Focus: Upholstery Next Generation: Kaitlin Surdoval Take 2: Store Re-Design Member Benefit: Performance Report NAHFA@Work: Leadership Immersion Experience at El Dorado Furniture 40. Government Action: Safety Checklist 42. NAHFA Community

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DEPARTMENTS Cover Story 10. Cause Marketing Sales & Marketing 16. 5 New Strategies for 2016 32. Ask the Right Questions for Your Store 36. Scenario-based Sales Training

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Operations 22. Consistency is Key for Your Store’s Success RetailerNOWmag.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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“ President Marty Cramer Cramer’s Home Furnishings

What the future holds for us, depends on what we hold for the future. Hard working todays make high-winning tomorrows.

— William E. Holler

President-Elect Jeff Child RC Willey

Saying goodbye— and thank you!

Vice President Steve Kidder Vermont Furniture Galleries Secretary/Treasurer Jim Fee Stoney Creek Furniture

y time as president of the North American Home Furnishings Association ends in January, and with that begins the last year of my serving on the board. Over the years I have spoken about the value I’ve received with my involvement in our association. But the most valuable benefit I’ve received is immeasurable. It’s the friends I’ve made over the years. I could never name them all simply because our editor would have to print extra pages. We are lucky to have such a dedicated staff. That seems like such an inadequate word to describe the people who run our organization, they are so much more than dedicated.

You are a special group. I have been honored to work with you and proud to call you my friends. Sharron Bradley, our chief executive officer, is unique in my experience in business. To manage an association of this size with 30 plus independent, passionate board members through some of the most trying times in our industry’s history, I find it hard to say how much I respect who you are and what you have accomplished.

The board we have in place is very special. Each one of them has no issue with being the lone dissenter or taking the lead on any issues that come up. I am excited to see what you accomplish over the next few years. Jeff Child, our incoming president, is the perfect person to lead us at this time. We are very fortunate to have someone of Jeff’s caliber willing to take on this job at what will prove to be a very demanding atmosphere.

To the members who haven’t taken the time or had the opportunity to get more involved, you really should find a way to do just that. You have no idea what you are missing out on. I can feel my soap box starting to crumble so I will end by saying to our board, and staff (past and present) it has truly been my privilege to know and work with you all.

M

Chairman Rick Howard Sklar Furnishings Executive Staff Sharron Bradley Chief Executive Officer sbradley@NAHFA.org Mary Frye Executive Vice President mfrye@NAHFA.org

Marty Cramer NAHFA President

Membership Staff Kaprice Crawford Membership Team Leader kcrawford@NAHFA.org Jordan Boyst jboyst@NAHFA.org Sherry Hansen shansen@NAHFA.org Michael Hill mhill@NAHFA.org Jana Sutherland jsutherland@NAHFA.org Dianne Therry dtherry@NAHFA.org Please call 800.422.3778 for membership inquires.

Contact Us RetailerNOW 3910 Tinsley Dr., Suite 101 High Point, NC 27265 RetailerNOWmag.com 800.422.3778

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“

Change, not habit, is what gets most of us down; habit is the stabilizer of human society, change accounts for its progress.

— William Feather

RETAILERNOW STAFF Lisa Casinger Editorial Director lcasinger@nahfa.org Robert Bell Editor rbell@nahfa.org

Confronting change?

Start in the shower

Tim Timmons Art Director ttimmons@nahfa.org Lynn Orr Business Development Lorr@nahfa.org

RETAIL ADVISORY TEAM Carol Bell Contents Interiors Tucson, Ariz.

Robert Bell Editor, RetailerNOW

Travis Garrish Forma Furniture Fort Collins, Colo.

Rick Howard Sklar Furnishings Boca Raton, Fla. Mike Luna Pedigo’s Furniture Livingston, Texas Andrew Tepperman Tepperman's Windsor, Ontario This Month’s Contributors

Pat Bowling, Jeff Giagnocavo, Marty Grosse, Gerry Morris, Bob Negen, Connie Post and Tom Shay.

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: Address changes to: RetailerNOW, North American Home Furnishings Association, 500 Giuseppe Court, Ste. 6, Roseville CA 95678.

If you would like to stop receiving RetailerNOW, please send an email to RNOWunsubscribe@nahfa.org.

bought a compression shirt for Riley, the baseball player in our family. Took it up to the cashier, who also happened to be the store owner. When the owner couldn’t find a price tag, he went to the back and returned only to disappear into the back again.

Finally he came out and apologized. “I’m sorry,” he said. “There are no more in the back, I’m going to have to make a call.”

That’s when I told him there were another dozen at the front of the store and pointed to the rack by the window. The store owner rolled his eyes and retrieved one. He apologized again for taking up my time, and said his daughter, against his wishes, moves merchandise around from time to time. “I like to know where everything is,” he said.

Now here’s the rub: if the owner’s daughter hadn’t moved those shirts closer to the window, I would not have noticed them from outside and would have kept on walking. A long story to suggest that maybe the same old, same old isn’t always the best way to do business in what will soon be 2016.

American Leather’s Bruce Birnbach agrees. I spoke with Bruce for this month’s Product Focus story on upholstery (page 24). As president of American Leather, Birnbach’s company has outpaced many of his rivals for the past several years. He’s a firm believer that retailers “who are learners not knowers will succeed.”

“My father always told me that no one likes change, but change is always around you,” Birnbach says. “Retailers have to do something different to stand out. When your sales are level, but the guy down the street is 12 up, you might want to rethink how you’re doing things.”

You can start, says Birnbach, in the shower. Birnbach’s father always preached to his son to think of a way to dry yourself off differently every time you shower. “It’s not as easy as you think,” Bruce says. “But it’s a great way to start your day thinking, “how can I do things differently?”

I love it. In fact, I tried it. For a week. And guess what? It worked. If you can step out of the shower with a different routine, imagine what you can do fully clothed and stepping out of your comfort zone at work? Give it a shot. In fact, we’ll help. This month’s RetailerNOW explores alternatives to your usual marketing (page 10), the way you view customers (page 16) and an interesting application of consistency (page 22). I hope you give one or two of these ideas a try.

I

Sydnee Funke Webmaster sfunke@nahfa.org

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Robert Bell rbell@nahfa.org

© 2015 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.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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RETAILER2.0

@RetailerNOW

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z GOOD TO KNOW

Home Furnishings Retailers Can’t Ignore Site Search People who use search tool are more likely to purchase.

Customers who use the search bar typically have a clear idea of what they want, and are more likely to buy on your site if they can quickly find what they are looking for.

“It’s not uncommon for the average retailer to find that 15 percent of customers use the search function, and those that do make up 45 percent of sales,” says Tim Callan, chief marketing officer of SLI Systems. “It’s an area that needs to be optimized.”

Source: https://nrf.com/news/searching-success

The website is a critical part of the sales process.

It’s a universal truth that with furniture, customers are more inclined to want to see the product in person before they buy.

That doesn’t mean your website doesn’t play an important role.

Effective site search functionality on your store’s website has become an increasingly important tool to a successful digital strategy. Year after year, online retail sales outpace retail sales overall, and when all is said and done, 2015 will be no exception. Research firm eMarketer predicts online retail will grow 13.9 percent to more than $79 billion this holiday season.

“About 75 percent of our customers go to the website and 50 percent use the information on our site to make their buying decision,” says Scott Perry, the director of ecommerce and omnichannel for NAHFA member Jerome’s, an 11-unit home furnishings chain based in San Diego. “We also have a good percentage of customers who come to the store, see what they like, then go home and order online.”

Source: https://nrf.com/news/searching-success

If those stats aren’t enough, here are four reasons why site search is so important to your store: Your users expect great search tools. Thirty percent of ecommerce site visitors use search, and this is expected to rise. Disappointing search tools frustrate users and make them leave your site, causing you to lose out on a huge percentage of customers and sales.

Search bars generate invaluable user data. User generated queries provide valuable insight about what users hope to get from your website. Tracking search results pages via analytics can help you leverage the data to make key business decisions, such as what items to promote, what items to order more of, or how to move forward on your SEO/SEM campaigns.

z COOL APPS Primer (yourprimer.com)

Wunderlist (wunderlist.com)

A fast, easy way to learn new marketing skills

Keep your life in sync

Primer is a mobile app developed by Google to help marketers, whether small business owners or those working inside a larger company, keep up with the tools and skills that help them do their jobs. The app does this through “bite-sized” lessons that can be viewed offline, so you can learn while on the go with jargon-free lessons on topics like mobile site design, programmatic buying, and search advertising. Users can store progress in their profiles, save or share content, and look forward to new lessons introduced every week.

Free; iOS, Android.

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Wunderlist serves as a collaborative to-do list platform to help team members get things done. Delegate, share and collaborate on task lists, with real-time syncing and push reminders on your phone. Wunderlist was recently acquired by Microsoft—expect to see it as part of the Office 365 suite soon.

Free; iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Web. Business plans available on annual or monthly subscription; vary by team size.

Want to share a cool app? Drop us a line at Rbell@nahfa.org

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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CONVERSATIONS

TOPSHELF

have you improved your Q:How store's customer experience?

Developing Front-Line Leaders Starts at the Top

Vincent Gibbs Good Wood Furniture Charleston, South Carolina “We are constantly trying to improve the customer experience, even before the customer walks through the door, with quicker response times from our website and social-media platforms. Meeting the needs and exceeding the expectations are crucial in today’s environment. Most recently we have enhanced their experience by increasing the offerings available. For 36 years we have been primarily a solid-wood store but now have new lines of bedding as well as upholstery.”

Betsy Harty Accents Cleburne, Texas “Unlike the big box stores, we always try to be attentive to the customers who come in, making sure that we have some sort of introductory conversation with each one.

Our goal is to make them feel at home. We are a home decor store, so we have them bring in pictures of places in their houses they want to change. We will try to lead them to some new ideas of things they can do.”

Clay Erickson Erickson Furniture Co. Everett, Washington “Customer experiences can only start with a knowledgeable, friendly sales staff. We create a shopping experience that not only gives our clients design inspiration, offering new and exciting styles, but we also offer complimentary design assistance to help reassure the customer of their purchase.”

The Front-Line Leader (Jossey-Bass, 208 pages, $20.99) In The Front-Line Leader, Chris Van Gorder uses his wealth of experience as president and CEO of Scripps Health to highlight the importance of leadership from the front lines. He shares firsthand stories about overcoming adversity at the personal and organizational level in order to achieve status as a leader in the healthcare industry, but his strategies easily translate to the home furnishings industry.

Van Gorder promotes a horizontal business structure with open communication and accountability at all levels. You do this, he argues, by know your employees. Good leaders do not keep their distance from the people they are meant to lead. Making connections with people is the most crucial aspect of leadership. However, most managers do not go to this extent.

Instead, many make cursory attempts at connection once in a while. Instead of making connections, the would-be managers only highlight how often they are not present. This is not real leadership.

Leadership involves taking time to observe employees on the job and gaining some perspective about them and the company as a whole.

Van Gorder also writes that no matter how high individuals climb up the corporate ladder, they must always remember their own roots and the work it took for them to get to where they are today.

Those who did not start their careers in a modest position can at least put themselves in the position of a trainee. Even the most powerful CEOs can stand to remind themselves once in a while that they are still learning. Good leaders understand that other people are sometimes more qualified than they are in some areas, and they are willing to listen and learn from others.

Great leaders will make sure it is never “lonely at the top” because they will consciously surround themselves with others who help them learn and keep things in perspective.

One strategy of good front-line leaders is storytelling. Van Gorder says storytelling can build emotional connections with others and inspire them. Stories can come from outside the organization, but it is best for them to come from within, as those stories create a sense of shared belonging and make employees feel part of the business.

At the center of front-line leadership is the need to take care of other people. Van Gorder believes this is a responsibility leaders must take on both in and outside of their organizations. The first aspect of taking care of others is to be an advocate for their needs. An organization with a culture for advocacy does more than just pay employees their salaries; it makes them feel secure and supported.

This improves the morale and efficiency of the organization.

The Front-Line Leader is written for upper-level managers and CEOs, but leaders in other positions within your store will find many of its concepts applicable to their roles. The book should be read from cover to cover, since the principles covered in each chapter build on previous principles.

Book review: summary.com

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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Giving Thanks...

... for over 800 successful home furnishings retailers who trust us to power their businesses.

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800.888.5565

Powering Retailer of the Year Award Winners for over

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SEPTEMBER | 2015

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Give(and Your Brand bottom line) a Boost with Cause Marketing Improve your store’s image by supporting what your customers love

By Bob Negen

J

ordan’s Furniture in Reading, Mass., was still two hours from opening for business on a recent Sunday morning, but already the parking lot was full and so was the store: a rope course was set up in the lobby for kids while clowns and jugglers and other carnival acts roamed the showroom floor. It would have made for an impressive furniture sale except furniture wasn’t the focus that day.

Most of the folks showed up for Adoption Option, the annual event at Jordan’s where families can meet children in state foster care and learn more about adopting them. In Massachusetts, nearly 2,500 children in foster care have the goal of adoption, and more than 600 of those children have no relative or other potential adopter.

That’s why Adoption Option is so important to NAHFA member Eliot Tatelman, who, as president and CEO of Jordan’s, doesn’t mind opening his store a few hours early to bring interested parents and foster children together. “In this day and age of technology,” Tatelman says, “it’s still essential to run events where adults and children have face time together. Our Adoption Option creates a fun and inviting atmosphere where these connections happen.”

There’s no denying Tatelman’s commitment to finding homes for Massachusetts’ foster children. In the nine years Jordan’s has held the event, more than 320 children— toddlers to teenagers—have been adopted.

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Tatelman’s goodwill isn’t limited to foster children.

When it’s not helping match children with families, Jordan’s collects prom dresses and winter coats for students in need, or donates sofas and mattresses to furniture banks, or assists families transitioning from homelessness to a house. The list goes on— nearly two dozen charitable causes in all.

Heather Copelas, director of public relations for the five-store chain in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, said Jordan’s is always looking

for ways to help its communities. “Eliot is a big believer that this is more than a business. We’re a family and the community is a part of that family.”

But store officials know there’s an added benefit: Jordan’s Furniture grows its brand whenever it helps out its community.

“There’s nothing tangible to measure,” says Copelas, “but what we hear from the word on the street and social networks is that people appreciate what we do. Now in this day and age of shopping for value,

CAUSE MARKETING NAHFA member Jordan’s Furniture hosts and sponsors events, like this clothing drive, that help nearly two dozen charitable causes.

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does that translate into customers? We don’t know, but we do know that we’re helping our neighbors and when it comes time for them to make a purchase maybe they’ll remember Jordan’s. When you think of what we’ve done for our communities and our brand, we think our stores have benefitted greatly.”

You can, too.

Cause marketing is a growing strategy among retailers—especially home furnishings retailers. The idea is to work with a cause, usually a local non-profit organization, to raise money or awareness for the organization, while raising your profile in your community and acquiring new customers.

Cause marketing may have its roots in Madison Avenue, but it has support on Main Street, too. Eighty-eight percent of consumers say it’s acceptable for retailers to involve causes in their marketing. Eightyfive percent of shoppers have a more positive image of a product or company when it supports a cause they care about.

The phrase cause marketing was coined in 1983 by American Express for a threemonth campaign that donated one penny to the Statue of Liberty restoration project whenever one of the company’s cardholders used their card. The promotion was a huge success. Talk about a win-win: that year, during the Statue of Liberty campaign, American Express had a 45-percent increase in new users and a 28-percent increase in card use. And more than $1.5 million was raised to help restore the Statue of Liberty.

Since then hundreds of businesses have tried their hand at cause marketing.

Paul Newman and his line of Newman’s Own cookies, spaghetti sauces etc. have raised more than $250 million for many charities. Of course, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream was an early adopter of cause marketing as a major contributor to a new charity each year.

Cause marketing isn’t hard to implement. A charitable organization gives you, the retailer, access to its member list and you donate a percentage of your sales their members generate for your business. There are a number of variations on this basic theme that we will explore.

First, decide which types of organizations would make good partners. Align with organizations your customers are likely to connect with. For example, as a home furnishings retailer, you might partner with the local Habitat for Humanity or a furniture bank. Or pick a local charity that everyone could support like a food pantry or a nonkill animal shelter.

And, of course, you should pick a cause

CONSUMERS BELIEVE THAT RETAILERS SHOULD PRIORITIZE SUPPORT OF ISSUES THAT AFFECT THE QUALITY OF LIFE:

46%

37%

17%

IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

IN THE UNITED STATES

IN THE WORLD-AT-LARGE

88%

of consumers say it’s acceptable for companies to involve causes in their marketing.

83%

of consumers wish more of the products and services they use support causes.

MILLION

278AMERICANS AMERICANS WANT WANTTO TOKNOW KNOWWHAT WHATAACOMPANY COMPANY

ISISDOING DOINGTO TOBENEFIT BENEFITAACAUSE CAUSE

85%

of consumers have a more positive image of a company when it supports a cause they care about.

90%

of consumers want companies to tell them what causes they’re supporting.

TYPES OF CAUSE MARKETING Transactional

Events

Coupon Redemption

Pledge Drives Consumer Engagement

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TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE CAUSE MARKETING 1 Pick your non-profit partner wisely 2 Integrate the cause into your company culture

3 Give more than just money

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Be transparent, demonstrate impact

5 Leverage free publicity 6 Harness the power of social media

Source: Cone Inc.’s “Cause Evolution” Study, 2010; Modern RetailerNOWmag.com OCTOBER | 2015 Marketing Partners 11

“

We’ve had customers coming in off the street asking us about the mattress and buying one—not just because of its quality but because they’re helping someone out. It’s been a great promotion so far.

Darby Hiott, Owner, Beds & Such Columbia, S.C.

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CAUSE, EFFECT NAHFA member Darby Hiott, above, donates 10 percent of proceeds from a Paramount mattress sale to Hidden Wounds. Sales have been brisk at his Beds & Such stores in Columbia, S.C. Right, fellow NAHFA member Chris Cooley invites customers to spend the night at Michael Alan Fine Furnishings in Lake Havasu, Ariz., to raise money for breast cancer treatment and detection. that you personally feel strongly about or have some connection to. Every year NAHFA member Chris Cooley and her store, Michael Alan Fine Furnishings, invites customers to her Lake Havasu, Ariz., store for an all-night event that raises money for breast cancer. Over the past seven years more than $170,000 has been raised for breast cancer treatment and detection.

Cooley has family members and friends diagnosed with breast cancer. “It’s something very dear to my heart and a lot of people in this area, too,” says Cooley. “It was a natural partnership that has grown over the years.”

Whatever you do, try not to pick organizations that might alienate big chunks of your customer base. Working with the NRA would be appropriate if you own a gun store, but probably not a good fit if you own a home furnishings store. The same goes with political or religious organizations.

Think of causes you can work with. Include both local (because people love to give

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close to home) and larger groups.

Here’s the benefit to partnering with a cause—the people who are members of the organization are typically passionate about their cause or their organization’s goal.

If they know you are affiliated with their organization they are likely to become loyal, devoted customers.

Here are several ways to partner with charities and non-profits that can bring in new customers while helping an organization with much-needed funds.

Endorsed Mailings Send a mailing to everyone on your partner organization’s database with a gift certificate and a letter informing them a certain percentage of their sale (minus the amount of the gift certificate) will be donated to the organization. The letter goes out in the organization’s envelopes, on its letterhead and the letter is signed by someone from the organization. Since charitable organizations are already stretched thin, you and your staff

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should do all the work and incur the costs.

An easy way to do the endorsed mailing technique is to make the gift certificate part of the organization’s newsletter. If the newsletter is sent out in an envelope it could be a separate piece of paper. If it is a self-contained mailer, it could be part of the body of the newsletter and the member would have

ADOPTION OPTION Jordan’s Furniture in New England has helped hundreds of foster children find homes throughout New England with its annual Adoption Option program.

NEW FACE Face painting is one of several forms of entertainment at Jordan’s Furnituresponsored cause marketing programs.

to cut it out before redeeming it.

It’s easier for everyone to include the gift certificate with a newsletter, but the response probably won’t be as good as if you send it alone, because it will have to compete with all the other information in the newsletter.

In this program your partner endorses you and your store to its membership.

You give a percentage of the sales generated through the redemption of their special gift certificates.

The Percentage Program This program requires a different commitment level. In this program you give a percentage of every sale back to the charity of your choice.

NAHFA member Darby Hiott started a similar promotion in September, offering to donate 10 percent of all his proceeds from a specific Paramount mattress called Valor to Hidden Wounds, a local organization committed to helping veterans readjust to life back home after seeing combat duty.

Hiott, whose two Beds & Such stores are located in Columbia, S.C., says the program is gaining traction with every sale. “We’ve had customers coming in off the street asking us about the mattress and buying one— not just because of its quality but because they’re helping someone out,” he says. “It’s been a great promotion so far.”

Hiott’s partnership with Hidden Warriors is a natural fit. Columbia is home to Fort Jackson, a large Army base.

Retailers don’t have to be limited to one

charity. In fact, they can even let their customer decide where the donation is going.

Under this program, you set the partnership criteria. For example one criteria might be that the partners have to be 501c3 tax exempt non-profit organizations in these three zip codes. You also choose which products or services qualify for the program. For instance, you can choose a specific mattress like Hiott did. You promote the program to all the potential charitable partners who fit your criteria and ask them to send their members to you in exchange for a donation.

Your partners promote the program to their members and you promote the program aggressively with in-store signage, in your newsletter and e-mail communications. If a customer is affiliated with a charitable organization that isn’t yet one of your partners, encourage them to promote the program

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to their organization as a great way to raise money.

Done correctly this type of promotion can grow quickly through word of mouth.

By the way, Hiott’s donation is an arbitrary number. If you think 5 percent or 20 percent would be a more appropriate donation given your customer base, margins, and sales—have at it.

After-Hours Gala A relatively easy way to work with an organization is to invite all the members of the organization to come to an after-hours event at your store. Make it fun; make it glamorous; make it a fashion show; make it a theme party—whatever you like; just make it something people will want to attend.

Donate a portion of all your sales that evening to your partner organization. This

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WARM FEELING Every year Jordan’s Furniture invites its community to drop off a winter coat for children in need.

is a good one to do before Christmas—get their Christmas dollars for your store before they spend somewhere else, and do some good in the process. This is one format in which you might be able to partner with a more controversial organization since all the shoppers would be from the same group. For example you might have an event for the Republican Party one night and Democrats another. (After all, there’s nothing more bipartisan than accepting money from both!)

The advantage of this type of promotion is that it is inexpensive and your support is visible to the members of the organization. The only real cost involved with an event like this is the extra payroll and some wine and cheese.

With this program you host the party, your partner promotes the party and your partner gets a percentage of the sales made during the party.

Time-Sensitive Promotions Many organizations have fundraising

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campaigns, usually ending with an event of some sort—a banquet, an auction or a picnic.

For example, your local United Way probably has a fundraising push every fall. In this type of promotion you give back a percentage of any of the business that comes from supporters of your partner organization during the specific time period of the fundraising campaign. This could be a weekend, a week, a month, or a season depending on how long their fundraiser lasts.

One catch is that the customer has to tell you they are shopping as part of your partnership in order for the organization to be credited with the sale. This lets you know how much your partnership is impacting your sales.

This kind of program jump starts your partnership and if all goes well (they send you lots of business and you donate lots of money) you’ll get recognition during the program at the end of the fundraiser.

With this program your partner promotes the program and sends its members to your

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store part of its fundraising campaign. The members who shop with you tell you they are with the organization to ensure that a percentage of their purchase gets donated to the organization. You present the group with a check when the fundraising period ends.

As these successful cause-marketing campaigns show, home furnishings retailers can do well by doing good for others. By choosing the right causes that fit well with their brand identities and cultures, NAHFA retailers can raise awareness and funds for their local charities while giving their brands a boost too.

Bob Negen is half of the husband and wife team behind WhizBang! Training. Together the couple has built a multimillion dollar toy store chain and now they teach independent retailers like you how to run a successful store. Bob can be reached at bob. negen@whizbangtraining.com.

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Make this New Year the Best Ever Kick off 2016 with five new strategies

By Jeff Giagnocavo

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A

s our year draws to a close, it makes sense to remind you of five strategies you can use to sell more the remainder of this year and into the New Year.

I hope this article is a timely reminder to take a look at your business and see if you, too, have missed profit opportunities.

There’s a good chance you have room for improvement and now is the perfect time to get things in order.

1

Make a Sale to Get a Customer

For some, this notion is deeply implanted into their marketing mindset. For the rest, allow me to explain because it’s critical for you to understand and embrace. The average retailer typically thinks in transactions. In other words, “I need to sell 10 sofas today” or “I need to sell five mattresses.” Their goal is to get a customer to make a purchase.

In other words, they are content with the transaction, and as soon as it’s over they’re focused on the next.

The smart business owner thinks differently. They realize the whole point of making a sale is to get a customer. Read that again because if you get this simple shift, I’ve just handed you the keys to higher profits and happier customers.

For 99 percent of business owners, the first sale could be the doorway to a long-term relationship with the customer, but most business owners don’t understand this or cannot figure out a way to make this happen. This is a huge mistake and one you must avoid. If you’re not thinking this way, the rest of this article will help you grasp this game-changer and if you already get it, this will be a good reminder.

2

Let Them Spend More

I’m a firm believer in providing ways for customers who want more to get more from us. These do not have to be clichéd upsells or add-ons. They should be framed in the desire to fulfill the wants of a small percentage of your customers. If these pathways don’t exist, there’s pent-up demand in the customer and unrealized revenue potential for you. Neither is desirable.

In our world, presentation of products—be they adjustable beds, furniture protection or occasional tables—is often lumped into the category of add-ons. Or, as the customer will most of the time see it, a “money grab.” However, when a proper sales presentation is installed into your business and the right scripted sales choreography followed, you create a systematized pathway for people to spend more with you.

As an example, when it comes to adjustable beds, thorough discussion of the customer’s sleep needs and how they use the bedroom creates the need to present an adjustable bed. Furniture protection presented at the end of a sale is seen as the most blatant of money grabs. But again with proper discussion of how the customer will use the furniture, do they eat in the living room?

Who uses the furniture? Children? Teens? Pets? And lastly how is the furniture used? Are crafts done in the living room or light office work? Is there a chance for a puncture or tear from scissors left behind?

Discovering these answers as opposed to just asking, “So do you like brown or black for your living room?” automatically puts the customer on the path to spend more with you and ultimately creates a happier customer.

3

Capture Their Contact Info—And Use It

You’re probably thinking this is too basic to even include in an article like this, but most don’t do it.

Allowing somebody to leave your store or showroom without making an attempt to collect their name, email or mailing address is a wasted opportunity. Again, this doesn’t have to be a hard-sell type experience and, assuming you’re doing everything else right, there’s going to be a decent number of people who would appreciate hearing from you in the future, which leads me to number four.

4

Follow Up

Making the effort to collect contact information is only part of the equation—you must do something with this valuable data. I once consulted with a business owner with retail stores in the Los Angeles area. He collected more than 9,000 email addresses from people who visited his stores and never did anything with them. He never emailed them offers or specials—nothing. The list went unused and wasted.

Again, there’s going to be a decent percentage of people who want to hear from you. They want to know what’s going on in your business, they want to receive special offers and invitations. Not following up with unconverted leads is the biggest missed opportunity in your business today.

5

Seek Out Testimonials

Testimonials are another basic strategy, and one that is becoming even more important with the ubiquitous nature of online reviews, yet many retailers don’t give them a second thought.

I don’t think you can ever have enough fresh reviews and testimonials in your marketing toolkit, and you need to have a system in place to capture and use them. Simple strategies can be to have a Google or Facebook (or both) review card (with the corresponding URL printed on it) at the point of sale that is stapled to every sales order. Another strategy: think of the questions you want answered by your customers and have them complete a feedback form about your products, why they selected them, what they enjoy about them, why they chose your store and would they recommend others. This form can be delivered at the point of sale or upon delivery. I’d suggest an ethical bribe to ride along like candy, cookies or some other unexpected but sure to be appreciated gift.

Hopefully these five reminders are a soft kick in the pants to begin 2016 with something new and serve as inspiration to jump start some new creative thinking. When I'm not in my store, I speak to many retailers and business owners and I’ve never come across one who’s implemented and executed all five of these on a daily basis. See how many you can do.

I leave you with this as you begin to think about your sales goals for this New Year. It comes from a brilliantly sane man, Albert Einstein, who said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.”

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Jeff Giagnocavo is co-owner of Gardner’s Mattress & More in Lancaster, Pa. He is also the co-owner of Infotail, a sales and marketing automation agency, and he regularly speaks at industry events on successful retail strategies. Jeff can be reached at jeff@infotail.com.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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A New Journey Linda Nigbur was never really interested in running her father’s home furnishings store.

A phone call changed her mind.

By Robert Bell

T

he phone call—like most calls out of the blue—is a blur.

The memory sits on the outer edge of Linda Nigbur’s memory, but more than 30 years later the pertinent facts remain as clear as yesterday: something about her father and a visit to the doctor and test results that came back positive.

It was 1985. Nigbur was just starting out on her own life when she learned Larry Nigbur’s might be ending. She was 24, recently married and working outside the family’s furniture business. “I was happy with my life and the journey I was traveling,” she recalls. “Or at least I thought I was.”

Cancer has a way of altering someone’s journey quickly. Not just for the person diagnosed, but their loved ones, too. Linda Nigbur hung up the phone with her mother that day and went away for the weekend to think about her journey. “I think at 24 years old, I was still focused only on my life,” she says. “It should have been an all’s-good time, but the scare took my focus from me to the bigger picture.”

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That bigger picture included coming home to work with her father at Nigbur’s Fine Furniture in Wausau, Wis. As Linda Nigbur tells it, that phone call didn’t end her journey. It simply started a new one. More than 30 years later, Larry Nigbur is cancer free and going strong. So is his store thanks to his daughter who has led and, truth be told, yanked the family business through a recession where other stores long ago called it quits.

A large part of the store's success can be traced back to when Larry Nigbur bought the land and built the current store, but also because Linda Nigbur is determined never to lose a customer to poor service.

Nigbur’s Fine Furniture still offers free delivery—a service that was tested recently when a customer who lived in Madison, 140 miles away, ordered living room furniture. Nigbur’s loaded the truck and made the delivery free of charge. The store will also make furniture repairs free of charge on any piece of furniture for two years after its purchase, regardless of how it broke.

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Nigbur says she wrestles with the expensive perks that were put in place by her father years ago, but resists changing things. “That’s our name, that’s what we’ve built our reputation on,” she says.

“Anyone can sell a sofa, but here we want to be known for more than just a place to buy. We want to be a place our customers can feel special—not just when they walk through the door, but when they come back if they have a problem. There’s so much competition these days. People are always shopping for value as they should. You have to have something to stand out from everyone else.”

Nigbur’s has been standing out in central Wisconsin for 38 years now. Larry Nigbur spent a little time in the Air Force before working at a hardware store in Wausau and later as the manager of Weltman’s Furniture in Wausau. Nigbur eventually bought the store in 1977 and changed the name to Nigbur’s Fine Furniture, only he didn’t stop there.

He moved the store out of downtown in 1981, but not before running things out of his home for three months while workers raised the second store two miles away on the northwest side of town. Larry Nigbur bought two parcels of land and financed the building himself. When the new store finally opened, Linda Nigbur said her father was one of the first home furnishing retailers in the state to set up his showroom in vignettes.

“The customers’ reactions were very positive,” she says. “My dad added a little better quality furniture to his inventory and the new setup only helped reinforce that. People knew they were shopping

somewhere different when they came in here. Everyone else had rows of recliners and sofas. Dad had actual rooms on display. That’s nothing special these days, but it was a completely new idea and look back then.”

After her father’s brush with cancer, Linda Nigbur started working for the family business in sales and learning the books.

Ah, the books. “Keep in mind,” Nigbur says, only half joking, “this is before computers. Everything was done on paper.”

Eventually, ledgers gave way to computers and a father gave way to his daughter. In 2001, Larry Nigbur went on vacation to Arkansas and hasn’t worked since. He’ll drop by occasionally to talk to old customers or pick up a weekly manager’s report, but for the most part, it’s Linda’s store to run.

“I knew she was ready a long time ago,” he says. “She picked up a little of this then she picked up a little of that. Eventually she picked up everything she needed to know so I said goodbye.”

Larry Nigbur said his daughter has everything it takes to take the store to its next level. “She’s extremely personable, she knows the product and is filled with common sense,” he says. “That might not sound like a lot, but I know people who have one or two of those traits, but not all three.”

Linda Nigbur takes pride in the experience of her staff. Her five employees have worked for the store an average of 19 years. Even more impressive, the store has never laid off an employee through all the downturns over the past 30 years. “There’s a comfort feeling coming to our store,” Nigbur says. “If you had a good experience working with someone here, it’s nice to come back a few years later and see that person is still here.”

Linda Nigbur will be the first to tell you it hasn’t been easy. She divorced and raised her daughter as a single mother while trying to run a furniture store. “Being a mom and working retail aren’t exactly

NEW BOSS After 16 years working for her father at Nigbur’s Fine Furniture, Linda Nigbur took over the family store in 2001.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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WHAT NAHFA MEANS TO ME

“

I enjoy reading and hearing stories about other retailers like me. The networking helps me see how all of us are in similar situations and challenges to some degree. The NAHFA allows us to share ideas and address our challenges together. We got involved through the credit card benefit, but we’ve stayed because there are so many more perks. Anyone with multiple staff members should be using the resources the association offers. You won’t find a better way to grow your business and employees.

”

–Linda Nigbur, Nigbur’s Fine Furniture, member since 2002

LET IT GO “You can spread yourself too thin,” Nigbur says.

“I’ve found that out the hard way the past few years.”

compatible, but I made it work,” she says. “My parents helped and we relied on a lot of friends.”

Then the economy went south in 2009. Business dried up not just in Wausau, but also the rest of the nation when furnishing your home took a back seat to saving it. Linda Nigbur learned to do more with the same staff. “Everyone did a little bit of everything,” she says. “We still do.”

Only now is Nigbur looking to relinquish some of her duties.

She’ll be hiring an operations manager by the end of the year to take some of the burden off her. “You can spread yourself too thin,” she says. “I’ve found that out the hard way the past few years.”

Nigbur said it was her father’s decision to buy the land and build his own store that helped pull the business through the tough times. “I just don’t know how other stores who have a monthly (mortgage) managed to make it back then. My dad knew what he was doing.”

Nigbur’s carries several upscale lines like Lexington, Klaussner and King Hickory. Ekornes and Smith Brothers are the store’s bestselling lines. “We try to sell as much North American product as possible,’’ she says. “That still means something to our customers.

They come in looking and asking for it.”

Linda Nigbur said she loves the journey she’s taken since that phone call 30 years ago. “I was never forced into retail,” she says.

“The thought of working six days a week wasn’t very appealing at first, but coming back home was bigger than any job. I honestly think this store plays a big part in our community and I didn’t want to see that end with my father. I’m proud to be moving us forward.”

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NO PRESSURE Larry Nigbur never pressured Linda to work in the family business. She joined the family store shortly after her father was diagnosed with cancer in 1985.

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OCTOBER | 2015

19

Birds do it.

And so can you.

Consistency isn’t boring.

It’s key to your store's success.

By Tom Shay

W

hen the major league baseball season starts each year there are only two things that are certain.

Every team is in first place on the first day in the spring, and 29 of the 30 teams are going to be losers by the time fall rolls around. Oh, and this: no matter how good or bad they are, every team is going to have disappointments with regard to players as well as injuries that will affect their club’s performance.

How a team deals with this last certainty is what makes the difference in which teams are in that group of 29.

I spoke at a conference in St. Louis earlier this fall and had the opportunity to listen to the announcers for the St. Louis Cardinals. There was an amazing statistic they talked about, one that I think speaks to the home furnishings industry and maybe even to your store in particular.

Of the 130 games the Cardinals had played to date, (the season is 162 games), there had been 112 different lineups used in determining who would be the nine players on the field every day.

Of course, every team has multiple lineups as most teams utilize five pitchers in rotation to start a game. However, the statistic for the Cardinals was amazing. It indicated that there had been a lot of changes with regard to who the five pitchers were as well as the other eight position players.

Yet, despite so much change, the Cardinals won the National League Central division this year as well as posting the best record in Major League Baseball.

The announcers went on to explain that there is a method of teaching—the Cardinal Way, as it’s known, that runs through the club’s entire organization. With minor league teams in Memphis, Springfield, Palm Beach, Peoria, State College, Johnson City and Jupiter, the Cardinals have a consistent system as to how a player is expected to be taught about the game.

Instead of having a manager that coaches to his own managerial strengths, the manager is expected—instructed, actually—to teach The Cardinal Way. The idea is that when a player is needed to be moved from one Cardinal affiliate to another, depending on their skills improving

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or needing rehabilitation, the player will continually be taught a single system.

Hence, as there have been injuries or players needing rehabilitation over a demanding season, when someone from the minor leagues is called up to the team in St. Louis, there is no need for a period of adjustment. Or at the least, the newly promoted player needs a smaller window of time to adjust to the expectations of the major league club.

This causes me to think about stores with multiple locations.

How many multi-store owners have a system that helps their employees fit in wherever they go?

Or, when an employee moves from one location to another location, is the owner more likely to overhear a conversation in which the employee says, “Here’s how we do this at the store I came from?”

The same could be said for the lesson learned from Ray Kroc and McDonald’s. The success from the king of fast food restaurants doesn’t come from great food (at least in my opinion).

If you want a great tasting hamburger and milkshake, there are plenty of choices out there that deliver a better tasting product with much better ingredients. McDonald’s success comes from the consistency of its product.

Long before fast food became a highly automated process, you could count on getting a cheeseburger and chocolate milkshake in San Diego that would taste exactly like the hamburger and milkshake you got at the McDonald’s you visited last month in Poughkeepsie.

The singularity of purpose may be something that is written for your business, but a singularity in process allows a business to deliver a sameness in the experience for a customer.

It all starts with how the phones are answered in your store, the way customers are greeted when they first walk through your doors.

It carries to the way furniture is delivered to your customer’s home or office, and any technician that might have to be sent to take care of adjustments and repairs.

Anyone who has stayed many nights in hotels, knows this is not what you get with the hotel chains. You can have a stay at a great

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Sheraton followed by another Sheraton that will have you swearing you will never stay at a Sheraton again.

In our industry, customers telling their friends they should, “only go to Smith’s south side store” is damaging our image and diminishing our sales. It definitely destroys the various reason why we opened additional locations as a means of capturing a bigger share of market.

Consider the Cardinal Way from the perspective of the employee. Having twin sons who had jobs in chain stores through high school and college, it is interesting for me to hear their experiences as they transferred from one location to another.

While store appearance and the selection of hard goods may be the same from one location to another, they have experienced the challenges of stores that take on the personality of the manager instead of having the personality of oneness of the chain. Think about that for a minute: which would you prefer if you were a customer, consistency or a crap shoot?

Both sons have spoken of the time necessary to adjust from one location to another; from one manager to another. What’s the sense of being a chain and having multiple locations if they operate as individual businesses? How much productivity is lost when time is taken for an employee to get up to speed at each location they work?

Even as the Cardinals lose a star player, change managers or general managers, or even change ownership, the Cardinal Way remains intact. As the owner of a business, there is something that can be learned from their success.

Consistency starts with how the phones are answered in your store, the way customers are greeted when they first walk through your doors.

One team has won more World Series than the Cardinals; another has won more World Series than the Cardinals just in the last five years. But when it comes to consistency, the Cardinals are in a class by themselves. How is it with your business?

The title of this references a Cole Porter song: “Birds do it, bees do it. Even educated fleas do it. Let’s do it, let’s fall in love.”

The same is true for each of our businesses. Let’s have customers and employees fall in love with our stores through consistency.

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Tom Shay is a former retailer who helps other retailers grow their business. Subscribe to Tom Shay’s e-ret@iler, a monthly newsletter packed with tips for growing your business at profitsplus.org.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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Sitting Pretty With so many styles and faster delivery times, stationary upholstery is set for a big year with retailers.

By Robert Bell

C

onsider the sofa: through the course of its lifetime, it is sat on, eaten on, slept on, and, if you have pets, shed on. Our sofa is a repository for books, magazines and, in the case of my house, $4.38 in loose change. It’s where we invite our friends to “have a seat,” where we stretch out with a blanket for a Sunday of football, where we spend the night if you’re in the dog house because you filled your Sunday with football. With the possible exception of your bed, it’s the most used piece of furniture in your home.

Any wonder, then, that sofas—and the upholstery market in general—have taken off in the past year? It’s a $14.7 billion category, according to Furniture Today research, that industry and manufacturing experts expect to grow over the coming year. That growth has spurred others to get in the upholstery game. At October’s High Point Furniture Market, no less than nine manufacturers decided to try their hand at upholstery including Arteriors, which introduced an edited selection of upholstery to complement its signature lamps and accessories.

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Upholstery introductions for the new year are inspiring while still managing to cling to their design roots. The stand-by neutrals remain in demand, but so, too, are a burst of vivid colors along with some new lines for retailers to show off on their floors.

“There’s a lit bit of everything for retailers,” says David Jaros, vice president of upholstery merchandising for Broyhill. “If you’re looking for a particular piece and not finding it, I hate to say it, but maybe you’re not looking very hard.”

Design and comfort are always paramount with retailers, but manufacturers say retailers continue to put a premium on faster delivery turnarounds and smaller minimum orders. Those are two selling points England has leveraged for years with its retailers. England was the first manufacturer to offer two-week delivery for a full truck-load of furniture where most other companies could only offer delivery in six to 12 weeks.

These days the Tennessee-based company offers 21-day delivery (28 days to the West Coast) on most of its upholstery and meets that goal on 98.9 percent of its orders, says Cara Perkins, the company’s vice

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president of merchandising.

England, a La-Z-Boy company since being acquired in 1995, offers retailers a little bit of everything with a balanced mix of traditional, contemporary and transitional furniture. It also has more than 400 fabrics and 26 leathers for customers to choose from its custom-order program. Perkins says England is seeing a swing away from the same old earth tones to bolder, eclectic colors and patterns—a philosophy that was certainly on display at England’s High Point showroom during market.

“People want a little more color than in past years,” she says.

“They’re tired of the same old blues and greens on their sofas and chairs. We’re giving them a little flair—or at least giving them the choice of flair.”

England’s hottest piece of upholstery these days is its new line Dorchester Abbey, which picked up in the fall where it left off in with its spring debut, said Perkins. Retailers looking for a higher price point from England are attracted to Dorchester Abbey, a stepup leather program featuring select leathers and linens on a limited number of frames. “They like the quality product and good price on top of getting something to their customers quickly,” says Perkins.

“It’s all about product and we feel we make a great sofa and chair, but dependability is a big factor with our retailers. There’s a huge worry taken off the plate when they know they won’t have to go back to their customers and say, ‘I’m sorry, but your order is going to be late.’ ” Dallas-based leather and fabric furniture manufacturer American Leather adheres to a similar philosophy. “Speed, choice and consistency—that means a lot to our retailers and we do our best to respect that,” says Bruce Birnbach, president of American Leather.

American Leather doesn’t chase the trends, says Birnbach, but

chooses instead to refine the classic looks that retailers and customers continue to ask for. “We produce simple frames that are more basic and a classic look that’s more welcoming,” he says. “It would be nice to say we produce a fancy product, but that’s not who we are and that’s not what our retailers want. At the end of the day we produce classic styles that people are familiar with.”

To that end, American Leather showed up for High Point market without any new textiles for retailers. The company’s strongest pieces are covered in traditional soft solid patterns—no fuchsias or floral patterns. Just the same traditional coverings that have made American Leather a success for so many years.

Birnbach doesn’t see a lack of choice as a negative—just the opposite. “Look,” he says, “the reality to the consumer is when they come to your showroom, they don’t want what’s new, they want what’s right for them and their lifestyle. At the end of the day we try to see things from the consumers’ eyes and how the retailer gets energetic when he sees them getting excited about our product. We listen to what retailers tell us and what they want and we try to give them what they need.”

Birnbach says American Leather tries to simplify the process of buying upholstery. “It has to be simple,” he says. “You can walk into a store and within 15 minutes you’re paralyzed by the overwhelming number of textiles in a line. We think a little different. We think, ‘Let’s give them clarity of offering.’ ” Broyhill is taking a different approach than American Leather by offering a much wider selection. The company debuted five seating groups available in fabric and leather that feature Broyhill’s Cloud 44 seating, a coil spring cushion with muslin ticking, according to Jaros. Jaros says the company’s expanding its wildly popular Tanner’s Choice leather program as well.

KEEP IT SIMPLE: England’s East End Navy shows the simple, casual look that shoppers are looking for in their upholstery purchase.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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The program offers retailers options of 25 leathers that are available in two grades with a relatively quick delivery time of four to six weeks depending on where the store is located. Jaros said the opening retail price for Tanner’s Choice begins at $1,499 and climbs as high as $2,199.

NAHFA member Lael Thompson is the chief operating officer for his family’s Broyhill Home Collections store. Thompson’s store has weathered Broyhill’s turbulent financial times along with them (Furniture Brands International, which made brands such as Broyhill, Thomasville, Lane and Drexel Heritage, filed for Chapter 11

two years ago; Heritage Home Group now owns Broyhill’s brand).

He says shoppers are continuing to gravitate more to a transitional style away from, as Thompson puts it, “the doily look” of your grandmother or, worse, great-grandmother. “They are really adapting their product line for younger audiences and, really, every age group seems to be responding.”

Shoppers continue to love the styling to Broyhill’s Veronica sectional, says Thompson. “It’s been outstanding for us for a long time now,” says Thompson. “It doesn’t appear to be slowing down.”

WHAT WORKS: American Leather doesn’t chase trends, but rather sticks with what has worked in the past like this leather sofa, above, and the Garrison chair below.

But just as popular, if not more, has been Broyhill’s Personalities chair program, which offers dealers the option of roughly 20 chairs with more than 450 covers and a retail price range of $499 to $699. So many choices on upholstery have the consumer in mind, but it also makes a retailer’s life much easier, too, Jaros says.

“We know it’s a lot for (retailers) to take on and learn so we want to make things simple for them,” he says. “So now when the customer asks, ‘If I can get it in leather, can I also get it in cloth?’ the retailer doesn’t have to go back to the desk or the office and look it up. The answer is, “Yes.” Thompson says Broyhill’s Personalities line is changing the buying habits of many of his clients. “The old lineup of a sofa and loveseat is changing,” he says. “Now it’s very common for someone to come in looking for a sofa and a couple of chairs. Accent chairs provide you with a greater scale to work within a confined space. There’s a lot of style for the price.”

Broyhill also rolled out its 1st & Main collection at High Point market, a 106-piece collection sure to speak to Millenials looking for that unique piece for their apartment or starter home. The collection’s upholstery includes the same Cloud 44 seating as Broyhill’s other lines. The line is heavy in casegoods with an urban and industrial look, but it also has a small line of upholstery scaled for smaller living spaces.

Featured Manufacturers: Here’s how to get in touch with this month’s manufacturers.

American Leather | americanleather.com | 800.456.9599 Broyhill Furniture | broyhillfurniture.com | 800.225.0265 England Furniture | englandfurniture.com | 423.626.5211

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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NEXTGENPROFILE Six Answers with Kaitlin Surdoval My first furniture purchase came from an antique store in rural Vermont. I just loved the uniqueness of the store and the different furniture they had everywhere. There’s not a particular style I like. I’m an open book.

I haven’t furnished a house yet, but I think I’d consider all the channels to find exactly what I’m looking for. That’s how consumers are today. zzz

I played soccer and golf in college. The competition and drive from playing collegiate sports carries over to my day-to-day work. Now, though, it’s more about setting strong goals beyond myself and more for my team. I work with a great group of people and we have a larger mission. We work together as a team. zzz

I really enjoy what I’m doing at Storis. I’m constantly learning and working with my family (Kaitlin’s father, Donald, is president and CEO of Storis, her brother Donnie is product manager). I’m not sure there is a perfect job besides this one. Maybe I haven’t been here long enough to get bored, but I’m challenged and I’m pretty happy.

That’s a good thing. zzz

Many retailers in the industry have to be able to understand the value and ROI of technology. There’s a resistance to change in our industry. We focus on investing more in marketing and advertising than technology. To change that way of thinking starts with an honest dialogue and letting the retailer know we’re only interested in helping them reach their goals, making them more efficient and streamlined as an organization and maybe just helping them get to a place where they can go on vacation. zzz

Marketing for our industry is really exciting.

People have homes where they go to spend time with family and friends. These are their havens, their retreats and we have the opportunity to make them a nice and comfortable place to go. Retailers do a good job of telling this story, but they can do it in new ways and in different channels and they can do it by being more approachable and engaging. Marketing is the key to our industry. It’s a very exciting landscape, but like everything else it has to be done right.

T

Kaitlin Surdoval Marketing Manager Storis

zzz

I’m very active with my family and friends. I love being outdoors when I’m not at work. Having lived in Vermont, I go downhill skiing any chance I get, though that’s not as much as I want now that I’m living in New Jersey. I love playing golf especially with my family. Golf ’s a sport that’s very multi-generational. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are. Anyone can play.

Six Answers is a monthly profile of a Next Generation Now member.

Next Gen NOW is an NAHFA-hosted community of young industry professionals whose mission is to give voice to the needs and goals of the industry’s next wave of leaders. Connect with members at nextgenerationnow.net or Twitter @ngnow.

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“Marketing is the key to our industry. It’s a very exciting landscape, but like everything else it has to be done right.”

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SEPTEMBER | 2015

37

TAKE2

Survival by Design Slone Brothers wanted to attract the affluent female professional, but its drab exterior kept women away.

By Connie Post

BEFORE

R

arely is renovation a matter of life and death. But when Slone Brothers Furniture approached me to do a complete interior and exterior makeover of their Orlando-area furniture store, it was a question of survival. The recession was on its way to becoming a hurricane, and they were concerned their independent, family-owned business might not weather the storm.

One challenge was to give their outdated industrial building an exterior that reflected their marketing brand identity. “Our outside doesn’t match the experience we want the customer to have inside,” Michael Slone explained to me at the time. They wanted to “stand out more than anything in the whole zip code,” he said, to attract their target customer, the 45-to-65 affluent, female professional.

Armed with a budget of $400,000, we built a faux wall, extending the facade to the right and left, which makes the building appear more imposing. We redesigned the shaded portico, flanking it with pillars of stacked stones. Beneath it, slate flooring, fashionable front doors with wood details and elegant, oversized bronze light fixtures greet customers at the threshold.

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Above the portico, we elevated the façade to heighten the building’s presence, creating a high-visibility backdrop for a newly designed store logo. In addition to adding smart, updated awnings to protect from Florida’s intense sun, we softened the appearance by planting shrubbery, offset by a low, stacked-stone wall, and a conifer.

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, one s had an Sl of or ri te in Before... The s and HVAC g with air du ct exposed ceilin ntion with peted for at te units that com floor. the sh owro om the prod ucts on

Our clients’ originally decided on a tasteful, sophisticated color way of taupe with accents of cafe au lait and brown for the exterior. Recently, they approached us about repainting it to make a bolder statement.

Fortunately, our designs are easily updated. We created a Mediterranean color palette of ocher, terra cotta and chocolate brown (photo, opposite page) that pops from a distance, for both the building and the new pylon sign, placed curbside, to magnify the store’s visibility.

up the walls and added Af ter... We brightened nd ows to help creat e some faux walls and wi wcase rooms. bett er vignet tes to sho

Retail design strategist, trend expert, author and owner of Affordable Design Solutions Connie Post International, Connie specializes in retail home furnishings store designs. She can be reached at missconniepost@aol.com.

RetailerNOWmag.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

31

One More Thing Grow your store’s business by asking the right questions

By Marty Grosse

C

olumbo, the famous (at least for my generation) television series detective, was notorious for asking suspects many questions. Successfully solving the crime was often the result of Colombo beginning to leave and then nonchalantly turning and saying “One more thing” followed up by what appeared to be a seemingly innocuous question.

Questions are powerful business tools to improve communications as well as uncover new information or validate existing realities. Perhaps you’ve experienced a simple question that released a floodgate of information. Recently I was reminded of the power behind questions while attending the summer Las Vegas Furniture Market. The day was ending and my wife and I stopped at the end of an escalator to enjoy some complimentary grape juice. As the gent behind the bar poured our wine, I noticed he had well-developed biceps. “You must work out a lot to get those types of guns?” I asked.

This simple question opened the floodgates and we learned that he’s a budding mixed martial arts fighter who won his first three bouts. He was recently injured and was using this job to fill in the gaps while he healed. I asked how he was injured and the response was a bit anticlimactic: waterskiing with his girlfriend.

I asked how fast they were going, where they were skiing, etc. You get the point, the more questions I asked the more I learned.

Are you asking questions in your business? What methods of posing questions could help your business? When should you ask questions?

Where should you ask your questions? What would happen if you could learn something that would help your business? See what I mean? Of course this entire article is based on the premise that you want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly answers. You do want to know, right?

Good questioning technique requires using the right kind of question and avoiding the wrong types of questions.

•

Open-ended questions are designed to gather detailed or quality information, solicit opinions or expose new ideas. Open questions are the best choice for learning more. These questions tend to start with where, what, how, when, who, or which.

•

Close-ended questions result in one- or two-word answers. The close-ended question may be helpful in verifying specific information but generally should be avoided as they limit the flow of information.

•

Leading questions where the answer is suggested in the question should be avoided. Questions that begin with “Don’t you think that….” or “Do you think …” are designed to get you the answer you want and may not be honest or sincere.

•

Why questions should be avoided as “why” may be misconstrued as being critical. Phrasing why in other ways is preferred. As example, tell me more about … or what are the reasons behind….?

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I asked myself, what would be a good way to illustrate the question process in this article? Would some examples of questions for salespeople and customers be a way to show the power of questions and the resulting questions? See, you can even ask yourself questions.

So Mr. Selling Pro, what products are customers asking for that we aren’t currently carrying? I know that some of you are cringing right now, but be honest: do you have what your customers are looking for? How could the buying process be improved to solicit ongoing feedback from the people who work day in and day out with your customers?

So Ms. Selling Pro, what types of finance plans are customers showing interest in? What’s important to customers in your finance plans? Which of your store’s financing options are meeting the needs of today’s consumers?

Hey Sales Team, in what areas can we provide you better or more training to improve your selling effectiveness? Which of your sales people need more training? What do you think they would say if you asked them?

Mrs. Jones, thanks so much for your business. How were you treated during the shopping process in our store? When is the last time you asked a customer about their in-store experience? What might you change to enhance shopping in your store?

Mr. Jones, how did you feel about the delivery process for your furniture? You probably aren’t often around during your furniture deliveries. Are your delivery teams providing the level of service you would expect from your training and standards? How does your store provide value for the delivery fee collected?

Dear Customer Base, based on your experience with our store, would you recommend us to a friend, neighbor or relative? What could you learn from this powerful question? How can you use this information to improve the complete customer experience?

Are you starting to get it? As you can see, the possibilities for asking questions are endless. One question leads to another and the answers can guide and shape your business. Is it possible that everything is working perfectly in your store? My experience suggests that no furniture store runs perfectly for an extended period of time. Periodically asking questions in all departments and areas of your operations is a refreshing way to learn where things are working well or where you might need some help. Asking questions may be informal or structured with tools like surveys.

Even standing outside your store as customers are leaving is a great way to ask questions that are real, relevant and timely. The time-honored suggestion box is another method of asking questions. Develop a culture of well-placed and well-timed questions within your store and among your staff and customers. We know that not all feedback from questions may be valid or even possible to implement, so be sure to present as questions and not as promises. You’ll gather valuable information on improving your store and the process will demonstrate to others that you care and are willing to listen to input. The fringe benefit will be improved communication, better trust, improved customer service and increased selling opportunities. What could be wrong with that?

One more thing: what are you waiting for?

“There is a reason why we have been helping retailers succeed for more than

100 years!”

Chris Lynch, CEO Lynch Sales Company

For more than 100 years, the family-owned Lynch Sales Company has delivered on our promise to help our retail clients succeed through Lynch Business Building Sales, or close with integrity during our Complete Close-Out Sales. I am particularly proud that many of those storeowners reward us with their repeat business, time and again. Let them tell you why they prefer the Lynch Sales System, our business model and one-page contract over that of our competition.

To hear more from successful retailers, visit

www.lynchsales.com/testimonials

MORE THAN 100 YEARS OF INTEGRITY AND RESULTS

Furniche.com founder Marty Grosse has 35 years of home furnishings experience. You can contact him at martygrosse@furniche.com

Serving the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

(800) 824-2238 LynchSales.com Copyright 2015 Lynch Brothers Licensing Corporation

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

35

MEMBERBENEFIT

How Do

YOU Stack Up? The 2015 Retail Performance Report will let you know.

By Kaprice Crawford

F

or the first time in eight years, a retail performance survey was conducted by the North American Home Furnishings Association in cooperation with PROFITsystems. The report will help educate furniture retailers on key performance indicators that they can use as a benchmark against themselves and set the stage for improvement in their store operations.

The 2015 NAHFA Retail Performance Report data represents the results of our survey from 2014 financial and operational data. A diverse cross section of retailers in the industry representing all regions of North America and beyond, as well as retailers from multiple best-practice performance groups supplied their data, helping to set the bar for the industry.

The report graphs performance metrics under several headings: Percentage of Sales Metrics, Percentage of Assets Metrics, Selling Metrics, Operational Metrics, Salary Mix, Advertising Mix, Liquidity Metrics, and Inventory Metrics. It captures the most important and up-to-date key performance indicators (KPIs) for the home furnishings industry, which you can use to benchmark and improve your business.

NAHFA members such as Ed Rieckelman are already putting the data to use in their stores. “The custom feedback option is very cool and helpful,” says Rieckelman, owner of Isaak’s Home Furnishings & Sleep Center in Yakima, Wash. “I’ll continue to analyze the results and use this information for months to come.”

If you didn’t take part in the 2015 NAHFA Retail Performance Report you can still get access to all the data. The report is now available for purchase to those retailers who did not participate. NAHFA Members can buy the report for $99 ($299 for nonmembers). Order your report today from Kaprice Crawford, NAHFA’s membership director, at 800-422-3778.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

NAHFA member Corey Davis said he’s already using the report to “help with budgeting for the upcoming year” at his store, Bracko Brothers, in Calgary, Canada.

And Boris Cybul, of Crown Furniture and Electronics in Aruba said the report “has really great information. It has given us an idea on what to strive for.”

The Retail Performance Report takes an educational approach.

For each metric there is an explanation and interpretation. The goal of this report is to help you become more in tune with your performance metrics and understand what other retailers are producing.

You can leverage this report to: • Decide which metrics are most important for you to focus on in your current situation.

• Develop a big picture strategy with realistic goals and timeline to improve.

• Set specific actions and tactics within your organization that can help you realize your goals.

• Monitor you key performance metrics monthly.

• Continue the process of improvement, education and upping your performance bar.

The North American Home Furnishings Association wants to complete this survey every year to help retailers continue to monitor their metrics against the industry averages. Starting early next year in the first quarter, we will be conducting the survey again using 2015 data. All retailers are encouraged to participate. In fact, retailers who do participate will receive the 2016 version for free.

Participants will also have the option of receiving customized feedback on their own data by industry consultants David McMahon, CMA, EA and Way McMahon, CPA, CMA. If you want to purchase the report, contact Kaprice Crawford at 800-422-3778.

Kaprice Crawford is NAHFA’s membership director and can help NAHFA members with many of their questions or problems they encounter on the job. Contact Kaprice at 800-422-3778 or kcrawford@nahfa.org

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Through Best Buy For Business™ NAHFA offers members a private shopping site with discounts on thousands of products from leading manufacturers, plus quarterly featured solutions designed to help you take your business to the next level.

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You Only Have One Chance Scenario-based training can help you close the deal

By Gerry Morris

I

t is a harsh reality that when it comes to retail mattresses, sales associates often have one chance to make the sale.

That’s a lot of pressure but as the saying goes, it is what it is. Retailers must be able to help facilitate the likelihood of success if they hope to compete.

Few shoppers care where they buy a mattress as long as they get what they want at a price they want to pay. Unfortunately even the slightest negative can send them straight out the door to a competitor. Of all the factors shoppers use to determine what and where to buy, their experience with the sales associate is arguably the most powerful influence.

So how does a store like yours maximize its odds of closing sales?

A great place to start is to make sure all retail sales associates are up to the task. Of course, retailers have lots of other issues to consider such as merchandising, promotion, and pricing, but even with all that in place, sales associates are ultimately responsible for closing the sale.

Most retailers use some form of mattress sales training or else they wouldn’t be able to compete. Throwing associates to the lions is bad for one’s turnover rate.

Typical training consists of teaching product knowledge and selling skills. While that is obvious and appropriate, it’s not enough.

These are tools that must be learned, but then must be put to use.

Unfortunately, the sales floor itself is too often the testing lab where associates learn from their mistakes.

The key is to teach new associates how to effectively use their knowledge and skills before they deal directly with shoppers and to help veteran associates increase their effectiveness on a continual basis.

The best method for putting theory to practice is scenario-based learning (SBL), recreating real-life situations for associates to problem solve and then practice as a means of learning.

Authors Hans Kovi and Kasper Spiro believe scenario-based learning helps learners use pre-existing knowledge, understand it in the context of the training, apply the knowledge, analyze new situations, evaluate, and create new outcomes.

One can create hypothetical situations for teaching. For example, a young couple on a limited budget wants to buy an inexpensive

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

Your customer’s experience with your sales person is arguably the most powerful influence on their decision to buy from you.

mattress. How would you help them decide to invest in a better quality product?

While this is a great idea, I encourage retailers to enhance the process by using actual situations that occur daily on their own sales floor. Here’s how to do it.

Have sales associates keep a journal to record pertinent information throughout each day. When possible, after each selling encounter, jot down a few highlights, notes of anything significant, both the good and bad, as detailed as possible, with some dialog. Using actual statements or questions is most helpful.

It’s important not to make this a burdensome chore similar to medical charting, but rather as a useful tool to capture issues where the sale didn’t go well and also to capture the issues and events that lead to closing a sale.

Then there are a variety of options of how to use the gathered information for training purposes: Individually: each associate can re-examine and analyze the situation to determine how they may have overcome objections to close the sale or to have stepped a buying customer up to better quality, added on accessories, sought referrals or discovered future needs.

With a partner: associates should seek confidants to discuss, analyze and recreate the selling situations for solutions and to share successes.

RetailerNOWmag.com

5HVW (DV\ As a group: a great idea is to schedule regular weekly meetings with a staff to discuss situations that occurred the previous week.

In that meeting, encourage creative analysis, input and discussion.

Examine how the sale may have been saved. Share the elements of successful sales and critique them to examine possible ways to improve.

Then in both cases, use role playing with real-give-and-take dialog to recreate the situations using the gathered suggestions for success. I can’t stress enough the effectiveness of this type of training.

In addition to real-life situations, create scenarios to cover basic issues such as delivery and customer service, returns and warranties, financing, competition or anything that may likely occur.

In a forum: some companies create intranet forums to share this type of information, an especially good idea for larger stores with multiple locations.

Here are a couple of other ideas to use reality-based training and learning: Mentoring: pair new associates with veterans who can help mentor on the floor during the selling process. This can work much like new waitresses, observing during their first week on the job along with having some limited interaction with the shopper.

Most shoppers appreciate companies that care enough to teach their employees how to take care of customers.

As the associates progress, the veteran can take on the role of observer to help ease them into the process and to be there to help if necessary. Amazingly, this is very helpful for veterans as well.

New associates often find creative things to say and ways to sell.

Sometimes amazed veterans jokingly say they forgot to tell the new hires that business is slow right now.

Questions: in addition to recording selling situations, sales associates should write down questions about products, specs, pricing, policy and any other issues that are sure to come up each day.

There are likely many that may be forgotten if not written down.

Then they can seek out the appropriate person to consult with, whether that be a manager, someone from another department or from the manufacturer or their reps.

Finally, the authors Kovi and Spiro say there is a huge additional benefit to scenario-based learning—“Motivation, in short, is what makes a human being act to achieve a goal. There are two types of motivation: intrinsic, in which motivation emerges from the desire to learn, to master a task, or to prove oneself, and extrinsic, in which motivation emerges from the rewards gained when completing a task in the right way. At first, most learners will be extrinsically motivated. They take the training because it is mandatory.

We find however, that scenario-based learning makes it possible to address the intrinsic motivation of a learner.�

How? I believe the real life experiences of scenario-based learning taps into one’s emotions. Associates discover the reward and satisfaction of helping improve the lives of others.

The best way to deal with the harsh reality of mattress retail?

Close more sales! It is what it is.

Gerry Morris has more than 20 years of experience in the mattress industry. In partnership with The Furniture Training Co., he offers a premium online training course, “Sell More Mattresses with Gerry Morris.� To view the course, visit furnituretrainingcompany.com

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NAHFA@WORK

Learning & Growing Together El Dorado Furniture opens its doors to help Next Generation members and their stores

INDUSTRY EXPERTS El Dorado Furniture's Danny Capo (center), offers Jason Wells (left) and Travis Turner insights into how El Dorado runs its warehouse and operations at last month's Leadership Immersion Experience.

By Robert Bell

F

or five lucky Next Generation members, last month’s Leadership Immersion Experience in Florida was the equivalent to Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket: three days touring El Dorado Furniture’s flagship store and getting exclusive access to company officials about growing their own stores back home.

North American Home Furnishings Association members Lael Thompson, Travis Turner, Erin Donaghy, Joey Gunn and Jason Wells toured the top 100 retailer’s 105,000-square-foot Miami Gardens showroom and warehouse, and took part in nearly a dozen breakout discussions with company leaders on topics ranging from marketing to operations to customer service.

Thompson, chief operations officer of Broyhill Home Collections in Aurora, Colo., was curious about what he could learn from a company that is projecting $226 million in sales this year, but by the end of the first day, he could see the benefits. “There was something in every meeting that I learned and can take back home to implement,” he says. “Everything about operations and inventory right down to the price tags and wiping down finger prints. It was amazing.”

Thompson and his fellow Next Generation members were offered behind-the-scenes tours of El Dorado’s massive distribution center, learned about the company’s extensive, three-week El Dorado Uni-

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

versity training program for new employees and picked up several advertising and marketing tips from Luis Capo, Jr., El Dorado’s visual display leader.

“There was so much to take in, but that’s a good thing,” said Wells of Wells Home Furnishings in Charleston and Morgantown, W.Va. “I know we’re going to be a better store because of this.”

The Leadership Immersion Experience, sponsored by Storis, was part of the NAHFA’s ongoing commitment to Next Generation NOW, a community of young home furnishings professionals that are the future of the home furnishings industry. October’s event followed a successful debut of the program last spring at the RC Willey headquarters in Salt Lake City.

Gunn, director of merchandising and advertising for his family’s Knight Furniture in Sherman, Texas, was impressed with the family values that permeate every aspect of El Dorado’s work. “Everything they (El Dorado) do is done without a corporate mentality,” he says. “In terms of how they run their business, how they treat their employees, the help they give them and looking out for the customer, those are characteristics you see with a family-owned business, which they are only on a much larger scale. But all of the values I saw on display I know apply to my family store, too. I can’t wait to get some of them going back home.”

RetailerNOWmag.com

Next Generation members were particularly struck by El Dorado’s unique branding strategy. El Dorado will mention mattress brands, but chooses not to mention furniture manufacturers in its advertising and direct mail programs. Instead the company likes to enhance a different brand: itself.

Andres Capo, El Dorado’s warehouse management software leader, said the changing landscape in furniture manufacturing has rendered branding useless. “The average shopper couldn’t name but maybe two or three furniture brands,” Andres Capo told Next Generation members. “We are the brand. We are what we want people to remember, not the product.”

That philosophy resonated with Gunn. “It’s something that really hit home with me,” he says. “That’s a strategy I can walk into our store today and start up. It’s a great way for us to stand out, putting our name as the focus over the furniture.”

Donaghy, director of marketing at Dunk & Bright Furniture Co., in Syracuse, N.Y., took to heart many of El Dorado’s customer care strategies such as allowing only one sales associate to be at the front door and walking the customer outside three steps when they are finished. “That’s one of the things I’ve wanted to improve at our store—the way we greet customers,” says Donaghy. “It can be very intimidating walking in and seeing so many sales associates waiting there for you. We can easily give this a try and see how it works.”

Sharron Bradley, chief executive officer of the NAHFA, said events like the Leadership Immersion Experience are one of the many exclusive educational benefits the association offers its members. “Our training isn’t limited to just the markets and Retail Resource Centers,” she said. “Whether its webinars or experiences like the Leadership Immersion program, we’re always looking for ways to help members learn and grow their

businesses.”

When it was time to plan the second Leadership Immersion Experience, Bradley said it was obvious that El Dorado, a longtime association member, play host. “Everything the Capo family does is done with great thought and passion,” she says.

Ela Chavez, El Dorado’s executive vice president of learning & development, said the six Capo brothers who run El Dorado’s 13-store chain in South Florida, jumped at the opportunity to help fellow retailers.

“They are firm believers that when you teach others you learn, too,” she says. “And when everyone is learning, everybody is growing.”

Bradley said the association is already planning to add more Leadership Immersion Experience events to the calendar in 2016.

NAHFA members can learn more about participating in future events by contacting Kaprice Crawford, membership director, at 800.422.3778 or kcrawford@nahfa.org.

GOOD COMPANY It wasn't all work for NAHFA members and El Dorado employees, who enjoyed dinner at a Cuban restaurant.

All members are invited to attend the

Annual NAHFA Member Meeting during Las Vegas Market Monday, Jan. 25, 2016 at 7:30–9:00 a.m.

NAHFA’s Las Vegas Retailer Resource Center Building B, 10th Floor, B-1050 A continental breakfast will be served

RetailerNOWmag.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

39

GOVACTION

Is the Furniture You Sell Safe?

By Pat Bowling

T

he American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) is the industry’s recognized leader in the development and maintenance of standards related to the comfort, safety and durability of furniture for the home.

Working through ASTM International (the American Society for Testing and Materials), and other standards-setting organizations, AHFA helps advance test methods, product specifications and industry practices that improve product durability, enhance product safety and help build consumer confidence in our industry’s products.

There was a time when retailers could forward all questions— and responsibility—related to product standards to the manufacturer. But, increasingly, regulations seem to be moving in the direction of requiring companies to provide consumers with more explicit information about product compliance at the point of sale … and that requires you to be more informed and to share in the responsibility of communicating product compliance details to your customers.

This is not a complete list of standards, but it does cover those with which retailers should be familiar.

VOLUNTARY ASTM SAFETY STANDARDS ASTM International is a globally recognized leader in the development of voluntary consensus standards. Development of these ASTM standards is driven by the contributions of top technical experts and business professionals in each product category.

For home furnishings, there is an ASTM Furniture Safety Subcommittee with about 130 members, including furniture engineers from large and small manufacturing companies, retailers, safety experts, consumers, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The ASTM Subcommittee on Furniture Safety has jurisdiction over four standards. The standards are copyrighted and only available through the ASTM website, www.astm.org. Downloadable versions cost $44 and can be ordered in dozens of different languages.

Since these are considered baseline safety measures, retailers should not sell products that fail to comply with these standards. The four standards include:

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

F2057: Safety Specs for Clothing Storage Units Originally approved in 2000, this standard is aimed at minimizing the potential for chests, drawer chests, dressers and bureaus to tip over. (See the October 2015 RetailerNOW for a full article on the voluntary tip over standard.)

What’s covered? Any storage unit over 30 inches tall. It doesn’t matter if the piece is intended for adults or children.

What’s the standard? The standard includes two basic stability tests. First, the unit must not tip over when all drawers are fully opened to the “stop” and doors, if any, are opened 90 degrees. If there is no stop, drawers must be opened two-thirds of the way. (Full extension drawers must be tested fully opened.) Second, the unit must not tip over when a 50-pound weight is gradually applied to the front edge of an open drawer. It also requires that tip restraints and instructions for installing them be included with each piece of furniture.

How are compliant products labeled? Compliant products must carry a permanent warning label attached to the unit in a conspicuous place—most manufacturers affix it inside a drawer. The size and exact wording for the label are specified in the standard.

F3096-14: Performance Specs for Tip-over Restraints Approved last year, this safety specification defines the test methods and other requirements for the tip-over restraints required by F2057.

F1427-13: Safety Specs for Bunk Beds The Safety Specification for Bunk Beds is intended to minimize accidents to children resulting from normal use and reasonably foreseeable misuse or abuse of bunk beds.

What’s covered? All bunk beds intended for residential use. It does not cover bunk beds for institutional use (in military facilities, dormitories, etc.)

What’s the standard? This standard is specifically designed to help prevent injuries and deaths resulting from children becoming trapped between the mattress and guardrail, between the mattress and the bed structure, or between the bed and the wall. A later update was intended to address injuries and deaths caused by strangulation when a belt, rope or clothing became caught on the bed structure. This update prohibits any type of finial or post in bunk bed designs.

RetailerNOWmag.com

How are compliant products labeled? There must be a permanent label on each bunk bed identifying the name, city, state and zip code of the manufacturer, distributor or seller, and the month, model number and year of manufacture. In addition, a warning label must be permanently attached to the bed in a location that cannot be covered by bedding (but may be covered by placement of a pillow). The size and exact wording for the label are specified in the standard.

F2813-12: Safety Specs for Glass Used in Desks/ Tables The safety specification for glass was adopted in 2012. It establishes performance requirements for glass when it’s used as a horizontal surface for a desk or table. It was developed to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries due to glass table tops breaking.

What’s covered? Any “unenclosed” horizontal surface under 44 inches in height in a desk or table, including dining tables, coffee tables, end tables, display tables and outdoor tables. Glass fully supported by and bonded to a non-glass material is not covered.

What’s the standard? The glass must be laminated safety glass or tempered safety glass that complies with a separate national standard – ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard Z97.1-2009.

How are compliant products labeled? The standard requires the glass to be marked as “safety glass,” “safety tempered glass” or “laminated safety glass” as appropriate. It also must be marked as meeting ASTM F2813-12 by either the glass fabricator or the furniture manufacturer.

MANDATORY FEDERAL STANDARDS Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) This act was designed to give the CPSC greater authority and discretion in enforcing consumer product safety laws. Important for the furniture industry, it established new, lower lead content limits for children’s products and a lower lead limit for paint and surface coatings on all furniture. This law has been in effect since 2009. In 2010 thousands of decorative wood chests and occasional tables were recalled for not meeting lower lead content limits.

What’s covered? Furniture with paint or a “surface coating.”

How are compliant products labeled? CPSIA does not require labeling. Manufacturers of children’s products must conduct third-party testing on each child’s product at a CPSC-accepted lab. Manufacturers and importers of general furniture (furniture that is not designed or intended primarily for children 12 or younger) are not required to conduct third-party testing but must obtain a “general certificate of conformity” based on a “reasonable testing program.” All vendors should be able to readily supply documentation showing compliance with CPSIA requirements.

on the books since 2010 – Title VI (Limiting Formaldehyde Emissions) of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The national emission standards in the act mirror standards previously established by California, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has yet to promulgate the final regulations for implementing the federal standard.

What’s covered? All panels made from pieces, chips, particles or fibers of wood bonded with resin, as well as hardwood plywood with a veneer core or composite core, particleboard and medium density fiberboard. In addition to furniture, the home products made with these materials include flooring, moldings, cabinets, shelving, base boards and counter tops.

What’s the standard? In addition to establishing emission limits, the final rule will set testing requirements, labeling requirements, guidelines for chain of custody documentation, requirements for record-keeping, a third-party certification framework and enforcement provisions, all of which will impact wood furniture sold in the U.S. How are compliant products labeled? Like the California regulation, the labeling requirements in the federal standard will require manufacturers to label all finished goods to indicate they are made with complying component products. The label should be applied as a stamp, tag, sticker or bar code on every finished good or on every box containing a finished good.

UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE FLAMMABILITY California TB 117-2013 California’s Technical Bulletin 117-2013 sets requirements and test procedures for the smolder resistance of materials used in upholstered furniture intended for sale in California. Although the law is only enforced in California, most manufacturers include the TB 117-2013 compliance label on ALL upholstered products. There is widespread speculation that something similar–if not identical to–the California standard will eventually be adopted as a federal standard.

What’s covered? All upholstered indoor furniture offered for sale in California is covered, although, as a practical matter, much of the upholstered furniture sold in the U.S. is manufactured to the California standard.

What’s the standard? The standard tests the smolder resistance of cover fabrics, barrier materials and resilient filling materials used in upholstered furniture construction. Each of the components is tested separately using a mock-up that resembles a small chair seat and back.

The assembly is exposed to a lighted cigarette as an ignition source.

How are compliant products labeled? Most manufacturers add the flammability compliance statement to the law label found on the seat deck of upholstered furniture. Products manufactured after January 1, 2014, also contain a statement indicating whether the piece contains added flame-retardant chemicals.

You must ensure the furniture you sell is safe—look for compliance labels, talk to your manufacturers, educate your consumers.

Formaldehyde in Composite Wood Products A 60 Minutes investigative report in March accused the discount flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators of selling laminate flooring from China with formaldehyde levels in excess of California limits. Not since Hurricane Katrina were so many consumers talking about formaldehyde emissions. A federal law establishing limits for formaldehyde from composite wood products has been

RetailerNOWmag.com

Patricia Bowling is AHFA’s vice president of communications. Since 2000, she has overseen print and web-based communications for the Alliance, including the Furniture Executive membership newsletter, all emailed bulletins and alerts, and all press releases pertaining to association programs, events and legislative and regulatory activities.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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NAHFACOMMUNITY NAHFA members—one more chance to voice your opinions The NAHFA fielded its second annual government relations member survey earlier this month. Members are encouraged to spend 10 minutes taking the survey to express their opinions on the legislative and regulatory issues that are important to their businesses.

New app will help retailers navigate High Point Market For years, attendees navigating the High Point Market did so at their own risk. One wrong turn down a street or hallway might turn what should have been an uneventful 5-minute walk into a 20-minute adventure.

High Point Market Authority (HPMA) officials hope to change that in the spring when they debut an app that will enable users to get from showroom to showroom with ease.

The app is a direct result of North American Home Furnishings members having their voices heard by market officials at the Association’s annual lunch with HPMA staff. Each market, NAHFA members are given exclusive access to HPMA officials to discuss ways to improve the market experience for retailers.

Last year, NAHFA members urged the HPMA to make it easier for retailers to navigate market’s many buildings and showrooms. At the fall meeting, High Point Market Authority director Tom Conley gave NAHFA members a sneak peek of the app.

“This is something you and your association asked for and we’re here to tell you we listened,” Conley told retailers.

The app will triangulate your position

“It’s nice to see our concerns and desires answered so quickly.”

—Pedro Capo, El Dorado Furniture

and, much like your smartphone’s GPS, navigate you from Point A to Point B using the quickest route.

Best of all, the app won’t require a wireless connection—not always a given in some market buildings. Instead it will run off beacons positioned on each floor of the market’s 167 buildings, said Bryan Delaney co-founder of Skookum, the Charlotte-based software design firm that built the app.

Users need only enter a destination and the app will show you the fastest route, along with restrooms and exits in each of the buildings. Market officials say there’s room to build on to the app by offering an internal

calendar or messaging system for attendees who travel with teams. As the app grows, users will even be able to locate manufacturers by category and price point.

NAHFA members were impressed. “This is exactly what we asked for and (High Point Market) delivered,” says Pedro Capo, of Florida-based El Dorado Furniture. “It’s nice to see our concerns and desires answered so quickly.”

Peggy Burns of Circle Furniture in Massachusetts says the app will help her save time. “I can see how this could easily help us—certainly someone new to market— squeeze in another showroom or two every day,” Burns says.

Sharron Bradley, the NAHFA’s CEO, says the app came about because of NAHFA members’ exclusive access to market officials.

“We’re always striving for ways we can better serve our members,” says Bradley. “Giving them a chance to have their voices heard at market is just one of those benefits.”

Conley expects market officials to roll out the app in March, a few weeks before the spring High Point Market, which is April 16-20, 2016.

Most of NAHFA’s S.C. members escape heavy flooding with minimal damage Most North American Home Furnishings Association members in South Carolina say they escaped last month’s historic rains and flooding with only minor damage to their stores.

Sandy Bryant, owner of Orangeburg Furniture Exchange in Orangeburg, S.C., said many customers suffered home damage, but the most damage the store received was a leaky warehouse roof.

“We were lucky, very lucky,” he says.

“Lots and lots of rain. There were times we didn’t think it would ever stop, but not a lot of damage when everything finally passed.”

Torrential rains—in some parts, 20 inches in two days—caused historic flooding in the state. Nineteen deaths were attributed to the

flooding and 27 dams across the state failed.

In Charleston, many roads resembled rivers from the heavy downpour fueled by Hurricane Joaquin. NAHFA member Vince Gibbs of Good Wood Furniture in Charleston says several of his customers’ homes suffered flood damage, but his store escaped with only a few leaks in the roof.

In mid-October Gibbs said a few customers had bought furniture to replace pieces that were damaged by the flooding.

He expected business to pick up well into November after residents had met with their insurance companies.

“It’s never a good way to make business, but we want to be there for folks who need us,” he says.

FLOOD DAMAGE sends customers in search of replacement furniture.

Do you have something for the NAHFA Community? Send your information and hi-res photos to Robert Bell, rbell@nahfa.org.

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RetailerNOWmag.com

Delivering Education Every Month

Welcome New NAHFA Members NAHFA is excited to recognize and welcome the following members to our association:

NAHFA hosts monthly webinars (free to members) on topics ranging from technology, sales and marketing, and operations to consumer studies, ecommerce, and more. Webinars are scheduled for the third Thursday of every month from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. PT. Visit NAHFA.org/events for more information and registration.

Social Recruiting Carson Rowh

November 19

Ashley Furniture Home Store Kearney, Nebraska

Karen Mai City Furniture Gallery Brentwood, California

Corey McWhorter McWhorter Bedding Fairbury, Illinois

Roger Wardell Mattress Shows Caledonia, Michigan

Heather Grant Rent Interiors South Holland, Illinois

Phil Bearden Suburban Sit Hudson, Ohio

Julia Daniels The Comfortable Chair Store Roswell, Georgia

The North American Home Furnishings Association provides networking and education events across the country through the year. Visit NAHFA. org/events (or email events@nahfa.org) for information and registration or if you’d like to host an event in your area.

New England Holiday Bash December 3 6:00–9:00 p.m.

Papa-Razzi Restaurant Framingham, MA

Robert Buehl TV Lift Cabinet, Inc. Boca Raton, Florida

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS John Duffy Champion First

Tampa, Florida

Join us at Las Vegas Market for our Annual NAHFA Member Meeting Monday, Jan. 25, 2016 7:30–9:00 a.m.

NAHFA’s Las Vegas Retailer Resource Center Building B, 10th Floor, B-1050 A continental breakfast will be served

David Phillips DLange Mobile Augusta, Georgia RetailerNOWmag.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

43

WHO SUPPORTS YOUR SUCCESS? VISIT THE RRC TO SEE HOW! 20+ HOURS OF EDUCATION 20 AMAZING SEMINARS 40+ GREAT INDUSTRY PARTNERS FOR FINANCING, ECOMMERCE, POS, ADVERTISING AND MORE

4 DAYS OF FREE BREAKFAST & ESPRESSO @ 7:30am HORS D’ OEUVRES, BEER AND WINE @ 3:00pm

JANUARY 24-28, 2016 Retailer Resource Center SHOWROOM B-1050

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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INDUSTRYCALENDAR 2015 New England Holiday Bash December 3 Framingham, Mass. nahfa.org/events

International Contemporary Furniture Fair May 14-17 New York City icff.com

Showtime

Home Furnishings Networking Conference

December 6-9 High Point, North Carolina showtime-market.com

May 22-24 Long Beach, California thehfnc.com

2016 Atlanta International Area Rug Market January 13-16 Atlanta americasmart.com

Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market January 13-19 Atlanta americasmart.com

Dallas International Lighting Market January 20-24 Dallas dallasmarketcenter.com

Dallas Total Home and Gift Market January 20-26 Dallas dallasmarketcenter.com

Winter Las Vegas Market January 24-28 Las Vegas lasvegasmarket.com

NY NOW January 30-February 3 New York City nynow.com

Tupelo Spring Furniture Market February 4-7 Tupelo, Mississippi tupelofurnituremarket.com

High Point Market April 16-20 High Point, North Carolina highpointmarket.org

KNOW

Canadian Furniture Show May 28-30 Toronto, Ontario, Canada canadianfurnitureshow.com

NOW

Showtime June 5-6 High Point, North Carolina showtime-market.com

Dallas International Lighting Market

Our industry is always changing.

June 22-25 Dallas dallasmarketcenter.com

Dallas Total Home & Gift Market June 22-28 Dallas dallasmarketcenter.com

Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market July 12-19 Atlanta americasmart.com

Atlanta International Area Rug Market

The minute you think you know it all, that’s when you’re in trouble.

Fortunately there’s RetailerNOW to keep you informed and on track.

We’re the only association magazine dedicated to educating and inspiring retailers just like you to stay in the know.

Subscribe now at Retailernowmag.com.

July 13-16 Atlanta Americasmart.com

Summer Las Vegas Market July 31-August 4 Las Vegas Lasvegasmarket.com

Tupelo Fall Furniture Market August 18-21 Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelofurnituremarket.com

Casual Market Chicago September 20-23 Chicago Casualmarket.com

INSPIRATION+EDUCATION

NAHFA-hosted events are highlighted in red.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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HELP CUSTOMERS GET WHAT THEY WANT,

TODAY.

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INCLUDING Point-of-Sale System Integration

ADINDEX Emerald Home Furnishings Las Vegas Market (253) 922-1400 (888) 962-7469 emeraldhome.com lasvegasmarket.com EmeraldHomeFurnishings facebook.com/wmclv Page 29 @worldmarketctr Page 3 Furniche (210) 473-9508 Lynch Sales furniche.com (616) 458-6662 Furniche.USA lynchsales.com @Furniche_usa lynchsales @lynchsales Page 23 Page 33 FurnitureDealet.net (866) 387-6357 NAHFA Products Furnituredealer.net (800) 422-3778 FurnitureDealernet nahfa.org @FDNWEBSITES NAHFA Page 27 @NAHFA Inside Back Cover

Furniture Wizard (619) 869-7200 furniturewizard.com furniturewizard @furniturewiz Page 5

Northwest Furniture Xpress (828) 475-6377 nwfxpress.com Page 21

High Point Market (336) 869-1000 highpointmarket.org http://tinyurl.com/ HighPtMarket @hpmarketnews Page 7

ProfitSystems (800) 888-5565 profitsystems.com PROFITsystems @PROFITsystems Page 9

STORIS (888) 4-STORIS storis.com STORIS.solutions @STORIS Page 15 Surya (877) 275-7847 surya.com SuryaSocial @SuryaSocial Inside Cover TEMPOE 844-TODAY4U tempoe.com TEMPOEsocial @tempoe Page 46 Tidewater (800) 535-4087 x6553 tidewaterfinance.com Tidewater Finance Company @TidewaterMotor Page 37

To advertise in RetailerNow, contact Lynn Orr at (916) 757-1160.

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OCTOBER | 2015

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NOWLIST &ƵŶŬLJ Θ &ƵŶĐƟŽŶĂů

Antwerp-based design brand Valerie objects debuted this sculpturemeets-art-meets-furniƚƵƌĞ ĐŽůůĞĐƟŽŶ ďLJ ĚĞƐŝŐŶ duo Muller Van Severen at Maison & Objet. The lacquered steel frame comes in red, white or black and is paired with a ůĞĂƚŚĞƌ ĚĂLJďĞĚ ĂŶĚ ĐŚĂŝƌ and long-stemmed lamp.

^Ɵůů hŶĚĞƌƉĂŝĚ On average, women are paid ĨŽƌ ĞǀĞƌLJ ĚŽůůĂƌ Ă ŵĂŶ ĞĂƌŶƐ͘

78¢

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% 21.5 of Americans will be 65 or older by the year 2050.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor Source: Pew Research

WŽƉ;ƵůĂƌͿ ĞƐŝŐŶĞƌ

ZĞĐŽŐŶŝnjĞ ĂŶLJ ŽĨ ƚŚĞƐĞ ŝĐŽŶŝĐ ŵŝĚͲĐĞŶƚƵƌLJ ŵŽĚĞƌŶ ĐůĂƐƐŝĐ ĚĞƐŝŐŶƐ͍ dŚĞLJ͛ƌĞ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌŬ ŽĨ Irving Harper, a pioneer of pop art furniture who designed pieces for Herman Miller. Harper, who died in August at the age of 99, also designed the Herman Miller logo.

RetailerNOWmag.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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II

THE WAY WE WERE

T

his was our first mode of transporting furniture. The photo was taken sometime around 1904 or 1905. The horse’s name is Pete. My great-grandfather immigrated here from England and started the company. My grandfather incorporated it and my father brought us into the computer age. I guess I played a part in the distribution and transportation.

We’re in eight states in the Southeast with four distribution centers and more than 200 tractor trailers serviced by another 50 big rigs that move the furniture from the distribution centers to the stores. We’ve come a long way since Pete.

Wogan Badcock III Badcock Home Furniture & More, Florida

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Share your old photograph and memory by contacting Robert Bell at 916.757.1169 or rbell@nahfa.org

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2015

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