Trying to find the right brand

[Scott M]

Appreciate the info sir. The MD reference was pretty much tongue-in-cheek, though. You being so active on this particular forum and all. Maybe we could call you Dr. Davenport All kidding aside, thanks for the good insight for me to chew on. Did read the link you provided. Like you said, hopefully they made some positive changes after that. The staff there maintains hard-wood framing. Didn't say solid and I forgot to press them on it, duh...

If you think a greenhorn could pull it off effectively, please by all means elaborate if possible on that 45 second litmus test for construction materials....of course as long as it doesn't involve any cutting or detachment. They might frown at that.

Thanks again

[drcollie]

Well, you have to flip it up on its back....then examine the base carefully. They may frown on that in the store. I'll give you 9 to 1 odds its plywood based, not that it should be a deal breaker. Springs are more important than plywood vs solid IMHO.

[Ci2Eye]

A couple of questions after reading through this thread.

The first question is regarding cushions. My Hancock and Moore chair has a standard cushion which I guess is the Qualex 16. It's comfortable and when one gets up from sitting on it, the cushion instantly returns to its original shape as is typical. In essence it responds exactly like all cushions do. However, on the companion ottoman, if one sits on it and gets up, it stays depressed and wrinkled for a few seconds and then will begin to respond. To watch it, the cushion appears to have an air pump that is re-inflating it and after 15 seconds, it's back to its original shape and all wrinkles are pulled tight again. I know that isn't what's really occurring though. Instead, I think the ottoman's top is some kind of memory foam that slowly regains its shape. Does anybody know what would cause that? Is it actually memory foam? It isn't a bad thing but it's different.

Second question relates to Restoration Hardware since they were mentioned. Does anybody have any thoughts on what they are doing with their stores. As I understand it, and this has happened in Atlanta, they are closing their small mall stores in favor of grand "destination" stores that are magnificent architecturally and able to display much more of their products.

In Boston, the company took an abandoned museum and restored it to its original glory and made it into a furniture store. In Greenwich, it was an architecturally significant old post office that was restored. Here, in Atlanta, a beautiful new structure was built that is unlike a typical boring box furniture store and is a stimulating experience just to walk through. As I understand it, the company has also built one of these new stores in Los Angeles and plans similar projects nationwide. Obviously, the consumer pays for this but will it help them to sell more furniture and housewares? It's a bold and interesting move and very much counter to some of the dusty, crowded furniture stores I've seen that often carry great products but they are not displayed in an appealing way at all. As someone who loves to see old buildings restored, I applaud them. I also very much can appreciate the stimulating beauty of their new stores and the presentation of their products. However, as a consumer, I wouldn't want to pay $5,000 for a sofa that really is only a $2,000 product and the rest of my money went towards the ambiance of their stores.

Will this work for them or are they making themselves into a place where people merely go to look but don't buy. I suspect that overall it helps and it will elevate the brand's perception among consumers. Those of us here might care more about solid kiln dried hardwood frames and eight-way hand tying but many people will be sufficiently wowed by the stores so that they make a purchase. Time will tell.

Restoration Hardware's website has videos of the new stores and Architectural Digest did a profile on the Boston store which is linked below.

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/s...-store-article

[drcollie]

Ottomans are made of higher density foam, but the same basic Qualux cushions as in the chair seats. Density levels on ottomans are typically in the 32 to 40 lb range rather than the 16 to 18 lb in chair cushion cores.

All the trendy mall-type furniture stores are huge into the "lifestyle shopping experience". Store decor is a major factor in their marketing program and its largely successful I might add, because in my opinion the quality is not in their products for the prices charged. The theory is that if the store is dressed out to the nines, it will associate quality with the sold product. Consumers don't know furniture construction as a rule, so they accept that association and make a buy. When I am in these stores (my wife likes them for pillows, etc) and see couples on the furniture picking out covers for their order, its all I can do to stay quiet - but I do because it would not be cool to say something to them.... . While I don't think you will get a bad piece of furniture from them, there is no doubt in my mind that a big chuck of what you are paying for the piece is going to fund the decor environment you are shopping in.

[Ci2Eye]

As I see it, Restoration Hardware is doubling down on this concept and taking their stores from nice but typically mall-type environments to stunning, stand alone locales hoping to make their store a shopping destination all their own. The merchandise is almost secondary to the store itself.

In the automotive world, I am seeing a similar emphasis placed on the "experience of the brand" especially in the premium segment where carmakers are demanding that dealers improve the look and feel of the dealership to create an aura around the brand in the customer's mind. It isn't enough anymore to produce a good product, it must be presented in a more theatrical way.

It strikes me that RH is doing this with home furnishings and creating an experience several notchs above a typical shopping mall experience.

[drcollie]

I agree with your assessment 100 %.

I struggle with my store environment, its old (build in 1984), is nothing fancy at all, and in a part of town where its typical Military Base/Immigrant. Clean and safe but little else. I would like very much to have a nicer store, not only for my work environment but for my customers to enjoy it as well. Recently I was presented with this new project, which I would think would be a really good spot for my store and about 40 miles away from where I am now. I was just on the phone today with their leasing agent...

http://hrretail.com/#property-2419992-cascades-overlook

The dollar amount they want for the same size space I am in now (5,000 s.f) was stunning. Over $ 20,000 a month triple net w/utilities which is close to 4x what my current overhead is. I would have to nearly triple my existing in-store sales to just pay the landlord. I want to create a nice experience for my customers, but I can't triple sales by moving to a new location, so I would have to raise retail prices considerably and be like every other furniture store offering 30 % off MSRP and still at least double sales. Looks like a one-way ticket to going out of business to me and that has been the death of many a furniture store over the past several years. Upgrading locations has killed many when the customers don't come like they think they will. Jack Glasheen of H&M and I once discussed this several years ago and he thinks the same way I do - he said 'Be careful of overhead, it can be the cause of failure for most retail operators. I tend to think - or at least hope - that customers are willing to drive to a part of the city they normally don't go to in order to save $ 1,000 or more on their sofa vs the pretty store that carries it our in the 'good' part of the county. That's my customer.

Restoration Hardware might can pull it off though. People are used to paying high prices in their stores and like their catalog they send out. They had a gimballed floor lamp in one of their stores I really liked, and it was priced at $ 895. My wife said "Get it for your office, you'll like it!" I said to her "I'm not paying nine hundred dollars for a Chinese lamp that's worth Two Hundred Fifty bux...." but there are people that will.

[Ci2Eye]

I agree with your assessment 100 %.

I struggle with my store environment, its old (build in 1984), is nothing fancy at all, and in a part of town where its typical Military Base/Immigrant. Clean and safe but little else. I would like very much to have a nicer store, not only for my work environment but for my customers to enjoy it as well. Recently I was presented with this new project, which I would think would be a really good spot for my store and about 40 miles away from where I am now. I was just on the phone today with their leasing agent...

http://hrretail.com/#property-2419992-cascades-overlook

The dollar amount they want for the same size space I am in now (5,000 s.f) was stunning. Over $ 20,000 a month triple net w/utilities which is close to 4x what my current overhead is. I would have to nearly triple my existing in-store sales to just pay the landlord. I want to create a nice experience for my customers, but I can't triple sales by moving to a new location, so I would have to raise retail prices considerably and be like every other furniture store offering 30 % off MSRP and still at least double sales. Looks like a one-way ticket to going out of business to me and that has been the death of many a furniture store over the past several years. Upgrading locations has killed many when the customers don't come like they think they will. Jack Glasheen of H&M and I once discussed this several years ago and he thinks the same way I do - he said 'Be careful of overhead, it can be the cause of failure for most retail operators. I tend to think - or at least hope - that customers are willing to drive to a part of the city they normally don't go to in order to save $ 1,000 or more on their sofa vs the pretty store that carries it our in the 'good' part of the county. That's my customer.

Restoration Hardware might can pull it off though. People are used to paying high prices in their stores and like their catalog they send out. They had a gimballed floor lamp in one of their stores I really liked, and it was priced at $ 895. My wife said "Get it for your office, you'll like it!" I said to her "I'm not paying nine hundred dollars for a Chinese lamp that's worth Two Hundred Fifty bux...." but there are people that will.

That's the gamble for them. They are taking the experience to a whole new level and obviously the customer has to be willing to pay for that. In Atlanta, they had several smallish stores in strip malls adjacent to major malls. They were nice enough and quite attractive inside but nothing extraordinary and they were no doubt already paying a premium for real estate with that approach. Their new store raises the bar dramatically and to do that, they will have to move more merchandise or raise their margins. We'll see if it works.

Your approach may well be the antithesis of theirs; offer a premium product with superior construction and an emphasis on customer service and educating the consumer (RH staff likely know zero about product construction) and provide that at a compelling price. With your store, the customer pays for what ends up in their living room, not what stays in the fancy store.

While it might be fun to shop at a RH store, I think I'd rather own something from yours.