Something new coming from Hancock & Moore

Let me start off by saying.....I have no idea of prices, frames, and have no photos. It won't do any good to ask me additional questions about this new program because I am sharing what I know and won't have any more information until the April High Point Market. Having got that out of the way, Hancock and Moore is going to roll out a new feature promotional program called Hancock & Moore Home.

They have set up a new Production Line at Plant 2, separate from the main Plant 1 and motion Plant 3, and this new line will feature simple designs on easy-to-make frames at very aggressive price points, all without taking anything out of the build. Their target? Bradington-Young price points and builds. It's no secret that prices at H&M have been creeping up, and I bang that drum as loud as anyone. They have listened.

H&M has always made everything non-motion at Plant 1. Many of their pieces are complex and require master craftsman to create them and they are well paid to be at the top of their industry as workers. Because of the system they have had in place for years and years, these Master Craftsman are also making the very simple pieces (such as City and Ricki Sofas). Now the plan is to take simple builds and move them all to Plant 2 to that dedicated production line that makes basic shapes, and get the price down, way down. The workers don't need to be as highly skilled as the ones working on complex pieces and there will be far less (if any) custom choices in Hancock & Moore Home. It's going to be designed to keep things simple, and economical, without compromising the build.

I like this a lot. It's smart, innovative and they are listening to their dealers who are complaining about high retail prices for their goods. Now, this is still not going to lower costs on something like the Architect's sofa, so that's not going to change. But HOME will give a lot of clients access to the famous H&M build quality at price points that are considerably less. I'm excited to see what they roll out in April.....stay tuned.

This is exciting!

Smart to separate the workforces by skill level....BY pricing is quite a goal given the attention to detail and materials used in H&M are visibly and tangibly superior.

Maybe I can turn my friend onto this line haha...he balked at what I said it would cost him to get into the typical H&M line!!

Wonder if this will lead to new model creations or just pull production of existing ones out of Plant 1 into Plant 2? Wonder if they will limit leather options...burnished availability for example.

I'm not expecting any answers to this till after April but I am excited!!!

Thanks for sharing in advance!!

Yes it is smart.

Bradington Young does ZERO custom work, it's built totally as shown on website / catalog and they will not budge, any customs are not in their wheelhouse. You take it as shown, or move on. That allows them more production line methods than at Hancock and Moore, where everything is custom-made. That B-Y approach means more units out the door and faster, and gives then a price advantage as no one has to stop and read a work order, or engineer something. Most companies are like this though - you can't get your Samsung TV customized for example, the guys at Best Buy would look at you like you had three heads if tried to convince them to make it 3" longer.

H&M had three price increases in 2022, and two in 2021. It was alarming to me. The spread between B-Y and H&M used to be 15% in price, now its more like 35% and I complain loudly to the President of H&M. He listens, too. Now, most other dealers don't say much, they just move and remove a line from their floor that isn't selling as well as it used to, and that's probably the smart way to do it, that's how a real business runs. There is no question consumers have pushed back on the cost of H&M and gone in search of lesser costly product. I'm more enthusiast-driven than most stores, and am super-loyal to H&M because I know how much they care about what they do, and I also know they build best-in-class.

Manufacturers don't have access to other company price lists, they can't see what the competition is charging except by word of mouth. So SOMEONE has to pick up the phone and tell them. That's what I do. I had a 90 minute phone call with H&M's President on Friday for example, we discuss all sorts of ideas and throw things at the wall - see what sticks.

You're going to see new models in Hancock & Moore Home. Some will be blended from existing ones, I'm sure. All will be simple, uncomplicated designs. This will be a price-driven line, the Production Manager for Line 2 is given a target price and what comes off the line has to be in that parameter. So that will be a combination of hours to build and cost of components to make that target price. If a client wants a cover not offered, or some custom work done, then the project will go back to Line 1 and prices will change accordingly.

The important thing in our discussions was to not take out the quality for the sake of price points. i was assured that was not going to happen. They are ready to get in the trenches and have a price point fight, so if need be they will let them margins slip some on this Home series. This will be a WIN for everyone. It will make H&M more affordable for first time buyers and they can get the quality the want at a price they can work with. It protects their brand by keeping customers loyal. In my experience, its kind of like an iPhone. Once someone gets into an Apple iPhone, they rarely switch to another brand, such is the Hancock and Moore customer as well.

I was going to skip going to the Spring Market in April, but now I do think I will go because I want to get the first look at this new program. There will not be any "Wow-Me" styling, they will be plain - but I think we will see sofas that can sell for $ 2,500 to $ 3,500 in today's market that will last 20 years or more. That's value.

I hope they include some ottomans appropriately sized for the smaller sofas like the 9840 City, and more affordably priced, as well. They really don't have an ottoman that is sized for that sofa, which is usually chosen to go in a smaller room, not a great room. Most of the ottomans are too large for it or are chair sized.

Did the Hancock & More Home program every come into production?

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Originally Posted by Judyg951

Did the Hancock & More Home program every come into production?

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Absolutely. You can see the items on Hancock and Moores “New Items” page on their website. They have an “H” prefix.

They are nested in the Town and Country Program and have program leathers, H&M has not printed a new Town And County Promotion which is why they are not scanned into the forum yet.

Program leathers (Married covers) for the "H" series is Fenway, in various colors per style

Fenway Cedar : Eli Series
Fenway Chocolate : Tinley Series
Fenway Truffle: Luna Series
Fenway Bisque: Oasis Series + Luna wide track arm Series

Pricing....I get calls if I post pricing and have to take it down, other dealers get upset. So I'll do i this way. Sofas are under $ 3,500, Loveseats under $ 3,000, Chairs under $ 2,000, Ottomans under $ 800. More or less