No Ekhorns Stressless Dealership for The Keeping Room

I was pretty keen to get a Ekorns Stressless dealership and initially balked at the $ 20,000 opening order requirement for floor stock, but after about a month of thinking about it figured I could swing it. That's a lot of cash to outlay for a product that you don't know if it will sell well in your store! However, I pretty much talked myself into it and I really like the sales rep for the line as well. So I decided to do it and Jeff, the sales rep, came over yesterday to set up the store as a dealer. About two hours into the process, I discovered that the company requires every dealer to spend several thousand dollars on advertising in predetermined amounts for five promotions a year. Plus, there is a required significant dealer annual fee to be listed on their website as a dealer. That was too much for me an it seems more like a franchise operation. I halted the dealer process since there was no flex in this policy. I like the product, like the story, it appears to be very well made and I would probably do well with it, however I don't like being contractually obligated to spend money on specific brand advertising and the "privilege" of being a dealer. It won't be happening in my store unless they change that policy.

However - all my Hancock & Moore Barstools came in today (6 different models in different leathers) and I will be the only dealer in the country to have a counter stool display in the store. I'm waiting for a bar height table to come in of reclaimed Oak from Ohio - and that should be here in a couple weeks. I will have that very cool display set up shortly and I expect clients to really like it. I think with all the homes today having kitchen counter eating areas as centerpieces of the home, there is more and more demand for high quality barstools and they are difficult to buy off a photo on a website. Stay tuned for that one.

I have recently purchased and have the Stressless Mary stationary loveseat, the Mayfair recliner with ottoman, in small, and am waiting on the Wing recliner.

A few odds and ends. The Stressless warranty makes it clear that floor models have no warranty. Also, dealers selling at unauthorized discounts will lose their franchise. We bought the Mary Lovesesat at 1/3 off. It had been special ordered and refused by the customer. The receipt clearly stated, as is, no returns. Perfect condition but the customer thought they were ordering a reclining sofa, and the stationary model came in. We love it. We then purchased an in stock Mayfair recliner, at full price. I discussed the floor model warranty exclusion in the Stressless T&C with the owner. It is a long established family business, 3 miles from my home. I purchased my Stickley there, years ago. The owner stated as long as the receipt is at full price, the warranty applied. Also, how would Stressless know it was a floor model? Good point. To be safe, I had the bill of sale clearly state, “full warranty applies.”

The way the furniture industry works on warranties is different than you might expect. Luckily, there are VERY few warranty claims overall, because it does cause some controversy when they come up. In this business, the DEALER is the customer of the supplier (in this case, Ekhorns). The warranty period begins when it leaves the shipping dock of the supplier (Ekorns) So if its a 1-year warranty, that clock starts the day it leave the shipping dock. YOU are the customer of the Dealer, so you get the balance of the warranty on the floor model as long as that lasts. It's not when you buy it off the floor, it was when it was shipped. Now, the store has the option to extend this to you at their cost, but the manufacturer will not be covering it once that original clock runs out. If you look at our terms and conditions at The Keeping Room, we do not expressly warranty the pieces we sell and its the manufacture's warranty only. Almost all stores and dealers operate like this, that is the norm. There are some gray areas on warranty due to when the clock starts. For example, on a recliner mechanism with a 1 year warranty, if you bought it new and the shipping/delivery took 6 weeks to get to you - and then the mech broke at 11 1/2 months, technically it would be out of warranty 2 weeks because again, it starts when it ships. But no ethical dealer or company is going to split hairs over that and stick you with a technicality.

Floor models can be around a long time, that's why they are discounted. If that floor model you purchased had a 1 year warranty and has been on the floor 10 months, there are 2 months remaining on the manufacturer warranty. Stressless has records of when it was shipped, so that's how they would know. Luckily, the way that product is made there is very little chance you will ever need to warranty anything, its solid and a simple build.

Ekornes allows dealers to discount floor models but not new items, but there are always ways around that such as offering free shipping or the dealer paying the sales tax, etc. No manufacturer really knows what a dealer is selling for unless there are complaints by a fellow dealer. I looked pretty hard into getting a dealership for the line, but found their conditions too controlling, such as mandatory advertising, required floor space and floor models, and forcing dealers to pay for their website. That's why we went with Fjord's, a very similar product at half the price. No such restrictions!

Thank you for the wonderful explanation. Who would have thought? The stores certainly don’t tell you. So, if a piece of furniture has a one year warranty, and the store received the item a year ago, and you make them write, “full warranty applies,” the full warranty is zero. Wow. This may beat used car dealer tactics.

Well, I don't think they are being deceptive, I think they simply are unaware of it. Because true warranty items crop up so infrequently on furniture, some dealers never find out until they call the manufacturer to make a claim. And usually its not the salesperson making that that call, its the owner or GM. I know that I learned that hard way, first time I had to do one several years ago, it just doesn't happen very often.

We all tend to think of warranties as it applies to the Automotive industry, where it starts the day you buy the car in most cases. That skews our expectations of what they should be in other industries.