November/December 2013—The Back of the House

NOV/DEC 2013

HIDDEN STATEMENTS DELIVERY & TRAINING MANUFACTURER PARTNERS

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INSIDE Back of the House

36.

featuresNOW 22.

Hidden Statements

24.

An Interview with Kathy Ireland

28.

Manufacturer Partnerships

30.

Warehouse Safety

34.

Delivery Tracking

36.

In-House vs. Third-Party Delivery

39.

People Counting

40.

Responsive Design

yourVOICE 12.

Retailer2Retailer Conversion Rate

13.

Roving Reporter Casual Market

15.

32. Fresh Perspectives

Who Needs a Back of the House?

42.

Getting to Know the NextGen

46.

What's Selling Now

46.

Retailer of the Year Nominations

48.

Community Today Warehouse Operations

count onIT 04.

From the Association President May the Circle be Unbroken

06.

From the Editor Back of the House

10.

TechNOW

51.

Product Focus Dining Upholstery

54.

Membership Marketplace

57.

Quick-Fire Marketing Social Media Doesn't Make You Social

59.

Government Relations Minimum Wage

60.

Industry Scoop

62.

Industry Calendar

64.

The Now List

High Point Market Wrap-up 15.

October High Point Wrap-Up

16.

Regramming #HPMkt Tweets from High Point

18.

Caught on Camera Inaugural NextGen Day

20.

Hot Products

BACK OF THE HOUSE

On the cover: Your impression doesn’t end in the showroom.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

1

thePlayers

RetailerNOW

What we are so passionate about. . .

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

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

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

Magazine of the North American Home Furnishings Association Published by the North American Home Furnishings Association 500 Giuseppe Court, Suite 6 Roseville, CA 95678 800.422.3778 Publication Staff Jennifer Billock Editor jennifer@retailerNOWmag.com Lisa Tilley Creative Director lisa@retailerNOWmag.com

Contact Information:

Mailing – Editorial: 500 Giuseppe Ct., Suite 6

Tim Timmons Associate Publisher tim@retailerNOWmag.com

Roseville CA 95678 Mailing – Advertising

Michelle Nygaard Sales Executive michelle@retailerNOWmag.com

500 Giuseppe Ct., Suite 6 Roseville CA 95678 Online: retailerNOWmag.com Phone: Editorial: (800) 422-3778 Advertising: (800) 422-3778 Social: Facebook.com/retailerNOW

Cindi Williams Business Development cindi@retailerNOWmag.com

Twitter.com/retailerNOW Pinterest.com/retailerNOW

Editorial Collaborators Andrew Tepperman Tepperman's Windsor, ON

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

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

Carol Bell Contents Interiors Tucson, AZ

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

Rick Howard Sklar Furnishings Boca Raton, FL

If you would like to only receive an electronic version of RetailerNOW, please send an email to gogreen@retailerNOWmag.com. © 2012 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.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

Donny Hinton Colortyme Gaffney, SC

Travis Garrish Forma Furniture Fort Collins, CO

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North American Home Furnishings Association Sharron Bradley CEO sbradley@NAHFA.org Mary Frye EVP mfrye@NAHFA.org Executive Committee Chair Howard Haimsohn Lawrance Contemporary President Rick Howard Sklar Furnishings President Elect Marty Cramer Cramer’s Home Furnishings Vice President Steve Kidder Vermont Furniture Galleries Secretary/Treasurer Paul Sanford SHFA President Britt Sams Sams Furniture SEHFA President Wogan S. Badcock III W.S. Badcock Corp.

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LEADING SALES TOOLS

President's Message

from the president

May the Circle be Unbroken Our businesses, no matter how professionally they are organized and how wonderful our products and services are, require incredible attention to detail in order to succeed. All of our customers are special. Each has their vision of how they want their surroundings to match their lifestyle needs. Our designers have to pick up on this vision, to make the finished products come together matching their goal.

As we all know, there can be a lot of bumps in the road from the time the sales order is written until products are in our customers’ homes. The second half of the process involves the “Back of the House”— the unsung heroes of our businesses. The translation of the designer’s order to a purchase order must be written, checked and reviewed before it is sent to the supplier. Without this crucial step, we run a much higher risk of having special orders arrive incorrectly, and the frustration and negativity is very hard on a store’s credibility.

Our “Back Room” employees look after order expediting to insure timely deliveries or work through issues with the suppliers if delays should arise. We must have competitive rates to insure that we are able to make the gross margins that are so important to the health of our businesses.

Once the truck arrives at our warehouse, the product is unloaded and inspected, received in our systems, racked and added to our inventory. If it is a single item, it can be cross-docked and delivered the next North American HFA day, but if it is part of a larger order, it must be stored until the balance of the items arrive. This can get complicated as many vendors have different lead times. This process can be exacerbated by client construction delays and other factors out of our control. A superb team of experts balances all of this with great agility and, for the most part, makes it look easy.

Rick Howard, President

The process of setting up the delivery and collecting the balance demands skill and a practiced set of disciplines to insure success.

Routing must be correctly conceived and efficient or the driver’s frustration may impact our customers.

All of the product must then be picked, prepped, deluxed and readied for the load out. The next very important group, the delivery team, is now the final touch with the customer. Each team must have a practiced toolkit of skills. Negotiating traffic in our major cities is a nightmare for most of us, but it is much tougher for a truck trying to meet delivery windows in a routing schedule. Once they reach the customer’s home, they need to take a deep breath, put on white gloves and booties, and smile. They are now ready to make the delivery such a pleasant experience that it rekindles the excitement the customer felt when they made their purchase.

Too often the conditions at the home are not what was reported, and the delivery team must employ Houdini-like tactics to get the product into the home without damage. On occasion, issues occur that require follow-up service. Customer service people must have patience and determination to get to the bottom of the issue, send a technician and reassure the customer. How we manage the resolution oftentimes cements a long-term relationship.

A high level of service requires working with our Back Room partners to ensure customer satisfaction. The goal is to have them return and refer our stores to their friends and families.

This issue is dedicated to the back of the house, and it is my belief that these employee teams are where we reach the highest level of our client care. The back of the house staff does not see the glamorous side of the business, so we must find ways to show our appreciation and let them know how vital they are to the company’s success and customers’ satisfaction. The winning formula is a superb front and back end.

May the circle be unbroken!

Rick Howard 4

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Editor’s Message

from the editor Cocoa Brown

Orange Rust

Star White

Black Forest

Jennifer's Winter Pantone Picks

Back of the House Maybe it’s my distant culinary background of catering, making pastries and waiting tables, but when I hear “back of the house,” I think about restaurants. The kitchen, the cooler, the delivery operations… all the things that, aside from the waitstaff, keep the business running. Without those pieces of the puzzle, any restaurant, even a Michelin-starred place, would founder and run itself out of business.

You can’t run a café without food, right?

It’s a cross-industry standard. You may not have functioning kitchens in your store (if you do, I’m coming by for lunch!), but every home furnishings retail operation has back-end processes. Without computer software or someone watching the door, you won’t know your traffic. Without a warehouse, you may not have stock available. Without delivery options, no one is going to get their furniture.

Without manufacturer partners, you may not have furniture at all! And just like that—it’s the demise of a business.

So here’s to the delivery drivers. The great manufacturer partners. The staff sprucing up the bathrooms. Here’s to the warehouse managers and employees. Here’s to all the employees you keep to make your business run as smooth as glass. This issue’s for you!

We’re sharing what you want to know, from investigating warehouse safety programs to accurately tracking customer traffic to making low-traffic areas pop. And we’d love to hear some more of your ideas. If you’ve got a great back-of-house strategy, email me or catch up with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Thanks to our Facebook and Twitter “where are we now” campaign, we’re continuing to see where RetailerNOW is popping up across North America. Here we are in McMinnville, Tenn., at Barr’s Fine Home Furnishings! You’ll notice the striped velvet pillow matches our September cover perfectly.

Barr’s is certainly in vogue!

Take a photo of us in your store, and you can be part of the fun!

(224) 627-3288 jennifer@retailerNOWmag.com @retailerNOW

What I’m Loving The holidays are here! Don’t you just want to curl up next to a warm fire with a cup of hot cocoa? Me too. But since I don’t have a fireplace, I want to use one of these. I’m going to take my hot cocoa outside, sit at this black wicker fire table from The Outdoor GreatRoom Company and watch the snow fall (and believe me, here in Wisconsin, I’ll have plenty of snow to watch). Happy holidays!

Follow other products I love on pinterest.com/retailerNOW 6

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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RetailerNOW!

A leader in floor covering and home accessories

Luminance Collection by Nourison Taking inspiration from the intricate geometrics of antiquity, with a modern approach to color and design, the Luminance collection will complement a variety of décors, both traditional and modern.

F

or more than 30 years, Nourison has excelled as the premier resource for beautifully designed, luxuriously crafted rugs, broadloom and home accessories. The vast, comprehensive selection offers everything from signature handmade area rug collections… to prestigious designer lines… to home accents and scatter rugs… to top-selling power loomed carpeting for commercial, residential and hospitality uses.

The best products at every price point With price points to fit every budget, Nourison products deliver unparalleled levels of quality and sophistication. That’s why prominent retailers throughout the United States and Europe rely on Nourison for superior merchandise assortments. The name Nourison is your assurance of unique beauty, craftsmanship and value.

A Comprehensive Product Line Nourison product line consists of area rugs, accent rugs, broadloom and home accents. It also offers custom rugs and broadloom in any imaginable color and texture.

Nourison products deliver unparalleled levels of quality and sophistication. That’s why prominent retailers throughout the United States and Europe rely on Nourison for superior merchandise assortments.

Area Rugs

Mina Victory Home Accents by Nourison

Nourison offers a comprehensive range of area rugs in every imaginable style, color, shape, size, color pattern and construction. Customers can choose from hundreds of traditional, transitional, or contemporary styles in designs that match any decorating preference.

These luxury home accents are designer creations, inspired by modern lifestyles and utilizing a global perspective. Most styles are designed to coordinate with Nourison’s signature handmade rugs.

Nourison Licensed Brands Nourison partners with world-class brands that add diversity to our assortment of area and accent rug collections. Brands we partner with have designer recognition as leaders in quality products. Recognizable licensed brands increase sales at the retail level by targeting brand-conscious consumers. Licensed brands include: Barclay Butera Lifestyles, Calvin Klein Home, kathy ireland HOME by Nourison, Joseph Abboud, and Waverly.

Shown here: Mina Victory Indoor/Outdoor pillows

Nourison Rug Boutique:

Nourison was the first to introduce a comprehensive, space-saving rug display. It is still the gold standard in area rug displays. Requiring only 20 square feet of space, Nourison’s Rug Boutique provides a great ROI. The attractive display includes 27”x18” samples of almost 100 designs representing over 600 SKUs, and lifestyle POP boards with size and shape information.

kathy ireland HOME by Nourison Lava Flow-Aqua

Nourison has permanent showrooms in Atlanta, High Point, Las Vegas, New Jersey, New York and Zurich. For more information, please visit www.nourison.com

Tech

TechNOW

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

Cool Apps

Good to Know Do you use email marketing for your business? Your customers may not be getting your eblasts. Earlier this year, Gmail introduced a new inbox for its users that separates mail into three categories: Primary, Social and Promotions. More than likely, your company’s emails are being shuffled into the Promotions tab, making it more difficult for recipients to see the messages. Here’s what to do to make sure your emails end up in your customers’ Primary tab (the default inbox when Gmail opens): Send an eblast to everyone on your mailing list specifically stating to drag the email to their Primary tab. A pop-up window should open asking if users want to do this for every message from that email address—instruct readers to click “yes.” After that, every email you send from that address will be in the Primary inbox.

Hot Site Score.org SCORE lives its tagline, “for the life of your business,” in more ways than one. The website is home to a nearly free small business association that supports companies as they start and grow. Not only does the site offer incredibly valuable information and articles for businesses of all size, you can even sign up for mentoring and workshops, either online or in person.

The site also hosts templates for business documents and information for handling international business.

SCORE is a one-stop shop for everything you need to run your business, with a little help from others to help you along.

LAST CHANCE TO WIN AN IPAD MINI SUBSCRIBE ONLINE NOW www.retailerNOWmag.com If you already subscribe, you must fill out the webform to enter the contest.

Kashoo Accounting Built specifically for small businesses, Kashoo makes the accounting process simple and easy with a user-friendly interface providing everything you need for a full accounting suite.

The app is integrated with QuickBooks so you can port over your existing numbers and get started right away. Available for the iPad; Free Shoeboxed Receipt Tracker Maintaining an expense report for Market? Shoeboxed can help.

Snapping pictures of your receipts allows you to archive your expenses immediately and translates that information into an expense report. And if you’re driving, hit one button and Shoeboxed uses GPS to track your mileage, generate maps and determine your reimbursement amount. Available for Apple and Android; Free Skitch Collaboration goes visual with Skitch.

Take a picture, make a sketch, capture a screenshot, and then you can mark it up with easy on-screen tools and send it off to anyone you want. See a sofa in your competitor’s showroom you want to sell? Snap a picture, write the manufacturer name right on it, and send it to your staff.

Research has never been easier. Available for Apple, Android and Windows phones; Free Have you connected with RetailerNOW? Like, Tweet or Pin with us and you’ll be able to experience more content and continue the conversations online!

Like: www.facebook.com/RetailerNOW Tweet: @RetailerNOW Pin: www.pinterest.com/RetailerNOW

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Tech

H

ow much do you know about social media? Join MicroD and Furniture First every Monday for a Twitter chat about all things retail. The inaugural #FurnitureChat focused on retailers’ social presences. Here’s what they had to say.

@MicroDInc: Q1) How do I gain more customer engagement? #FurnitureChat @MicroDInc: A1) A simple search on a social media site is the best start.

Where are the customers and what are they talking about? #FurnitureChat @FurnitureFirst: From what I have seen, many retailers create fun contests, such as the "Ugly Sofa" contest to gain customer engagement. #FurnitureChat @FurnitureFirst: @MicroDInc Retailers can also share pictures of their showroom, product and events about their store #FurnitureChat @enchantedblog86: @MicroDInc I'm such an advocate for #socialmedia in our industry! What a great way to engage with your customers. @MicroDInc: @enchantedblog86 as a consumer, please tell us how retailers can engage with you online better! #furniturechat @enchantedblog86: @MicroDInc I think it's important that retailers stay up on the latest trends. Find things that are interesting to consumers.

GO ONLINE TO SEE MORE ... RetailerNOWmag.com

ongratulations to PFP Founder,

Gene Rosenberg 2013 Inductee American Furniture Hall of Fame To read more about the American Furniture Hall of Fame and their many projects, visit www.FurnitureHallofFame.com

#1

In High Impact Events. Take that first step. Call or Click today!

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Your Voice

Retailer2Retailer

Q.

How do you determine an appropriate conversion rate or close ratio?

A: We have the sales staff keep track

A: Most published data seems to be

of ups and we have a camera on the entry doors that an office employee uses to do a traffic count. Then the sales manager comes up with final figures by balancing out the two.

Without having a full-time greeter, I think the camera format works the best for us and is pretty accurate.

—Dave Harkness, Harkness Furniture

from the wish list rather than reality, and the calculation is less obvious than you would expect. Stores that use measured door traffic counters in some impartial way (like literal door swings) will generally show a lower number. If you rely on salesperson up data, it will artificially inflate the number. Find a baseline and use that as a starting point to measure whether your store or salesperson is getting Generally, I find industry averages better or worse, regardless of whatever known flaws are incorporated in the to be inaccurate. Each store is unique. number, so long as you measure the We determine an acceptable closing rate based on historical data and same way each time.

Store location can impact the baseline, current data, and take the average too. A mall or busy shopping center as what is generally accepted as a might have a lower close ratio due minimum. If you ask 10 different to more casual lookers who just retailers exactly how they track and happen by, versus an out-of-the-way exactly who is counted as an up, standalone destination store that will you will get at least seven different have a higher percentage of purposeful responses—maybe 10.

A:

shoppers.

A: Ups can often be skewed by the

sales staff’s interpretation of a true “up.”

We provide in-house financing so we have a large amount of traffic every day in the form of customers who come in simply to make a paymenton their account. Some of these customers paying on account turn into true ups that never get written down. Likewise, we have customers who come in regarding a service issue and end up looking at merchandise. There are so many scenarios outside of your regular Joe walking in the front door asking about a recliner. It’s, unfortunately, just not that simple.

—Casey Evans, Pedigo Furniture

—Howard Haimsohn, Lawrance Furniture

—David Gunn, Knight Furniture

A: For new staff I use a starting goal

to achieve after 120 days. For current staff we use an average of the previous three years.

36?

—Marty Cramer, Cramer’s Home Furnishings 12

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Your Voice Casual Market, Chicago, Illinois

Roving Reporter JENNIFER BILLOCK Editor, RetailerNOW

T

his Market, I did something new. My first day, I shadowed two retailers as they looked for new furniture to sell. (Thank you, Marty Cramer and Kevin Herron, for your hospitality!) The three of us were all in the same boat, just stepping into the outdoor furnishings world for the first time. We trekked to multiple showrooms, went on tours, spoke with sales… well, you all know how it goes. But I was completely green, and I learned quite a bit! The first being that the amount of outdoor pieces available is mind-boggling. And along with that, there’s a whole new vernacular to learn—like triscuit weave, powder coat, cushion drainage, cast aluminum, chat group, slingback and parabolic mesh. The outdoor furniture world has its own particular color scheme, too. Whereas indoor furnishings can range from subdued pastels to hot pinks to traditional browns and blacks, outdoor pieces are almost exclusively neutral tones. Bold color comes in small doses with accent pillows or a meticulously planned pinstripe.

the shed when the first frost hits, not to be seen until spring. But solution-dyed acrylic fabric, engineered wicker, aluminum, cast iron, concrete and more opened my eyes to a whole new world of outdoor rooms. Some of these fabrics and pillows are insanely plush and comfortable; they feel and look just like indoor materials. If you haven’t looked into outdoor furnishings, I think you’ll be just as surprised as I was.

On my last evening in town, I attended the International Casual Furnishings Association Awards Gala at the Field Museum to celebrate achievements in outdoor furniture. Everyone be sure to congratulate Seasons Four in Lexington, Mass., and ABSCO Fireplace & Patio in Alabama for winning Apollo Awards in retail excellence!

One more thing. If you’ve been reading my editor’s letters, you know I can’t get enough of rocking chairs. At the Casual Market, I fell in love with the red Plantation Rocker from Troutman Chair One of the things I found particularly surprising was the durability Co. The back slats are curved for lumbar support and the seat is of the items we looked at. I live in a volatile weather environ- comfortably graded. Now, the exact chair is sitting in my living ment. In the same day, it can be a heat wave in the morning, a room with a matching side table and an accent birdcage pillow thunderstorm in the afternoon, and snowfall in the evening. Every from Nourison. What a souvenir! showroom I went to stressed that regardless of the weather, their pieces can stay out year-round, in all temperatures and precipita- Are you visiting a show or new market event? Let us know at jennifer@ tion. Now, I’m used to dumping all my lawn furniture back into retailerNOWmag.com!

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Solutions for the Whole Home

Explore the possibilities and find out why Magnussen is the best kept secret in the furniture business. With our new upholstery collection and new introductions in all categories, you’re sure to be impressed. Now with our Whole Home Solutions and QuickFlex shipping program, you can mix and ship product from our Asian Distribution Center making it easy to get what’s right for your business.

To learn more and locate a sales representative in your area, call 519-662-3040 ext. 733 Upholstery | Casual Dining | Occasional | Entertainment | Youth | Master Bedroom

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Market Wrap-Up

High Point Attendees Capture it on Mobile ➨

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Market Wrap-Up

Regramming #HPMkt

We scoured Twitter searching for the best Instragram photos from High Point Market. Here are some #regrams of our favorites.

@HUDSONSTORE You think they're vintage right? wrong! Love them, not getting them until April. Youch! #hpmkt #hudsonspring2014 #hatelongleadtimes

@TYNDALLFURN Obsessed #hpmkt

@covetedhome Loved meeting Michael & Stacy of Dunes & Duchess at #hpmkt Great line of bold colors and fun designs.

@Design_the_Gap Can you say Mad Men? @youngerfurnitur #dtg #hpmkt #dondraper

@ScoutDeb One of my favorite new fabrics from @leeindustries Great chair #hpmkt #vintagescout #squaready 16

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

@zkgraff #hpmkt jacques garcia sofa by @bakerfurniture + art inspired by homer's odyssey

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@FranklinEighth Lovely Moroccan inspired mirror at @vancollier #hpmkt

@THENESTEGG New triptych on its way to our nest soon! #wallart #hpmkt

@Sandra_Espinet Right in time for #Halloween, lots of #orange accessories and #decor at #HPmkt #carrots #homedecor #shopping #interiordesign

Check out more of your Market photos at www.retailerNOWmag.com/click/photos

@RueMagazine Can't get enough of the woven detailing we spotted at #hpmkt this season. Particularly loved this #BakerFurniture chair!!

@StudioM_ Lovin me some Design Legacy at #hpmkt. Never disappointed here! #stylespotter

@AntiqueDesignCt #selfie in a Queenie Tin mirror #hpmkt

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Market Wrap-Up

CAUGHT ON CAMERA

AT THE INAUGURAL NEXT-GEN DAY High Point University students and furniture market visitors got an inside look at the furniture industry during Market. Next Generation NOW, the North American Home Furnishings Association’s (NAHFA) young professionals group, joined forces with High Point Market and High Point University (HPU) to give students and furniture market attendees personal access to the industry’s experts and business leaders during a networking event and two panels.

The students attended a luncheon and job-shadowing event at Market hosted by Ray Allegrezza, editor-in-chief of Furniture Today. Panelists from Mann, Armisted & Epperson; El Dorado Furniture; Steve Hodges Associates and Stanley Furniture shared stories of how they became involved in the industry, talked with students and answered their questions.

The "executive vacuum":

The luncheon followed the first panel, Baby boomers are retiring “Fashioning a Career in the Home and the industry needs Furnishings Industry,” which was held at young professionals in HPU and featured speakers from Ashley a variety of areas.

Furniture Industries, Raymour & Flanigan Furniture, Best Home Furnishings and MicroD. Ashley Furniture founder and CEO Ron Wanek was one of the panelists who discussed the “executive vacuum,” explaining that baby boomers are retiring and the industry needs young professionals in a variety of areas.

The opportunity to learn from the bumps and bruises as well as the triumphs of these seasoned professionals will serve the next generation as they acquire the knowledge and skills to make them a success in this industry.

With the success of the inaugural NextGen Day, the NAHFA is moving fast on plans for another at the upcoming Las Vegas Market in January.

High Point University students look on as panelists discuss what a career in the industry has to offer.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Market Wrap-Up

On left and below: Ashley Furniture Industries founder and CEO Ron Wanek stops for picture and autograph requests from HPU students.

Young market-goers and HPU students enjoy lunch at High Point Market

Panelists (left to right) included: Alex Macias, Lael Thompson, Stuart Curtis, Seth Goldberg, Hayley Leocha, Jason Goldman, Ron Wanek, Kerry Lebensburger.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Market Wrap-Up

HOT PRODUCTS

October’s Market was all about modern lines and updated antique inspiration.

From futuristic styled chairs to pieces inspired by celebrities and traditional designs, the selection offered enough to satisfy any picky buyer’s tastes. Here are some of the top products from October’s High Point Market.

Regina Andrew | reginaandrew.com The Gables Chair brings both futuristic lines and traditional log-inspired styling to any room.

Taracea | taracea.com Taracea is known for sustainable wood furnishings, and the Partida Dining Table's wood-cut top is no exception.

SkLO | sklostudio.com Hang this sleek, modern New Blue Opaque Object from your wall for an instant vase.

American Leather | americanleather.com Soft, curving lines with a pop color on the Niagara Curved Two-Piece make this unique sofa stand out.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Market Wrap-Up SELVA | selva.com Gus Design Group | gusmodern.com A low profile and minimalistic design ensure the Carmichael Bed will fit into almost any bedroom design scheme.

The Peggy Norris Chair creates interplay between fresh design and coziness with its vivid, feminine lines and contemporary upholstery.

Massoud Furniture | massoudfurniture.com The whimsical Baby D Chair features fabric from Wesley Mancini for Home.

Mancini’s favorite pup, Dexter, promises to bring a smile to anyone who enters the room.

Stein World | steinworld.com Stein World’s distinctive chests, like the five-drawer Wilcox, focus on upcycled and reclaimed elegance in design and style.

Legacy Classic Kids | legacyclassickids.com The modified sleigh Avalon Platform Bed, inspired by Wendy Bellissimo, has a modern yet timeless style allowing it to transition from child all the way to adult guest bedroom. Pair it with the 360 Dreamer Chest—the tea-stained woven fabric is also used in the bed’s upholstered headboard.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Back of the House

Before

Before

After

After

What your showroom property is telling customers by Richard Sexton, founder and CEO of Carolina Rustica

I

n our omni-channel retail universe, much of our focus tends to be on the condition of our online presence.

And with good reason—online commerce may only be 7 percent of overall retail sales right now, but it is the primary driver for many industries, and has the greatest potential for growth. Even those entrenched brick-and-mortar businesses (grocery stores, car dealers, hardware stores, etc.) tend to focus much more on their product offerings, pricing and promotions. Our attention wavers when it comes to presentation of the product (particularly important in our home furnishings vertical), and we can be downright neglectful when it comes to the less glamorous components of our retail space. Though not as exciting as floor merchandising, the condition of our public areas—storefront, parking area, restrooms, front counter, customer pick-up—makes a hidden statement about our business. If you take a look at these areas in your own operation, what do you think they may be telling customers?

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Did you know studies show 60 percent of callers left on hold, hearing nothing but dead silence, will hang up? And worse yet, 70 percent of all business calls are placed on hold at some point in the conversation. What does that Hidden Statement say about those businesses? On-hold music and other messages help to alleviate the boredom experienced by customers while they wait their turn in long telephone queues. The more deeply they are engaged and interested, the faster time seems to pass, making customers feel like their hold time was shorter than it may have actually been. Messages informing customers of their place in line increase customer satisfaction across demographics, but marketing messages can also make customers less testy.

Nearly every business offers specials or has new, upcoming products or services that may not be well known by the general public.

Although a company may still want to appeal to the majority of people, they can break up on-hold music with informative messages about daily specials, new movie releases and products that are difficult to find. The customer will learn something new about the business through on-hold marketing and be more likely to contact the company again in the future after recurrent pleasant experiences contacting that company.

Companies like Retail Radio and Profit On Hold can transform the liability of silence on the telephone line into an asset by telling holding customers about the store they have called. Customized messages read by professional announcers against a background of music expose callers to important information instead of a vacuum of silence.

Through the hold line, callers can even reach customer service representatives to discuss weekly specials and sales. Playing the right messages over your phone’s holding system can mean the difference between a sale and a hang-up—no Hidden Statements about it.

If you want to find out more about programs that offer these services, please contact NAHFA’s membership department.

Back of the House

Store Entrance Your storefront and entrance are the first and most obvious areas of initial customer contact and your single biggest opportunity to create the right impression. Successful retailers excel at storefront display and signage, changing these visuals according to season, new product arrivals or promotional events. But what else does your storefront area say about your business? If you are a freestanding store, you will have to maintain a clean, code-compliant parking area, with landscaping and conveniences like outside trash disposal and perhaps some benches for seating. However, if you are part of a strip mall, indoor mall or redeveloped textile mill (like in our case), you will have to grapple with the landlord’s standards for your property. This may not necessarily be consistent with the statement you are trying to make about your business. For example, our storefront has a perfectly nice entrance, clean and accessible, but with a smoking station by the door. This is not what I would choose for the entrance, but we have little say in the matter.

Could this be sending a Hidden Statement about the facility? Are we saying “Smokers Welcome” or “Smokers Stop Here”?

Front Counter Years ago, we had a front counter that ran the width of the store. It was an obvious spot to help our customers, but it was also a barrier. Our business model is not highly transactional; it is more collaborative. We work with customers who are customizing furniture, and we need to show customers that we are on their side in the process. The counter was a barrier and sent the wrong signal, so we replaced it with some table and chair sets. We eliminated our cash register as well, using our online order management systems to receive payment and generate receipts (cash is a rarity in our business, due to the high Average Order Value).

We took the hidden signal of “this is you and this is us” and flipped it around, making the process more participatory.

We could still improve, though. With our open floor plan, customers were able to walk around our office, and some would hover over our shoulders as we entered in information. Since we don’t want customers to have access to our pricing, we tried to corral them away from the office area with a rather truculent sign. What was the Hidden Statement? Stay Out! To tone this down and keep more consistent with our business philosophy, we softened things up and made a waiting area, complete with two very comfy chairs and a table, with a more polite sign that asks customers to wait where they are for service. We’ve still kept a barrier, but its not so in-your-face. What message does your front counter send?

Restrooms

Common Areas

If you are a full-service standalone retail store, it is imperative that you have restrooms. Retailers in enclosed malls can get away with directing customers to the common area restrooms, but otherwise, it’s a necessity. In our business, we are relatively low on foot traffic and this allows us to monitor and maintain clean, orderly restrooms. This was not always the case, however. Before our last store expansion, we relied on the common area restrooms, which were not maintained to our standards due to high usage. As our discomfort with the restroom situation grew, we took the opportunity to work with our landlord and build in two brand new restrooms in our third showroom. The result? No Hidden Statements about our business: The restrooms are decorated with our own product, down to the mirrors and vanity, and maintained to impeccable standards. There is no possibility of a negative experience in this unsung portion of our showroom.

Retail tenants in covered malls, shopping plazas, strip malls and hybrids such as our business share common areas. We are located in a historic building with several other tenants. We are the only retail operation on our floor, and with relatively light foot traffic, we need to make sure that the common areas are welcoming to Carolina Rustica customers. Even a spacious common area may not necessarily be welcoming to customers. We try to adapt to that situation by placing group settings outside of our store. Most shopping center managers try to create a clean, welcoming environment for their retailer, so in a majority of cases, there is little that can (or should) be done. However, there are surely many retailers like us who live with mundane or lackluster common areas. Remember that customers see these areas before they enter your store, so do everything you can to create the right impression before they ever set foot in your domain.

As retailers and business owners, we are typically flooded with a hundred things to do during the day, and re-examining the state of our restrooms or common areas is usually not even on the list. However, our customers see everything in our business, and we can be sending Hidden Statements that work against our own diligent efforts to create the right impression. It can be something as simple as signage, for example. In one of our galleries, we have a roll-down door when we are understaffed and not able to have someone seated out front. Realizing this made us looked rather unapproachable, we simply had a sign made directing our customers to our other galleries. We want to be as inviting as possible, and all it took was some simple signage to change the Hidden Statement.

Look at your environment with a shopper’s critical eye and see what can be realistically improved upon. Take a neutral or negative Hidden Statement and turn it into a positive one. Make it your own!

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Back of the House

SALUTES BUSY MOMS

by Jennifer Billock

Kathy Ireland lounges on Nourison rug.

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Back of the House

hen super model Kathy Ireland began her product line, she started with a single pair of socks. That tiny item has led to a full line of home furnishings products, as well as bridal gowns and home accessories.

RetailerNOW sat down with Kathy to chat about her partnership with Nourison and what makes those products special. : What’s unique about your products with Nourison?

partnerships When you partner with a brand, you want more than an autographed picture. That’s really not that interesting. You need design and innovation and creativity. You need support in sales and marketing. You need a committed team with their sleeves rolled up who are going to get behind you.

Kathy: We don’t always think about a rug as jewelry for the home.

But my goodness, the shimmer in the rugs and the decorative pillows… it’s exciting. When I read about your Nina [Reference to the Editor's grandmother in the August 2013 issue's Editor's Message], it just touched my heart and reminded me of something Elizabeth Taylor would always teach me. She was always encouraging me in fashion and teaching me to go bolder in every detail. It had to be exquisite. For us to be able to find partners who can bring what we’ve had in our heads to fashion, I can’t tell you how emotional it is. We have such an assortment from affordable to luxurious and it’s just got that fashion. I encourage women, when they’re putting their home together, to start from the ground up. Choose a rug that you love, that speaks to you. Let that be your anchor for everything else in the room. Draw colors from it, textures from it.

It’s a wonderful place to start.

What is the focus behind your product line?

Kathy: Our mission began in 1993 with finding solutions for families, especially busy moms. We’ve expanded it to finding solutions for people in love with our bridal business, and finding solutions for people in business. Our brand is about solutions. If you don’t have any problems, our brand is probably not for you.

When we started the brand and as it grew, our customer was communicating with me via our website. We don’t sell anything on it, and we don’t plan to. It’s a communication channel. It was really meant as a thank you, because while maybe in the beginning the retailers didn’t quite get it, there were women who embraced what we started with (a single pair of socks). She started communicating with us and letting us know her needs—and she had needs in the kitchen and in gardening. There were some who said, well let’s just photograph you in the kitchen and with some plants. And I said no! I’m not going to do that. It’s not truthful. Some people can do it all but I’m not one of them, and it’s OK to ask for help.

I’m not going to put that on women, making her think she has to do everything.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Back of the House

Some of our designs that really address the millennials are the studio collections. It’s very young at heart. And we’ve got guys on our team who are always saying, “Don’t forget the guys.” So in all our designs, we seek to make sure we have that balance of the masculine and feminine. I grew up in a home with three sisters, and Dad was kind of overwhelmed with my mom and the girls. So we have a sensitivity towards that. You don’t want anything overly frilly or overly masculine. When you have that blending, everybody feels comfortable when they walk into a room, and that’s something we seek to accomplish with our designs as well. : What kind of tweaks have you had to make to cater more to the millennial group?

Kathy: Price point is one. They’re beautiful, they’re luxurious, but they’re affordable. And also offering sizes that are going to fit in smaller spaces. It’s also about experiencing the brand, and when you’re doing that for the millennial, you can turn around and say we have a beautiful rug in a 4x6 for your studio apartment in whatever city you might be in, for a very affordable price. We’ve also gone back in these collections and added in a pair of 4x6s as well as a very aggressive retail price point on some of the products that have been new to our relationship with Nourison. Like Cottage Grove is a beautiful textured border rug, and it speaks to the millennials because the colors and palette are absolutely on trend with what’s going on in home furnishings.

what can we do to serve them beyond our brand. We have creative incentives. Is there a certain time when sales are a little slower, and can we do a wonderful story in the local media to really make people aware of this retailer?

Also, with all of our designs, our style guides span the globe. You get a seamless cohesion. It’s not matchy-matchy. When a family is putting their home together, it can be overwhelming and people can get intimidated. Everyone’s got their own unique sense of style.

It’s just a matter of trusting it and unleashing it, and when we give options within our brand esthetic or style guides, you really can’t make a mistake because the palettes flow and work together. You really can bring a room together beautifully and quite easily. : How did you combat the male-centric furnishings world? Did you have any difficulties getting started?

Kathy: When I first got into the home furnishings industry, I walked into a room full of guys. I was like, where are all the women? Are they all in a meeting or something? It was strange. It was a sales meeting and it was all guys. I just started asking questions. “So please tell me a bit about your customer. Male, female?” And they said, oh, 95 percent female does the shopping. OK… do you think we might want to have a little balance here? [Laughing]

It’s been interesting. A lot of the guys have been great and open. We had some wonderful discussions early on, working with people who : Why should a retailer stock your product? just didn’t understand what it was for a busy mom to shop and how heroic that is. Just what goes into that one act, when you’re talking Kathy: We have an external mission of finding solutions for people about car seats, and temper tantrums, and diapers, and drama, and in business and it’s also an internal mission, meaning partnering stuff, and you get out of the driveway—it’s a big deal. You make it with our retailers in a powerful way. We so value them. One of the into the store—that’s victory. That’s why it’s important to us who most exciting things for me, when I get to work with our different we partner with at every level, from manufacturer to retail. Because retail teams, is really connecting with the sales team. I love sales we want to honor her. She’s made that heroic effort; we know it’s teams because I learn so much from them. We’re communicating a big deal. We get that. She’s being pulled. She’s in the store and regularly in every way possible. They’re on the front lines every she’s got a limited amount of time. She’s got to take someone to single day and there’s so much to learn from them. What’s working, soccer, pick someone up from tap dance, and she’s overwhelmed. what’s not working, what’s moving? If something is a little slow, And if she sees designs that are called “461” or “389,” that doesn’t what can we do to give you a push? When you partner with a brand, do anything for her. It’s not a solution. But when our names have you want more than an autographed picture. That’s really not that meaning and tap into emotions and her home, there’s a lot of pride. interesting. You need design and innovation and creativity. You We want to make her home wonderful. So in every area, we want need support in sales and marketing. You need a committed team to bring a solution. We don’t want her putting her home together with their sleeves rolled up who are going to get behind you. We to be overwhelming. We want it to be fun. For us to do our work love connecting with our retail partners and learning from them. correctly, it’ll make it fun for her. When I was a child, my mom We want to serve them, not in an institutionalized, industrialized loved changing the house around. It wasn’t in our budget to buy way, but an individualized way. We realize every region and every new products, so she just moved things around all the time to retailer has different needs and different areas where we can come give it a new look. Changing out your rugs and pillows freshens along and support them. We want to learn from them and work up your home in such a powerful, beautiful way, and we’re able to with them. We want to learn how we can best be of service and bring this luxury and make it affordable. It’s really exciting.

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Back of the House

When I first got into the home furnishings industry, I walked into a room full of guys. I was like, where are all the women? Are they all in a meeting or something?

It was strange. It was a sales meeting and it was all guys. I just started asking questions. “So please tell me a bit about your customer. Male, female?” And they said, oh, 95 percent female does the shopping. OK… do you think we might want to have a little balance here?

www.retailerNOWmag.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Back of the House

Manufacturer Partnerships

S

ome of the most important parts of a successful relationship with manufacturers are the programs offered to assist and promote the retail side. Here, two mattress companies share the ways they help retailers throughout the path to purchase.

Pure LatexBLISS Kurt Ling, President

Dormeo Octaspring Dany Sfeir, Chief Marketing Officer

We provide our retailers with all the tools and training necessary to present the comfort and health benefits from sleeping on a latex mattress. The starting point is our standard pointof-purchase unit that includes six-foot walls, designer top of bed and a demonstration bench of mattress technology.

But we believe our real point of difference is that we offer in-store brand design to individual retail spaces, including a “shop-within-a-shop” design that has worked here and in Europe and Asia. We have found custom in-store design provides a more effective and impactful brand effort than traditional point of purchase. Our custom design package includes access to our retail design consultant, mattress/design/ category layout, color schemes, graphics and on-wall copy.

The only way to make sure consumers are getting the best experience possible is by arming our retail partners with the tools they need to communicate the Dormeo experience. If the retailer wins, the customer wins and we win too. That’s why we make sure our retailers have all the information they need on our products and sleep in general, so that at the end of the day the consumer leaves the store happy and comfortable with their decision. It’s about the experience!

Our mission is to create a latex category in-store for retailers because it will raise sales tickets and overall store business.

We value space and we value simplicity in design. We believe these two elements provide the feeling of tension relief and muscle relaxation, which is our core benefit message. We believe retail space design can communicate these benefits better in design than in feature copy. Our in-store design program helps brings that experience to a store floor and our approach to in-store design makes our brand more dynamic, more engaging and more effective in terms of communication. Overall, it is more experiential. It moves a store’s display from being about mattresses with latex in them to specifically addressing a retailer’s target customer with imaging, copy and a space that is uniquely different than other brands.

RETAIL SPACE DESIGN is KEY—

in-store design makes our brand more dynamic, more engaging and more effective.

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We offer a significant amount of advertising and direct response support to our retailers. This goes hand-in-hand with innovative marketing programs. For instance, right now we are running a contest to create our next commercial spot. Those purchasing a Dormeo Octaspring mattress are invited to participate and the grand prize is a brand new Range Rover. Another example is our partnership with Frette, a manufacturer of high-end linens, which has designed an exclusive sheet for Dormeo. With this partnership, we created a special promotion for our retailers that includes a Frette giveaway valued at $800 with the purchase of certain products. Each of these are designed to drive traffic to our retailers. We also offer comprehensive training services through a customized online program designed to help RSAs learn about our products and services so they can translate the knowledge into sales.

Our advertising and direct response support, along with our innovative marketing programs, are designed to drive customers to retail floors. We understand how important our retail partners are to the overall success of our company and we want to work together to achieve our goals.

PRODUCT EDUCATION is KEY—

arming our retail partners with the tools they need to communicate the Dormeo experience.

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800.888.5565 www.profitsystems.com

Back of the House

Appropriate Tools Promote Warehouse Safety

By Sue Masaracchia-Roberts

No matter what the industry, safety procedures and good housekeeping practices are key to the wellbeing of employees and company profitability.

In fact, the two are intertwined. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created to assure safety standards and to protect American workers. Many furniture companies work with their warehouses and distribution centers to meet and exceed those standards to ensure their workers’ safety. However, what do companies do to ensure compliance?

With its 21 stores in Indiana and Illinois, The RoomPlace has a distribution center staff of 125 members, including a full time safety inspector.

Safety is stressed from the first day of work.

Based in Wisconsin, Steinhafels employs 245 warehouse employees “At our startup meetings, we have conversations in its Wisconsin and Illinois facilities. To ensure staff safety, human about safety—like trip hazards, especially with things relations specialist Linda Malmberg said their safety committee that are seasonal,” said Mike Yanke, RoomPlace distribution “makes recommendations to the owners as to things that need to center director. “We do audits and spot checks and have zero tolerbe improved. We also do semi-annual [safety] drills,” as well as ance. Any infraction, even something as minor as not filling out their provide regularly scheduled safety training. inspection sheets on a daily basis, will result in them being taken off equipment and require them to recertify. These are pretty strict rules, Steinhafels offers 10 online training courses annually. Reports but, in my seven years here, our damage on the forklift has gone detail those who have and have not received training. This allows down drastically. We would rather terminate someone immediately managers to ensure staff can verify their safety knowledge for than see them be killed.” their areas. Malmberg added, “Safety posters are all over. When an employee gets hurt, we ask him to describe the event and tell Safety Bingo is one fun way Yanke helps reinforce the safety messages how he could have [handled] that situation better to avoid injuries.” (see the sidebar to learn how to play). Yanke consistently engages his staff in other ways too. With the safety inspector also involved in The company shares safety results and their implications with its training and acting as an integral part of the team, Yanke is in the employees. “We do a lot of education about how results impact process of reinstating what he calls behavior-based safety. “It is kind insurance premiums,” said Malmberg. “We tell them ‘Here’s how of a peer review process where people watch others do their jobs you can keep insurance premiums to a minimum’ and ensure we and try to identify the risks we put ourselves at so we can change or stay financially viable and they can stay employed. For a lot of fix the process. A lot of companies are reactive after someone gets people, this was a real eye-opener.” hurt; we are trying to get ahead of that curve and fix things before someone gets hurt.”

In addition to workplace postings and weekly safety meetings at Steinhafels, they hold weekly safety drawings after weeks when These methods have paid off for The RoomPlace; Yanke’s team just no injuries occur. “If we have a better workman’s comp claim year celebrated one year with no loss time and awarded each employee than the prior year, each associate gets a gift card,” Malmberg said. $100 for this safety success. “Safety involves everyone,” said Yanke.

“It may not sound like a lot, but [staff] can get quite competitive “We are very focused on safety, not only for our employees but also to do better than last year.” for our customers.”

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Back of the House

SAFETY BINGO

NEWS YOU CAN USE PROMOTES SAFETY EVERY DAY

Want to play Safety Bingo in your store? Just print out different bingo cards for each employee. Attach the cards to paychecks when you hand out payroll. Every day that goes by without an accident, pull a random bingo number. If someone gets hurt and has to miss work, the game is over. When the employee returns, begin a new game. Yanke offers $25 for each completed line, $50 for two lines and $100 for a blackout.

Once an employee completes a blackout, a new game starts.

At Art Van Furniture in Michigan, the director of loss prevention, Michael F. Case, CESCO, oversees two facilities and five hub stores with more than 650 employees. Its extensive safety training includes “a number of [customized] training videos and presentations featured on our in-house TV, called AVTV. Any associate in any location,” he said, “can access the training simply by selecting the loss prevention channel and identifying the training they need.”

Handouts accompany most training sessions and both the employees and their managers must sign off on any training they receive.

observed are immediately counseled and, in most cases, [offenders] receive corrective action or discipline,” said Case. “We have a goal for each associate to go home at the end of the day as healthy and safe as when they arrived at work that morning.”

Art Van is “not big into incentive programs but does recognize locations for high scores on their audits,” said Case, “and individual departments are recognized for injury reduction.” The company also sponsors safety poster and banner creation contests, as well as general recognition or pizza parties for departments with low and no injury rates. Case explained they do not want to create an environment that suppresses “injury and near-miss reports to keep a zero injury rate. We would rather recognize good behavior and performance.”

The warehouse director and vice president of operations lead monthly warehouse safety meetings, including representation from all staff areas as well as from property management, loss prevention and workman’s compensation. Case explained, “Each brings their own perspective as it relates to their jobs and provides insights and suggestions on how to make the overall operation a safer one. It is “Quality practices include continuing to integrate safety into your important that our warehouse associates know that safety, as well as culture and keeping safety awareness top-of-mind,” said Malmberg. their ideas, are important to a safe environment and are supported “If you do that, you will have a successful safety program.” She by leadership at the highest levels.” added, “If [employees] are happier with us as a company, they feel good about coming to work because they know we care about In addition to meetings, training and compliance audits, Case said them and that this is a safe place to work. It is just a better overall managers are continually on the lookout for safety violations. “Those employee experience.”

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Fresh Perspectives

Who Needs a Back-of-House Anyway?!

by Jennifer Billock

W

hen it comes to running the back end of your business, look out—you may be wasting tons of money. Sure, a warehouse and delivery team are essential to running a smooth business. But do you really need to keep it in-house? Kent Corzine says no. Corzine, owner of Thomasville Furniture in Agoura Hills, Calif., outsources his back-of-house activity to a third party and maintains that, as long as needs are met, this is the best way to go—at least for his business—from an economical standpoint.

“Some family-owned businesses, they pride themselves in being able to deliver the same night,” he says. “But that’s not economically great because you’re sending out an almost empty truck. When you’re dealing with an outside warehouse delivery service, you’ve got to maximize how you fill the truck and how you route the truck.

The efficiency factor is much higher. Losing the ability to now and then be able to deliver to a customer that night, in the upper-end business we’re in, it really isn’t worth the loss of efficiency.”

Gallery1 interior

“When you use an outside service, one of things you trade is absolute control over your employees and warehouse,” Corzine says. “But you take out variable expense, meaning that you’re only charged when you deliver. Also, you eliminate a lot of liability for releases and employees. So there’s a trade there, and the trade only makes sense if you’ve got a good company. When you do have complete control, things happen when you say they should happen. You have the luxury of being able to do something for a customer on an immediate basis. So there is that loss of control and being able Corzine is unique in that his decision to go third party is incredibly to perfectly determine what your warehouse and delivery elements informed. He initially tried a number of services that didn’t work are doing. But when you have your own warehouse, you have the so well, and ended up using his own warehouse and delivery for lease and the employees whether business is good or bad.” more than 10 years. But the benefits of outsourcing swayed him back to an outside service.

According to Corzine, the selling to shipping process is not that much different with a third-party vendor than it is with your own “I’ve done it all,” he says. “If you can find a good service, there’s no warehouse and delivery. comparison in my opinion. It frees you up so much to focus on the front of your business, meaning the sales side, and that variable “The selling center of the business is owned by you,” he says, “so you expense is huge when you’re managing cash flow. You don’t want sell to the customer, you order the merchandise from the manuto be spending money when you’re not selling merchandise, and facturer, then the manufacturer ships it to your outside warehouse that’s what you do when you have your own warehouse and trucks.” delivery service. You own it until you deliver it. It’s your merchandise coming from the manufacturer to your outside warehouse vendor, He does know, however, that outsourcing back-of-house operations then they receive it, schedule it and deliver it. And then also service is not without its sacrifices. it if there are problems, if that’s part of your agreement.”

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Fresh Perspectives

Of course, the process is not without its flaws, and retailers must be vigilant to ensure nothing is going wrong—and that the third party is representing their company well.

“If [the third party is] too small or not professional enough, they can really damage your business by poor scheduling and delivery service,” Corzine says. “And once things get broken in our business, because it’s such a physical, slow, ponderous business, it takes forever to fix it just in the physical sense, never mind repairing the customer goodwill. If your backstage or operational side is not working correctly, they can really upset your front sales side.

If your backstage or operational side is not working correctly, it can really upset your front sales side.

“We have a person that travels to our outside warehouse once a week to inspect merchandise, review the operation and interact with the outside vendor’s people, making sure that how they’re dealing with our customers is to our satisfaction. And our people are interacting daily with their people. Our computers are connected to theirs.

We get immediate computer reporting on what they’ve received, condition and scheduling, so we can look online and see exactly what’s happening.”

Corzine does warn, though, that if you’re considering the switch to a third party, be sure to seriously investigate the process of changing over. Retailers need to ensure no breaks in customer service occur.

“It’s very important that you’ve got a cooperative vendor so he can be moving you as quickly as possible, so your operation isn’t interrupted in terms of delivery to the customer,” he says. “Get one large enough that they can have enough trucks transferring products from your warehouse to their warehouse in a timely manner.”

Overall, the main goal is to ensure your warehouse, whether in-house or out, is able and willing to provide great service to your customers.

“I would recommend outside [warehouse and delivery if retailers] could find a vendor that had a history of being dependable, cooperative and well-priced,” Corzine says. “Just the format of outside warehouse delivery isn’t enough. You can get into a lot trouble if a vendor is not dependable.”

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Back of the House

Stop Wasting Time & Money on Delivery!

by Shailu Satish

C

an you really cut down home delivery costs without compromising customer satisfaction?

It may seem like a tall order, but as furniture store owners, you know the key to a profitable business is to buy right, sell right and deliver right. When it comes to delivery, every dollar saved in the operational cost is a dollar earned to the bottom line. Let’s look at a few places you can add efficiency and cut costs in your delivery operation while improving customer experience.

Routes

Efficient routing means minimizing the total distance traveled by your trucks while being aware of capacities, loads and any special requests from customers. Depending on your fleet size, this can be a tedious manual process. Getting a software program to do this is a worthwhile investment.

On average, an efficient route can save up to 10 percent in gas costs. Good routing software not only gives you the shortest distance routes, but it also gives shorter time windows to customers. The industry is moving away from four-hour windows towards two-hour windows. Efficient routes save on gas costs and also improve customer satisfaction through shorter time windows.

Delivery Team

Use real-time monitoring tools to eliminate the need for phone calls to drivers. Studies show that a well-monitored delivery team is also a very efficient team. Retailers that introduced real-time monitoring tools report their delivery team performance has increased by at least 10 percent.

Paperwork

Go paperless. Use technology and save the cost incurred in paperwork and also the time it takes to organize the paperwork. With some services, you can use digital receipts, have

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digital route manifests for the drivers, and let the drivers capture job completion details such as pictures, notes and customer signatures digitally. Once data is captured, it is automatically organized and made available to the right personnel. The question is no longer “Why go paperless?”—Now it’s “Why use paper at all?”

Office Staff

Delivery operations can be heavy on coordination and paperwork. Use technology that streamlines communication. Software tools decrease coordination overhead through real-time monitoring, and reduced paperwork can lower office staff workload by at least one hour per day, per truck. Multiply this with the hourly rate and number of trucks, and your savings on overall delivery operations will become substantial.

Customer Communication

The key to improving customer satisfaction is to set and meet expectations. Use automated calling systems to confirm deliveries instead of manually making phone calls. Use selfserve tracking tools on your website to reduce incoming phone calls checking on delivery status. When delays occur, communicate with your customers proactively. By using efficient tools for communication, you are not only saving time and money, but you are also keeping the customer in the loop and therefore increasing customer satisfaction.

With these tips in mind, you will be able to streamline your service—and never waste another dime or minute on inefficient delivery!

Shailu Satish is Vice President of DispatchTrack, Inc. She has a Masters in Computer Sciences from the University of Mississippi and has been working in the software industry for more than 15 years. At DispatchTrack, she focuses on product development and business strategy.

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From the Retailer’s Mouth: Furniture retailers all over the country, including several top 100 companies, are using DispatchTrack to achieve delivery operational goals and reduce cost. Implementing it does not require any specialized equipment, software, hardware or training. The service provides an easy-to-use online application for scheduling and monitoring deliveries, and a mobile application for field personnel. All you need is a computer with internet access and any Android or Apple smartphone. The service integrates with most industry-standard POS systems.

DispatchTrack is more than just fleet management; it is customer satisfaction management. Our call center is better equipped to make actionable decisions based on real time field data. It has been a game changer.—Tony Mitchell, American Furniture Warehouse

program at Rothman. The photo feature has been a useful addition to our business as well, leading to incredible customer service and improved operations at all levels. In addition, our customers continually rave about the ability to track their deliveries with the online tool. I would recommend this system to any business that is looking to improve their customer support, delivery program, truck communications and warehouse management .

—Mary Buchannan, Rothman Furniture

We were originally looking for a GPS system to keep track of our fleet, but what we ended up with was one of the best investments we have ever made in our delivery operation. Results include: paperless delivery operation and visibility of job completion status at the customer’s home. We see the issues our guys are having and see the condition our merchandise is left in. The system has improved accountability both on our side and the customer’s side and really cuts down on the frivolous claims that happen after our crews leave. We have improved on-time deliveries because of real-time monitoring. Our customer support team is contacting the customer immediately when they see there is a problem.

DispatchTrack allows us to get any problems resolved much quicker.

DispatchTrack has led to an amazing transformation at Rothman Furniture and Mattress. From routing to delivery, we have technologically modernized our delivery process and improved our customer service process tenfold. I cannot say enough about the user-friendly interface and expedient customer support we have received from the DispatchTrack team in the implementation of the —Trey Smith, Ivan Smith

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Back of the House

In-House vs. Third-Party Delivery

Which One is for You?

Save Money with Third-Party Delivery

by Richard Klein

W

hile autumn’s nesting season gives way to thoughts about 2014, many retailers are considering changes they would like to make going into the New Year. In an environment that grows increasingly more competitive and complex, attention must be paid to any avenue through which efficiencies can be increased and performance improved. In many cases, the home-delivery component of business is a focal point of these musings, the key dilemma being whether it makes sense to maintain delivery operations in-house or to outsource. The main arguments for retaining delivery operations in-house often revolve around the two Cs, cost and control.

Though the argument can be made early on in the debate for in-house operations being the more cost-effective choice, the tipping point for this equation occurs at far lower revenue levels than most retailers would imagine. Webster’s Dictionary defines cost as “the loss or penalty incurred in gaining something.” With this definition in mind, let’s look at the following costs associated with maintaining an in-house delivery operation:

Equipment `` Truck leasing or purchase in addition to the associated taxes `` Repairs not covered by warranty `` Maintenance including tires, body repairs and truck washing `` Vehicle insurance `` Truck licensing and inspections `` Fuel `` On-board equipment including straps, pads and hand trucks `` Driver tool kits `` Decals, logos and signage `` GPS technology and related hardware

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Drivers/Employees `` `` `` `` `` `` `` `` `` `` `` ``

Uniforms Delivery team employee pay and benefits Supervisor/administrator pay and benefits Router/dispatcher pay and benefits Overtime, vacation and sick-day pay, in addition to coverage related to driver turnover Pension requirements and legacy costs Workman’s compensation insurance and claims Recruitment costs, advertising and interviewing License and background checks Drug testing Unemployment benefits Ongoing driver training and supervision

Administration `` Costs related to remaining current with frequently changing rules and regulations `` Collection, administration and analysis of postdelivery survey data `` Product damage as a result of driver handling `` Exposure to and administration of property damage claims and the resulting damage to reputation `` Accident claims `` Continuing equipment training and updates `` Maintaining expertise in the ever-evolving Department of Transportation regulatory environment `` Managing DOT compliance `` Legal fees surrounding litigation arising from lawsuits, in addition to penalties or damages incurred as a result of litigation

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This tally is far from exhaustive. Not included but equally important is the cost of lost opportunities incurred by running deliveries internally. The average retailer does not get into the furniture business to run a home delivery operation. His time is far better spent training sales staff, working the sales floor and engaging in other revenue-generating activities. By choosing a third party to manage deliveries, the administration of most of the above-mentioned costs is transferred from the retailer to the carrier.

In terms of control, several of the better third-party solutions have taken a page from current business practices and are highly clientfocused, driven by carefully defined and measured performance statistics. Rather than maintaining an adversarial relationship, a good third-party logistics company today seeks to embrace the client’s culture, and deliver value wherever the opportunity presents itself. Savvy retailers recognize that a consistent, professional and positive delivery experience can be a powerful promoter of their brand, providing a significant competitive advantage.

All of our sleep shop's deliveries are contracted to a third party. You must be very selective. The delivery service you utilize must align with your values and mission. I chose them because they were non-smokers, wore uniforms and were very professional in appearance and interpersonal skills. Smoking doesn't sound like a big deal, but the odor will remain on/in the customer’s home and purchase. Appearance is huge too.

We survey customers after the delivery and they are fantastic. We are saving about $5,000 per month in each location by not having trucks, maintenance, fuel, insurance, WC, payroll taxes and salaries. The experience has been great.

Indeed, such a move brings about additional benefits. It balances expenses with revenues by shifting many fixed expenses to the variable expense column, it provides peace of mind, and it offers the opportunity to leverage industry best practices to maximize return on every delivery dollar spent.

—Hal McClamma; Ivy Johnson Furniture and Mattress; Dothan, Alabama

As you undertake operational reviews and consider the changes to make in the coming year, it is worthwhile to examine the true costs of running your own delivery operation and whether it is a function that would be better entrusted to a third party. Well-trained, wellmanaged delivery teams can be a vital and productive extension of your sales force. The delivery team, like the salesperson, represents the face of your company and the lasting impression of your brand.

Having our own experienced deliverymen has worked well for us because they can assess situations that come up everyday, such as big furniture going through small doors. Sometimes they take the doors off the hinges to fit furniture in or even go through windows. Our guys have been known to pull merchandise up to balconies with tie-ropes. They know how to assemble everything and we have very few damage reports.

Richard Klein is director of sales for Cory Home Delivery, a specialized home delivery carrier in its third generation of family management and ownership.

The company serves many of the top 100 furniture, appliance and electronics retailers in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. For more information, call Richard Klein at (954) 956-0224, or visit corycompanies.com.

From the Retailer’s Mouth:

From the Retailer’s Mouth:

—George Nader; Nader’s LaPopular Furniture Stores; Gardena, California

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Stay In-House and Avoid Problems

Think third-party is the only way to go? Think again. Susan Kaveny, a furniture repair technician, shares her thoughts on why it may not be the best idea.

“There is a lot to think about when you contract for third-party deliveries. I spent 10 of the last 13 years working in furniture repair for retailers who used third-party delivery systems. A number of downsides to the process need to be considered:  You may not get what you want when you want it. A delivery company owner who doesn’t get full-time work from you will attempt to contract with someone else for the rest of the time. If the other person pays more, for instance, your company may not be the delivery company’s top priority. You will find yourself paying more for Saturday and evening deliveries than you would were the delivery team employed directly by you.  It’s easy to blame the delivery company for problems with customers who are problem people rather than addressing the problems with the customers themselves.  It’s also easy to blame the delivery company for problems that occur because some pieces are not made to be assembled, or even unboxed, and then transported. The longer it takes to identify this problem, the more it costs the retailer in the long run.  Since the sales crew and the delivery crew are not directly employed by the same company, it’s easy for animosity to develop. The sales crew oversells the delivery services. The delivery crew refuses to set up pieces that are problematic, but possible.  Instead of setting up ready-to-assemble (RTA) pieces for a small fee using the warehouse crew, you are now forced to either never do it or have a secondary team in place for when a problem occurs. If you don’t see this one coming, you will have the repair person or the delivery people doing the same thing for a much higher price. RTA pieces are problematic in particular because some are very difficult to assemble, poorly fitted, missing parts or have extra parts.  Salespeople get a certain stare when the delivery crew tells them the huge 200-pound sofa they’ve sold will not be delivered to a loft serviced by a tiny spiral staircase. It’s the same look alligators get when that inner eyelid closes.

It happens a lot. Later, when the commissions on those sales go away, you can be sure to get some wounded comments about the delivery crew. Just how much animosity develops from this depends on the management team.

Ideally, if a salesperson sells a large piece, that person would ask about the accessibility of the area it’s supposed to go into. If management’s attitude is that the delivery crew works for a whole other company and it’s in the “not my problem” category, then this conversation won’t be required and won’t happen until it’s way too late.

All these examples stem from the team being broken into groups with competing interests. Throw in a little disrespect, and a little more unfairness when dealing with other’s interests, and the problems arise.”

Back of the House

62, 63, 64. . .

The Metric thatbyMatters Charles Von Thun

IN

a busy shopping center, a More and more, forward-thinking retailers Store owners that operate even just one man sits on a stool near are embracing technologies that enable facility should consider the power of leverthe entrance of a furni- them to make better, more actionable aging a people-counter system as well; an ture store, clicking his business decisions based on accurate data accurate system will better ensure that sales counter each time someone walks through rather than pure opinion or instinct. With personnel are not under- or over-reporting the door. During slower periods, he leans people-counting systems as part of their foot-traffic numbers for self-serving reasons. back and closes his eyes for a moment or strategy, business owners’ ability to make With a people-counting system in place, two. He may get up and leave every few better business decisions speaks volumes, discrepancies in people-count data quickly hours to use the restroom, walk around the and it gives them a distinct competitive come to an end. store and talk to his coworkers, or take an advantage compared to their less technologyhour-long lunch break, handing the job off inclined counterparts.

Josh Hudson, president of Hudson to another busy employee until he returns.

Furniture in Orlando, Fla., shared that “What was important to me was not only he and his team were making business At the end of the day, he adds a few more being able to see how many customers were decisions based on guesses rather than numbers to his count to make up for any coming into the store, but to see what we accurate data. “Shopper counting became time lost and gives his supervisor a final were doing with those customers. I was attractive because we were guessing and count of 463 people. The supervisor plugs interested in if we were converting them actually using sales numbers to predict this number into her spreadsheet, along with and how we were converting them and whether traffic was high or not,” said Hudson. her sales numbers, and locks the door for how much they were spending in the store,” “We took a hard look at our staffing in the day. At the end of the week, the owner says Lisa Toal, retail group manager of Kid some locations and were able to apply reviews the spreadsheets to find that, despite Robot. “We’ve seen a huge growth in our more accountability to our marketing seemingly high conversion rates, the store store because we were able to track this and sales teams. Without having the data, continues to underperform compared to information. I run the business and make we wouldn't have had the confidence to other locations. real-time decisions on the trending data.” make other decisions that attributed to

our growth.”

Sales associates are expected to prove their performance based on conversion rates.

With a people-counting system in place, retailers are able to track and analyze some of the most important metrics with higher Unfortunately, many retailers still use accuracy than previously available. This “systems” like the one described above, and includes key performance indicators such they end up missing out on one of the most as ROI on marketing dollars, peak traffic valuable metrics available to their businesses: hours, labor costs, sales ROI and optimal accurate people-count data. Even worse, staff levels. some retailers choose not to use any counting system at all, allowing their sales associates Traffic counts and conversion rates together to simply estimate the hourly traffic counts, tell you how you got to your sales. Retailers which leaves room for human error, as well can compare point-of-sale data with their as a significant amount of self-service when people-count numbers to accurately desales associates are expected to prove their termine how effectively they’re converting performance based on conversion rates. would-be customers into paying customers.

They can also use this data to determine As the retail space becomes ever more com- how their sales personnel are performing, petitive, an accurate people-count number identify areas for improvement and address makes up a large piece of the ROI pie—sales under-performing personnel with new numbers are only half the picture. training initiatives.

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No matter how you look at it, investing in proven technologies that bring the power of knowledge back into the hands of the people who need it most will have an undeniably positive impact on a business’ bottom line, and the ROI on that technology will speak for itself. When it comes to people-counting technologies, brick-and-mortar owners can’t afford not to invest in the data that gives them the ability to make smarter choices about their business.

Charles Von Thun is the CEO of Flonomics LLC, a consumer analytics SaaS company. Prior to his tenure with Flonomics, Charles was Chief Executive Officer of Decisioneering (now the Crystal Ball Global Business Unit of Oracle Corporation). He is also the founder of PostiveWare, a web-based performance management and professional services automation application.

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Back of the House

4 DEVICES—1 WEBSITE: Be Responsive and Win

by Regina Dinning

Convert more website leads into sales with an adaptive presence

W

hen I look at retailer websites today, I’m finding a growing roster of great pages. Searchable inventory, current sales promotions, embedded video, clear contact information, directions, maps and other features are making websites into impactful gateways to sales.

What retailers don’t control, however, is how shoppers view their websites.

Consider these quick facts illustrating the changing reality of consumer connectivity today: • In June 2013, 1 in 3 hits on local retailer websites came from mobile devices (comScore) • Smartphones and tablets doubled the amount of time people spent online daily between 2010 and 2013 (Gartner)

Keep in mind, mobile doesn’t just mean smartphones, and it doesn’t necessarily mean on the move. It encompasses a proliferation of devices, platforms and screen sizes—from the tiniest “dumb” phones to smartphones, iPods and tablets, and from notebook computers to laptops that provide a near-PC experience. Any device that can easily be moved is mobile.

Try this exercise. Pull up your website on a standard old PC, then grab the window and make it progressively smaller (less wide). What happens as the window gets narrower? Your site may look great in widescreen, but on a tablet it may break. On a mobile phone, it may be impossible to navigate or read with cumbersome pinching and zooming. This is what your prospects are seeing across their range of devices, and you may have already lost them due to sheer frustration.

These days, the odds are good that your website provider has a separate mobile website ready for your domain. On the one hand, that will provide better engagement from mobile devices. On the other hand, you have to maintain two separate websites and work to reconcile the two.

Consider Responsive Design

• Today people use smartphones more often than PCs to get online (Cisco) • 31% of people who own smartphones say it’s the only way they access the internet (Karen McGrane, BA+S) • During Facebook’s latest earnings call, the firm reported that 40% of Americans log into Facebook every day; 79% of those do so from a smartphone

Retailers must retool their websites to deliver the right product information and a clean, professional shopping experience to all visitors regardless of what platforms they choose. How can you be sure your content will work everywhere, all the time? Start thinking about having one universal structure that would be designed from the start to cover the full range of cases.

It’s time to embrace adaptive content and responsive web design.

Responsive web design is the approach that suggests design and development should respond to user behavior as well as screen size, platform and orientation. This consists of using a mix of flexible Multi-Screen Experiences The fact is, your best customers move between four or more devices grids and layouts, images, and an intelligent use of code. As the every day. “You don’t get to decide which platform or device your user switches from one device to another, the website should aucustomers use to access your content: they do,” says Karen McGrane, tomatically switch to accommodate for resolution, image size and scripting abilities. Responsive web design is the sweetheart of web author of Content Strategy for Mobile. designers right now, and with good reason. It allows businesses to It’s time to get real and fix your online presence to match where be cross-platform without sacrificing content or redesigning from the ground up every time a new device comes out. and how your ideal shoppers access information.

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Back of the House

You don’t get to decide which platform or device your customers use to access your content: they do.

Transitioning your Website

If responsive web design makes sense for your stores, take a stairstepped approach to this opportunity.

Moving to responsive design requires an investment of time to think through your web strategy. Envision what you want the user’s experience to be on each platform. New technology makes it possible to put both text and images on the same site and render them correctly across all devices.

If you don’t have a good mobile presence today, try starting with DudaMobile (www.dudamobile.com) to establish a mobile website, and then work into the responsive site, which will take time. Setting up a DudaMobile site with very basic functionality takes about an hour.

You’ll want to work with a web design firm that can look at your current site and see what’s salvageable for a new responsive site. In some cases you may need to start with a fresh site from top to bottom.

Your association may suggest a specific website vendor who offers new, responsive templates to update your site. You may need to broaden your vendor search to agencies and site developers who are more up-to-date in this area.

When your site is working its way through coding, it may be time to reconsider your online advertising approach to maximize the responsive opportunity. Search, display and mobile ads working together across devices lead to more qualified clicks and closed sales if the user experience is solid across devices.

Finally, be sure to install Google’s new universal analytics code on your website. This will give you maximum flexibility to apply unique advertising tracking codes and other elements across your site without having to change the tags applied to individual web pages. With your new website up and running and this code applied, you’ll be able to easily track every click back to the device it came from, and establish a baseline return on investment number to your website redesign costs and online advertising program.

Regina Dinning is a business development director for home goods at Netsertive (netsertive.com). Dinning (rdinning@netsertive.com) is a seasoned professional with more than 15 years' experience in marketing and advertising, including several years specifically in home furnishings.

DATA POINT:

Check the bounce rate on your website. Google Analytics will

Think hard about what you want mobile users to be able to do on your site. Ask your customers what they want/expect to be able to do on your website from a smaller device. Do your homework.

show you, in an instant, if your web presence is turning off visitors based on the devices

A good website vendor will require three to four months to create your new site and achieve responsive bliss. Costs will vary depending upon the scope of work and your goals for the site.

they use to connect.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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NextGen NOW Member Spotlight

For this month’s spotlight, we introduce 31-year-old Erin Donaghy, director of marketing at Dunk & Bright Furniture in Syracuse, New York.

Getting to Know the Next Gen

I’m in charge of all the TV ads, social media and internet advertising. So to some, it may look like I’m not really working hard when in reality, it’s very challenging and fast-paced, and I do take it very seriously.

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NextGen NOW Member Spotlight

: What is your industry history?

ED: I’ve been working for Dunk & Bright since 2006. I went to

Ithaca College for advertising and public relations, and I don’t think I ever could foresee me working in the furniture industry.

The position opened up when I was doing advertising sales at a local radio station and I jumped on it, and I have loved it. I had a brief intermission and worked for another company locally for a couple years, and decided I liked where I was so much at Dunk & Bright that I came back.

: What do you like so much about the furniture industry that it keeps you here?

ED: It changes so much; that’s what I really like. I’m a little different

in this industry because I work in marketing, so I deal with more of the advertising and internet and not as much product as the salespeople and buyers. But I’ve learned so much about furniture that I never knew existed, like mission versus contemporary. I didn’t even know there was a difference before I started. I love that there’s new stuff coming in all the time from all the different brands we work with. Our store is actually quite large. We go from lower-end all the way up to very high-end handcrafted solid wood. I like the variety in being able to market a ton of different stuff in one store.

: Have you had to face any challenges being a woman in a male-centric industry?

ED: I have for sure, but I think I face more challenges by being

The furniture industry gets younger every year.

In order to embrace the new generation of retailers and welcome them into the business, RetailerNOW features a different member of the Next Generation NOW social network in every issue. Next Generation NOW is the premiere social scene for the new era of furniture professionals. Join the conversation at social. ngnow.org!

young. Especially in this industry; a lot of people have been in it for decades and sometimes as a young professional, I’m not taken as seriously as my older counterparts. I think a lot of it, too, is what I do in marketing. Sometimes people see it as a very glamorous, fun kind of thing, where I’m just goofing around all the time. I’m in charge of all the TV ads, social media and internet advertising.

So to some, it may look like I’m not really working hard when in reality, it’s very challenging and fast-paced, and I do take it very seriously. I think that’s the biggest challenge, just conveying to people how much I care about the business. : How do you overcome that challenge?

ED: If I’m able to articulate myself in a way that commands respect, I think that helps. It was more of a challenge when I first started and didn’t really understand how to respond to it. I’ve learned as the years have gone by that you just have to keep your head up, keep trying and just stay smart. Talk to people. Communicate.

Let them know what you do, and be excited. Having charisma can really change peoples’ mindsets.

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:What does your store do as far as technol: Does one particular avenue work better ogy integration? than most?

ED: We have tried our best to stay ahead of the curve with

ED: Right now pay-per-click advertising on Google has the most technology, social media and internet advertising. We recently value for us online as far as people coming to our site. But does changed our website over to furnituredealer.net and they’ve really that translate to people coming into our store? That’s harder to brought us up a lot of notches as far as being able to connect with determine. Most people, when they come across us online, they our customers. We’re seeing such a different kind of curve now. might not say, “Oh, it was a Google search.” It’s so ingrained in We’re still a brick-and-mortar store and people still want to come your head to search online now that it wouldn’t even come across in and touch and feel the furniture, sit in it and buy that way, as advertising. We do have an older demographic so newspaper but we’re seeing so many more people on Pinterest and Houzz still does pretty well; people come in with the paper in hand. We looking for things. It’s up to us to make sure that somehow they still do direct mail once a month, and we get great results from get back to our site and our online store. We’re very active on it. There’s always something that’s going to work better one week Pinterest and starting to get active on Houzz. And our website is and then not the next. It’s hard to tell. at a place now where we actually call it our online store. You can purchase anything online that’s in stock. We do live chats where :What kind of success are you seeing with we have four operators or so that rotate and sit there answering your online sales? any questions our customers have. We’re constantly on Facebook and Google pay-per-click advertising, just to make sure we’re ED: We just started in July. It’s a low percentage right now, but staying top of mind for those doing their research online, which we are getting online sales. Right now we’re selling the lower the majority are doing now. Even if they end up coming to the price point items, like less than $400, that are a little bit easier for store, they’re going to spend a lot of time doing their research people to purchase. As we get more and more in touch with our online beforehand. online presence as far as advertising is concerned, it will get better. : What are some of the biggest marketing and PR challenges store owners face today?

ED: The internet is changing

:Coming into the furniture business without family history in the industry, what was most surprising to you?

so rapidly that we’re trying ED: How much there is to it! I grew up thinking a couch was a all these different things, couch and you have a coffee table and that was it. I never called and sometimes it’s difficult a couch a sofa, ever. And now, I say sofa all the time, and my because you don’t exactly husband’s like, WHAT? I didn’t realize there were so many inknow what’s going to work. tricacies involved. It was pretty overwhelming at first because I Traditionally, you did your didn’t understand any of it. I didn’t realize how large the furniture TV and your newspaper and industry is. I didn’t even know something like Market existed. your radio, and that was the Now that I understand the terms and furniture talk, it’s a lot easier. mix. And it always worked.

Now, we’re delving into :What advice do you have for retailers? the internet, and we don’t really know what’s going ED: Stay relevant, stay open-minded, try new things, take risks. If on. It’s kind of like this you don’t, you’ll never know what’s going to succeed. The majority new adventure. I think the of us in the next generation, even though we don’t have the same way we’ve been able to be experience you have, are really trying to make this business thrive successful at it is by staying for future generations. We always have to be thinking that people open-minded and trying are getting older and will be your target audience soon. We just new things. Really, that’s the only way to learn what’s going to need to make sure we’re staying relevant. work. We’re staying on top of our analytics and reporting and making sure we’re tracking what’s working and what’s not. We’re still doing the traditional media as far as advertising is concerned, but a lot of that is even changing so fast. TV is not the same as it was. People are going more towards Netflix and Hulu, and who Next Generation NOW (NGN or NextGen NOW) is a community knows what’s going to happen with cable in the next five years of young, passionate and engaged home furnishings professionals. or so. It’s always just thinking in the short-term moreso than a NextGen NOW seeks to give a voice to the unique needs of future long-term ad plan. We’ll just keep trying until we figure out what generations entering the workforce to educate the industry on works, and I’m sure that will stop working and we’ll have to try how to attract and keep young talent. Connect with members something new after that! online at ngnow.org or on Twitter @ngnow.

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

Celebrating the Outstanding Achievements and Progressive Leadership of the Nation’s Most Respected Home Furnishings Retailers

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

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

PLEASE GO ONLINE TO NOMINATE AN OUTSTANDING NAHFA RETAILER AT NAHFA.ORG The 2014 Retailer of the Year awards will be presented on June 1, 2014, at the annual Home Furnishings Networking Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Nominations must be received by December 1, 2013.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

45

What's Selling

What’s Selling Every month, What’s Selling Now features best-sellers from across the country, in different styles, categories and price points. Here’s what’s selling now.

Submitted By: Casey Evans Store Name: Pedigo Furniture Location: Livingston, Texas Manufacturer: Ashley Furniture Product Name: Berringer Dining Group Is the product: Made in America: No Warehouse Ready: Yes Contailer Products: No Retail Cost: $469 Why do you think it is a successful seller? It is a great value with a traditional look.

How soon is the product available from the manufacturer?

7-10 days.

Submitted By: Giff Gates

Warehouse Ready: No

Store Name: Gates Home Furnishings

Contailer Products: No

Location: Grants Pass, Oregon

Retail Cost: Sofas start at $2,199

Manufacturer: Stanton Sofas

Why do you think it is a successful seller? It has an excellent comfort level and style.

Product Name: Two-Piece Sectional Is the product: Made in America: Yes

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

How soon is the product available from the manufacturer? Ships quickly.

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• • • Being portable for sales, inventory or business analytics is key for any Home Furnishings retailer. Using a PC, tablet or smart phone to work inside or outside of your store is critical in this day and age of technology.

THINK MOBILE

Your designer meets in the customer’s home to create the shopping cart and check inventory availability for delivery.

The warehouse staff needs to quickly receive an item to load it on the delivery truck. The owner or manager is traveling and wants to get a quick glance of their daily or monthly business analytics. All of this can be done with a tablet or smartphone.

Myriad Software understands how important it is to be mobile.

Whether it’s to close a sale or review the important aspects of your business, a tablet or smartphone will provide access to your business management system in or outside of your daily operation.

So if you’re looking for a business system that allows you to work when you’re in your operation and on the go, think Eclicktic™ and Eclicktic™ BE Mobile.

Contact a Myriad Software sales representative @ sales@myriadsoftware.com

Please stop by and see us at the Las Vegas Market RRC- Building B, 10th Floor

January 26-29, 2014

1-800-676-4243 • sales@myriadsoftware.com www.myriadsoftware.com

Community Today

Conversations Warehouse Operations

By Megy Karydes

Jonathan McDonald is the director of wholesale operations at Texas-based Wisteria. Wisteria began in a garage, graduated to a catalog and now includes a robust ecommerce website and retail store. The company sells an eclectic collection of home and garden accessories from around the world. McDonald manages three warehouses including a 100,000-square-foot warehouse that serves as command central.

How do you manage your warehouse? How is it organized?

Michael J. Grimme is the owner, CEO and founder of AMC Liquidators, also known as AMC Furniture Outlet, based in Tamarac, Florida. AMC Liquidators is a liquidator of fine furnishings and room décor from 4- and 5-star hotels, corporate offices, excess inventories and closeouts from interior decorators and manufacturers. Fifty percent of AMC’s business comes from retail.

: How do you control shrinkage?

:

JM: I’m old-fashioned so I’m the first to arrive and the last to leave.

We have been using NetSuite’s cloud-based business management solution for the past 10 years to manage pretty much every aspect of our business. It supplies the backbone for our fast-moving, complex business of buying and liquidating furniture and other goods from hotels and offices for resale to B2B and B2C buyers.

But I also use modern technology so I can view the warehouse from my laptop at home. I surround myself with honest people and I tell my staff that if you lie to me, I’ll terminate you; if you steal from me, I’ll prosecute you. Having said that, we also employ tactics like keeping the inventory on one side of the warehouse and the shipping on the other side. If someone sees inventory where it shouldn’t be, there’s a red flag. We do inventory twice a year where everything is counted by hand but if a bin doesn’t look right, we’ll do a count on that particular bin.

JM: I helped to design the warehouse two years ago, so this has

MG: To monitor the area and control shrinkage, we have mul-

MG: The inventory is managed by bin. It’s not unusual for us to

run multiple projects per day so we need to have a process that allows us to track that inventory.

become my seventh child (I have six kids). I’ve watched it grow over the years and as of October 1, 2013, we’ve unloaded more trucks in that one day than all last year. Two weeks ago, we sold $195,000 in inventory. Being organized is a requirement for us to operate successfully.

Inventory is on one side of the warehouse and shipping is on the other side. Best sellers are closest to the packaging area so my warehouse team doesn’t have to walk halfway across the warehouse to pick it. Our rows are numbered and we have letters assigned from north to south so it’s fast and easy to go straight to where the item is stocked.

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tiple cameras located within every section of our warehouse to monitor activity. : Are customers allowed in your warehouse?

JM: We don’t allow customers in the warehouse except during our

warehouse sale that happens four times a year. During that time we invite customers to walk through the warehouse and shop and they love it. It’s from Thursday through Saturday and our biggest one happens in September because we’re trying to make space for the fourth-quarter shipments. It’s a big deal in our community and people look forward to the sales.

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Community Today

MG: We try to keep the customers out of the back-of-the-house

warehouse space at all times as there is always a risk of shrinkage and we also have safety concerns. We only allow AMC Liquidator employees to enter that space. If customers do come back, it is only when escorted by a salesperson.

What safety mechanisms are in place to keep employees safe?

JM: We start every day with an employee meeting at 7:00 a.m. and

after two hours we take a 15-minute break. Two hours later we have lunch and two hours after that we have another 15-minute break. I remind our team members that if they need help, ask for it. Our two biggest safety issues are cuts with box knives and improper lifting.

We can’t over-communicate the need to be safe but we can’t always predict an accident.

I do a safety walk every morning to make sure the floors are clean and safe. If it rained the night before, I make sure we don’t have any wet spots on the floor. When the forklift is in the aisle, they know to get out of the way.

Employees must wear proper shoes so that means no open-toe shoes, sandals or moccasins.

MG: All of our employees wear back protection and steel-toed shoes.

We also have them all wear the same red shirts so they can be easily recognized and seen.

Because the bulk of our inventory is pre-owned, it is loose and not boxed. We have the inventory placed safely in racks. : What is the one thing you're most proud of in

your warehouse and what's the one thing you wish it had?

JM: My employees are my biggest asset. We couldn’t do this without

them. Seventy-five percent of them are cross-trained to do more than one job and that’s important to us. We have 40-50 employees nine months out of the year and we double that figure in the fourth quarter.

In terms of our warehouse operations in general, I’d love to see more automation. The technology is out there to help with productivity

and shrinkage. I think our computer system is a bit outdated and improving it will be a benefit for us.

MG: If a reseller or an end-user were to come here and want to

buy multiple loads of inventory, we have it for them and they can take it offsite immediately. Only one trip is needed. If we are dealing with global customers, they can have their order in a matter of days since we are so close to several ports.

By taking a more professional approach to the liquidation business, we have grown tremendously. We are proud of the fact that we own our property and equipment—no need to lease or rent.

JM: I convinced the owners to let us buy our own delivery truck

for local deliveries to our best customers and we’ve delivered orders to two former presidents as well as some major VIPs. Sometimes some of our customers want the furniture delivered and placed in their homes before their husbands come home so the service is important to them. Having that delivery truck has been a huge advantage for us even though we’re not in the delivery business. It’s about providing an extra level of customer service you wouldn’t expect.

MG: NetSuite has definitely been our backbone. The system

enables us to know in real time what our inventory position is within our warehouse and what’s in the sales pipeline. I love that everything is in one location so that anytime we need to pull information it’s right there. And we can be totally mobile, so that when we’re at a hotel site or corporate office, we can do transactions right on the spot.

I also wanted to add that by having our own department for furniture restoration, we can modify inventory to meet large customer needs. And by being in the restoration business, we are constantly in touch with our sources of supply since we are always doing restorations for them—this gives us an advantage in acquiring inventory before anyone else.

Megy Karydes is president of Karydes Consulting, a boutique marketing and communications firm. Her work has appeared in national and local consumer and trade magazines including USA Today, Natural Awakenings and Chicago Health. Find her at KarydesConsulting.com and follow her on Twitter @megy.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

49

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Product Focus

Barstool and Dining room photos: Kristin Drohan Collection

Trends in Dining Upholstery The dining room is making a comeback. Where

once people preferred dining spaces to be located within great rooms, homeowners are now looking for formal dining rooms they can use to entertain friends or host holiday meals.

Whether it’s casual family meals or more formal gatherings like intimate dinner parties, comfortable seating is important. This is leading to a demand from consumers for luxury chairs with detailed upholstering that are not only comfortable but that make a statement.

The traditional hard-surfaced, plain dining room chairs are on their way out. Replacing them are chairs that are softer, larger and overall more comfortable. People are looking to experience a more lounge-type feel when dining at home.

In order to accommodate the increased time people are spending around the dining room table, homeowners want custom chairs to match personal taste and needed comfort. A variety of dining upholstery trends make their debut as a result.

Fashion-inspired dressmaker details Homeowners are looking for details such as tufting, nailhead trim and buttons, which play a major part in the overall look of upholstery. These details once served as part of the construction process in furniture upholstery, but now double as a major element in the design process of dining room seating.

This emphasis on detailing is a testament to the continued relationship between fashion design and furniture design. Dressmaker details add texture to the solid and neutral color choices commonly found in kitchen and dining fabric selection.

Neutral color choices in dining room chairs People are taking fewer risks in choosing colors and prefer to stick to a neutral palette to ensure the pieces will be a staple, permanent part of the room that won’t go out of style. Black and white is an example of a classic color palette that is popular in dining room interior design today. Black and white upholstered chairs give the room a combination of added depth and contrast.

by Aaron Luck

Brighter color choices in smaller seating As the economy picks up, homeowners tend to incorporate bright color into their homes in small doses to play off other details such as knobs and backsplashes. They are more likely to take risks with these brighter colors in smaller seating such as bar and counter stools. Examples of these colors are gold, saffron and mulberry.

Cleanable, durable high-quality textiles take priority According to interior designer Kristin Drohan, clients no longer want to sacrifice or compromise on either their style or the function that dining rooms and kitchens need to possess. Fortunately they don’t have to. “We are using a lot of high-end, impactful chic fabrics on the out-back. On the in-back and seat, we use durable, cleanable fabrics,” says Drohan, owner of the Kristin Drohan Collection, a company that designs custom, high-end, environmentally friendly furniture.

People don’t want to invest in luxurious, stylish dining room seating that is going to be easily ruined after guests leave. This must be leveraged with fabric that is cleanable and user friendly.

Homeowners rank function up there with personal taste in terms of priority.

In kitchen and dining areas, hard surfaces make up much of the space. Cabinets, countertops, and tables don’t always allow for much creative detailing in the design process. It makes sense that people are now looking to add details to their kitchen and dining rooms through stylish upholstery work that is noticeable.

“People really like to jazz up the chairs, including the fabric choices and detailing, for some special touches,” says Drohan. “People are sitting around the dining table longer nowadays so chairs are getting more use. People are more willing to make an investment in high-quality custom pieces for ultimate function, longevity and style.”

Aaron Luck is responsible for brand direction and public relations for Sensuede.

He is a graduate of North Carolina State University College of Textiles.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

51

Grant Laidlaw VP of Sales Eric Clarke President

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

The Northwest Furniture Transportation Leader

www.NWFXpress.com

GO TO RETAILERNOWMAG.COM/SUBSCRIBE

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`` National account pricing on more than 100,000 office supply items `` Save 15-30% more than the lowest retail price on your top 100 items, in-store and online `` Save 5% more than the lowest retail prices in-store and online on everything else you buy `` Custom billing and reporting `` FREE Next-business day delivery of in-stock items on orders of $50 or more

PAINT PROGRAM A fresh new look at 20% off national account pricing— You’ve got it made in the shade Call today for your member-only card—(800) 422-3778

Call today (800) 422-3778 for a FREE savings calculation!

The NEW North American Home Furnishings Association Now offering you MORE than ever.

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WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN. LET US HELP YOU. Whether you are looking for great financing rates, first class education or a community of peers, your association provides it all.

DO YOU KNOW WHO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IS? OR WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR YOU?

"Within the last three weeks, I have responded to three of the emails on member programs and taken advantage of the particular benefit/savings being offered.

You all are doing a fantastic job with the promotions and I just wanted to say “thank you” from a retailer perspective and “kudos” from a board member perspective!! Keep up the great work!”

Casey Evans Davis, CPA, Pedigo Furniture, Inc.

Call Your Association Membership Representative Today and start enjoying the benefits you deserve!

Kaprice Crawford (800) 422-3778 x102 kcrawford@nahfa.org

Jordan Boyst (800) 422-3778 x301 jboyst@nahfa.org

Membership Team Leader

Connecticut • Massachusetts • Ohio Delaware • Michigan • Rhode Island Indiana • New Jersey • Vermont • Kentucky New Hampshire • Maine • New York

Eric Malone (800) 422-3778 x104 emalone@nahfa.org

Dianne Therry (800) 422-3778 x302 dtherry@nahfa.org

N. California • North Dakota • Washington Oregon • Wisconsin • Minnesota South Dakota • Wyoming • Montana

Alabama • Maryland • South Carolina Florida • Mississippi • Tennessee • Georgia North Carolina • Virginia • Louisiana Pennsylvania • Washington DC • West Virginia

Michael Hill (800) 422-3778 x103 mhill@nahfa.org

Jana Sutherland (800) 422-3778 x202 jsutherland@nahfa.org

Alaska • Colorado • Nebraska • Arizona Hawaii • Nevada • S. California Idaho • New Mexico • Utah

Arkansas • Kansas • Texas • Illinois Missouri • Iowa • Oklahoma

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55

THANK YOU

Our Association gratefully recognizes all of our supporters whose dedication and committment has strengthened our industry.

Advertising Concepts of America AICO/Amini Innovation Corp.

American Express American Leather Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc. Aspenhome Associated Volume Buyers Becker Designed, Inc. Bernards, Inc. Best Buy for Business Best Home Furnishings Braxton Culler, Inc. Cargo Consolidation Services Century Furniture Coaster Company of America Cory Home Delivery Service DĂŠcor-Rest Furniture Ltd. Diakon Logistics DSI Companies Ekornes Elements International Elite Leather Emerald Home Furnishings Fairmont Designs Flexsteel Furniture of America Furniture Wizard FurnitureDealer.net GE Capital Great American Furniture Services Guardian Products Guardsman/The Valspar Corp.

Harden Furniture Company High Point Market Authority Holland House Homelegance USA HFB Magazine Horich Hector Lebow Advertising Consulting Services, Inc. Innovative Delivery Systems Jofran Sales, Inc. Julius M. Feinblum Real Estate, Inc. Kincaid King Hickory Furniture Co Lane Home Furnishings Lazar Industries Lea Leggett & Platt Liberty Furniture Lifestyle Enterprises Linon Home DĂŠcor Products Magnussen Home Mail America Massood Logistics Med-Lift Mobility MicroD, Inc. Mohawk Finishing Products, Inc. Myriad Software Natuzzi Americas, Inc. NetSertive Nourison Industries Okinus Credit Solutions Pacific Furniture Dealers

Phoenix A.M.D. International, Inc. PROFITsystems Protect-A-Bed Restonic Mattress Corp.

Sandberg Furniture SAP Retail Serta Mattress Companies Simmons Shock Watch Sleep-Ezz Source International, Inc./4 Sales Finance Sphinx by Oriental Weavers Standard Furniture Steve Silver Co. STORIS Surya The TV Shield The Uttermost Company Tidewater Finance Company Trendwood, Inc. Tropic Survival Advertising & Marketing TruckSkin, LLC Twin Star/Classic Flame United Furniture Industries Valassis, Inc. Vaughan Furniture Co. Versatile Systems Wahlquist Management Corporation World Market Center Zenith Global

To become an industry partner contact: North American Home Furnishings Association (800) 422.3778 or email cwilliams@nahfa.org

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Being on social media doesn't make you social (nor instantly appealing)

Y

ou’ve jumped on the bandwagon and have added social media marketing to your business. You made your business a Facebook page, Twitter account and a YouTube channel. You added some fans, followers and subscribers to it. Great! Then you got busy with the other 100 different jobs you do as a retailer. Sound like you?

There is nothing worse than a customer (especially a Gen Y or millennial) landing on your social media outlets and seeing nothing has been posted since last year. Their first thought is “Oh… They must have gone out of business.”

They won’t bother looking at your website to see that you’re really still in business, because they landed on your social media site first and saw nothing.

So how do you fix this? What’s next? How do you make them talk to you? How do you get them to keep coming back? More importantly, how can you get them to buy from you?

Unfortunately, there is no exact science to make your social media outlets be the best they can be. The most successful Facebook pages are and always will be those of big-name companies. However, you can be like a rock and crush those larger brands in your local community.

Follow these social steps to help tip the odds in your favor.

Update Your Facebook Content Daily!

The key to Facebook is consistency, consistency and, you guessed it, consistency. Don’t do three posts on Monday and then post nothing again until Friday. The best way to keep your fans engaged is to stay consistent and fresh in their minds. However, this can be a double-edged sword.

If you publish too often with content that your fans don’t care about, they will hide you from their wall feed. Facebook users have the ability to block all status updates and any information posted by a Facebook page. The purpose of your page is lost once they hide you from their feed. So tread lightly with what you post and how often you post. Try posting one to two times maximum per day. If your content is good, people will notice it.

Be a Resource on Twitter If you really want people to follow and continue following you, make it impossible for them to leave by providing them with high-quality and interesting updates.

This can be done via linking out to an informative article or by giving a thoughtful opinion in a wider discussion.

Use Playlists to Your Advantage with YouTube Your YouTube channel does not need to be populated solely with videos that you create. Pool a listing (or several lists) of videos through YouTube’s playlist feature. Your playlists will include videos made by other YouTubers and could include other videos such as useful industry resources. For example, maybe Serta released a new commercial about the counting sheep or they are running some sort of promotion. Your YouTube channel could feature these videos to keep your audience informed. Obviously, you want to stay away from promoting competitors’ videos, but any content that you consider to be complementary can be linked to a playlist and promoted on the homepage of your channel.

Quick-Fire Marketing is brought to you by R&A Marketing. Armed with more than 25 years of furniture retail marketing experience as a full-service traditional and digital marketing company, R&A is the industry’s premier agency for retailers in the home furnishings and appliances/electronics industries. Visit us on the web at www.ramarketing.com or email us at info@ramarketing.com.

Coming Soon...

New update available NOW!

Government Relations

Government Relations

Minimum Wage Legislation Gaining Momentum By Lisa Casinger

W

hen the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) became law in 1938, the federal minimum wage was $0.25. As of July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage is $7.25. The issue of raising the federal minimum wage is not new, though this year it moved to the forefront as both state and national groups rallied and protested, both for and against it.

Although President Obama pushed for a $9 minimum wage in his 2012 State of the Union address, there’s been no movement on that front. States (and cities) are free to set their own minimums, so long as they don’t dip below the federal level. To date, 19 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws setting minimum wage above $7.25.

California is the most recent state to raise its minimum wage; Gov. Jerry Brown signed bill AB10 into law in September. The new law raises the current $8 minimum wage to $9 an hour starting July 1, 2014, and to $10 on January 1, 2016. Earlier this year New York passed a bill to raise its $7.25 rate incrementally—$8 by end of 2013, $8.75 by end of 2014 and $9 by end of 2015. Connecticut also has passed an incremental rate increase to $9 by Jan. 1, 2015. And Rhode Island’s rate increased to $8 Jan. 1. New Jersey voters approved a $1 minimum wage hike earlier this month.

California has the eighth-highest state minimum wage in the country. Washington employers pay $9.19 an hour, Oregon $8.95, and Vermont $8.60. Workers in Nevada, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., and Illinois are paid $8.25 an hour.

Ten states adjust the minimum wage annually based on inflation and the Consumer Price Index; those states are Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon and Vermont.

Since 1998, proposed increases have been on ballots in nine states and all have passed.

The issue is expected to remain in the limelight for the 2014 midterm elections where 36 governorships are up for grabs, as are legislative seats in 46 statehouses and U.S. congressional races.

This July there was a push in Washington, D.C., to increase the minimum wage to $12.50 an hour for employees who work for large retailers under the Large Retailer Accountability Act. This act, which was vetoed by D.C.’s Mayor Vincent Gray, would have required retailers with $1 billion or more in sales, operating stores of 75,000 square feet or larger, to pay their employees $12.50 an hour. Stores with union workers would have been exempt.

The NAHFA government relations team is monitoring these issues for its members: • Marketplace Fairness Act (sales tax for online sales) • EPA regulations regarding flame retardants in furniture • Swipe fees (debit card) • Tax reform • Employee/labor regulations

MINIMUM WAGE STATS • 18 states and D.C. have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage

Employers should pay attention not only to whether a wage increase referendum is gaining traction in their state (or if it’s already happened), but also to the ramifications of any wage legislation.

For example, in California there is a provision in labor regulations that applies to inside salespeople. To consider a salesperson an exempt employee, they must earn more than 150 percent of the minimum wage, more than 50 percent of compensation must come from commissions, and they must work in the mercantile industry (retailing falls under this classification in California). Although exempt employees are salaried, employers have to diligently monitor hours worked in comparison to compensation to ensure commissioned sales people earn 150 percent of minimum wage. If you’re a California retailer, work with an attorney to craft your commission compensation agreements (which are required by California Labor Code 2751).

• 23 states have minimum wages the same as the $7.25 federal minimum wage • 4 states have minimum wages below the federal minimum wage (fed minimum applies) • 5 states have not established a state minimum wage (fed minimum applies)

Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor

The momentum is gaining, state by state, for higher minimum wages.

This material is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This material is intended, but not promised or guaranteed to be current, complete or up-to-date.

HOTISSUES

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Lisa Casinger is NAHFA’s government relations liaison. You can reach her at lcasinger@nahfa.org or (800) 422-3778 x305.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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The Scoop

What’s going on with retailers across the country

City Furniture's Cutler Bay store (pictured above and at left) is an upscale, environmentally friendly showroom.

It is the latest in the company's expansions.

vvCity Furniture Opens First Central Florida Stores in November Poised to add 100 jobs statewide, City Furniture announced plans to expand its Central Florida operations by opening two showrooms in November at the fast-growing active adult community of The Villages.

“The opportunity to quickly and cost effectively open stores within The Villages gives us an ideal platform to better serve our Central Florida customers,” said City Furniture president Keith Koenig.

rolled out e-commerce earlier this year, and that has really boosted deliveries to the Orlando and Tampa areas. Residents at The Villages have shopped at our South Florida stores, so we’re already making deliveries in that dynamic growth market,” he added. The move gives City Furniture a footprint that extends from south Miami-Dade through Lake, Sumter and Marion counties.

City Furniture will create its stores in space now occupied by Southern Lifestyles at Lake Sumter Landing and the Showcase Direct His firm has signed leases with The Villages’ developer enabling showroom in the La Plaza Grande shopping center, which serve the City Furniture to fully renovate and merchandise two existing fur- more than 90,000 residents of The Villages community as well as niture stores that are currently owned and operated by a developer- Central Florida consumers from Orlando to Ocala and Gainesville. affiliated company.

City Furniture will work with Central Florida-based contractors to fast-track renovations for grand opening of the La Plaza Grande store Koenig said opening stores at The Villages is a key step in City by mid-November with the Lake Sumter Landing store to follow Furniture’s strategic direction of expanding statewide. “We’re confi- soon after. Koenig said his company is filling a total of 52 sales and dent in the long-term strength of Florida’s markets, and we’ve scaled support positions for the two City Furniture stores. our infrastructure and planning accordingly,” he explained. “We

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The Scoop

The addition of its new stores in The Villages comes as City Furniture nears completion of a five-store expansion and renovation program from Miami-Dade through Palm Beach counties. As the southeast and southwest Florida licensee for Ashley Furniture HomeStores, City Furniture has reshaped its network of showrooms to offer both brands in adjoining stores at many locations.

The fourth store in its South Florida expansion, an upscale, environmentally friendly two-story City Furniture showroom, opened in Cutler Bay in October. On an adjoining South Dixie Highway site, the firm has operated a City Furniture store that will be renovated as an Ashley Furniture HomeStore, to open April 2014. Koenig said the firm expects to create a total of 35 new sales and support jobs for the two Cutler Bay stores.

Shoppers at The Villages and Cutler Bay stores will find two innovations City Furniture rolled out companywide this spring – stylish Bernhardt furniture galleries inside the showrooms, along with an expanded selection of mattresses by top national brands. City Furniture’s in-store Design Studio interior design service will also be available at the new showrooms.

vvHayneedle Style Gallery Offers Inspiration and Engagement for Online Shoppers Finding home design inspiration and expressing one’s personal “Our goal is to delight customers with the fun finds that our stylists style can be a challenge, especially when you have more than and editors have handpicked to inspire and help them discover 3,000 brands and a million products to choose from. To help styles that fit their unique design sensibilities,” said Brian Moen, customers simplify their lives and create their own visions of home, Chief Marketing Officer at Hayneedle. “The Hayneedle Style Hayneedle, an online retailer of indoor and outdoor furnishings Gallery showcases unique collections that illustrate trends and and household goods, officially unveiled the Hayneedle Style new products, from high design to everyday essentials, and simply Gallery on its flagship online store, hayneedle.com. makes shopping fun.”

The Hayneedle Style Gallery, created by Hayneedle in partnership with notable designers, bloggers and editors, offers room designs, how-to articles and inspirations from the more than one million products available at hayneedle.com, enabling online shoppers to envision looks for their own homes and find the perfect products to bring their own visions to life.

An all-star team of stylists, including HGTV.com celebrity designer Brian Patrick Flynn, noted designers and lifestyle bloggers Camille Styles and Meg Biram, and lifestyle experts from the newly-launched Clementine Daily, will regularly contribute styleboards and room designs inspired by Hayneedle, encouraging online shoppers to discover finds for their home.

vvJaxon Home Launches E-Commerce Furniture Showroom, JaxonHome.com Jaxon Home, the Los Angeles-based lifestyle and home furnishings brand, recently launched its online e-commerce furniture showroom, JaxonHome.com. Jaxon Home is a resource for modern, traditional and transitional upholstered furniture, made in downtown Los Angeles since 2006, and is moving into national distribution and sales with the JaxonHome.com launch.

Owner and Creative Director Victoria Richter has designed an extensive line of upholstered pieces and case goods, manufactured

by Coda Industries, the L.A.-based factory owned by Victoria’s husband, Braden Richter. All items can be customized and are available in more than 500 fabrics and 100 leathers. Custom pieces are generally delivered and installed within 3-5 weeks.

Jaxon also sells a curated collection of rugs, lighting, accessories, case goods and select vintage finds all handpicked by Victoria.

All of Jaxon Home’s products are backed by a two-year warranty from Uniters North America and include white-glove delivery and installation.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

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Calendar

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THESE INDUSTRY EVENTS Atlanta Spring Gift, Home Furnishings and Holiday Market

Showtime

Las Vegas Market

December 8-11, 2013

January 26-30, 2014

High Point, North Carolina www.showtime-market.com

Las Vegas, Nevada www.lasvegasmarket.com

Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market

KEM Furniture and Accessory Market

January 7-14, 2014

February 3-5, 2014

Atlanta, Georgia www.americasmart.com

Edison, New Jersey www.kemexpo.com

Dallas, Texas www.dallasmarketcenter.com

imm Cologne

Stockholm Furniture Fair

January 13-19, 2014

February 4-8, 2014

High Point Market

Cologne, Germany www.imm-cologne.com

Stockholm, Sweden www.stockholmfurniturefair.com

Dallas Total Home & Gift Market

Tupelo Furniture Market

January 15-21, 2014

February 6-9, 2014

Dallas, Texas www.dallasmarketcenter.com

Tupelo, Mississippi www.tupelofurnituremarket.com

Fall 2013 Magnussen Home

Photo:62Company C NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

www.retailerNOWmag.com

March 7-9, 2014 Atlanta, Georgia www.americasmart.com

Dallas Total Home and Gift Market March 27-30, 2014

April 5-10, 2014 High Point, North Carolina www.highpointmarket.org

Ad Index

Fall 2013 Regina Andrew

ADVERTISER

PHONE

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PAGE#

Connie Post

(304) 736-7283

conniepost.com

Diakon Logistics

(703) 530-0677

diakonlogistics.com

facebook.com/DiakonLogistics

38

Furniture Wizard

(619) 869-7200

furniturewizard.com

facebook.com/furniturewizard

@furniturewiz

58

Jaipur Rugs

(404) 351-2360

jaipurrugs.com

facebook.com/jaipurlifestyle

@jaipurlifestyle

Inside Back

Kincaid Furniture

(800) 438-8207

kincaidfurniture.com

facebook.com/KincaidFurnitureCompany

@KincaidFurn46

3

Las Vegas Market

(888) 962-7469

lasvegasmarket.com

facebook.com/wmclv

@worldmarketctr

5

Lynch Sales

(616) 458-6662

lynchsales.com

facebook.com/lynchsales

@lynchsales

Magnussen Home

(519) 662-3040

magnussen.com

MicroD Inc.

(800) 964-3876

microdinc.com

facebook.com/microdinc

Myriad Software

(800) 676-4243

myriadsoftware.com

http://tinyurl.com/myriadFB

North American HFA Sponsors

(800) 422-3778

retailerNOWmag.com

facebook.com/retailernow

@retailerNow

Northwest Furniture Xpress

(828) 475-6377

nwfxpress.com

Nourison

(201) 368-6900

nourison.com

facebook.com/nourison

@nourison

Okinus

(855) 330-3958

okinus.com

Planned Furniture Promotions

(800) 472-5242

pfpromotions.com

PROFITSystems Inc.

(800) 888-5565

profitsystems.com

facebook.com/profitsystems

@PROFITSystems

29

Serta

(847) 645-0200

serta.com

facebook.com/sertamattress

@sertamattresses

7

Surya

(877) 275-7847

surya.com

facebook.com/SuryaSocial

Truckskin

(877) 866-7546

truckskin.com

facebook.com/TruckSkin

50

17 14

@microdinc

Back Cover 47 56 52 8, 9 35 11

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Inside Cover @TruckSkin

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

The Now List HolidayTrivia

In Holland, St. Nicholas has a servant with him who punishes bad children by stuffing them in a bag and taking them away to Spain.

Historically, children in Yemen used to go from house to house to collect wicks for their Hanukkah menorahs.

TV DINNER TV dinners were created when food manufacturer Swanson needed to do something with 260 tons of leftover frozen turkeys from Thanksgiving.

Keep this in mind for Black Friday shopping: Studies show that when someone invades a customer’s personal space (by hovering or something similar), the shopper will leave, regardless of whether they planned on buying anything.

On average, holiday shopping is completed in five trips to the mall.

50% OFF

According to research, “50% off” signs lead to increased sales, even if shoppers don’t know the original item price or even what a reasonable price would be.

California eats the largest amount of turkey out of all the U.S. states.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER | 2013

Christopher Columbus thought turkeys were a type of peacock.

When “Silent Night” was first performed at a church service in Austria, the organ was so rusted that it didn’t work. A guitar was used instead. was used instead.

On the last night of Hanukkah in Germany, people used to sing and dance around a fire fueled by all the leftover menorah wicks and oil.

Kwanzaa was first celebrated in December 1966. The name means “first fruits” in Swahili.

Kwanzaa was first honored on a postage stamp in 1997.

It would cost more than $100,000 to purchase all the items in the “12 Days of Christmas.”

I

SANTA RIDES A GOAT!

Fewer than 50 people are on the average New Year’s Eve party guest list.

The 1962 success of holiday-wrapped Hershey’s Kisses led the company to dress up the packaging for Easter, Valentine's Day and the harvest season.

The tradition of making noise and lighting fireworks on New Year’s Eve originally began because fire and loud noises supposedly dispelled evil spirits and brought good luck.

In Finland, Santa rides on a straw goat named Ukko instead of his sleigh.

www.retailerNOWmag.com

Online Marketing & Technology Experts for the Home Furnishings Industry

The integrated company for the home furnishings world.

MicroD has 20 years proven success as a technology partner for retailers and manufacturers in the home furnishings industry. We’re a fast moving, big thinking company that drives business outcomes, builds customer loyalty, and furthers revenue growth.

Furniture Industry Solutions  Websites

 Interactive Product Catalogs

 eCommerce  Room Planner  EDI

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MICROD

A SINGLE-SOURCE SOLUTION FOR PREMIUM COMPANIES IN THE HOME FURNISHINGS INDUSTRY.

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www.MicroDinc.com

For more information email: Solutions@MicroDinc.com or call: 800-964-3876