Furniture World March April 2012

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06 Editor’s CornerMessage from Furniture World’s Editor-in-Chief introducing a new series on industrycharitable programs.

08 Think Profit! -Part 2An in-depth look at how to analyze one of your three critical financial statements: the Balance Sheet.

14 Plug In To DomesticIf you’ve made a decision to take advantage of the uptrend in furniture productionand sales of Made in USA and Made in Canada furniture, this article is a must-read.

36 Ninety Seconds To Success Series"Who is your biggest competitor?" We answer this question and explain why seeminglysmall things in the “profession of persuasion” make a significant difference.

40 Best Selling DesignEditors’ picks of best selling furniture and accessory designs.

48 A Hope To DreamInterview with Kendra Maggert, Interactive Marketing Manager, Ashley HomeStores,Ltd., the first in a series focusing on furniture industry charitable initiatives.

54 Selling Better Bedding & Mattresses Series - Power BasesPart six of Furniture World’s selling better bedding series features expert sales tips andtechniques that will help you to increase attachment rates on power bases.

74 Furniture Wars - Part 2How can you benefit from changing mattress retailing trends? By embracing them.

84 Retail Success Stories - Part 12This series, commemorating Furniture World’s 142nd year of publishing, continues with the interesting history of iconic Massachusetts based retailer Bernie & Phyl’s.

96 Employee Theft Theft is a big problem in our industry. Here are simple ways to protect your business.

102 Article Marketing - Part 1 It’s a totally free, awareness-building tool that draws ideal clients right to your door.

2 FURNITURE WORLD March/April 2012

Cover: Featured is a rug from Surya’s Banshee line, a blend of mid-century style meets fresh contemporary. Constructed from 100% NewZealand wool and hand-tufted, this rug features earth tones and organicswirls, with just enough pizazz for a neutral room that needs a breath offresh air. For more information about Surya, see page six in this issue, orvisit http://www.surya.com.

CONTENTSFURNITURE WORLD MAGAZINEThe Business Solutions Magazine For Furniture RetailersFOUNDED 1870 • Visit www.furninfo.com The Industry’s Most Extensive Furniture Site

FURNITURE WORLD: (ISSN0738-890X) - Published every other month by Towse Publishing Co., 1333-A North Avenue, #437 New Rochelle, NY 10804.Subscription: $19 per year; $39.00 for 3 years, $29 Canada, $4/copy; Foreign $89; (USD only). Periodical postage paid at New Rochelle, NY and additionalmailing offices. US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Furniture World, PO Box 16044, St. Louis, MO 63105. Publications Mail Agreement Number41659018. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: PO Box 875, STN A, Windsor ON N9A 6P2. Copyright 2012 Towse Publishing Company, all rightsreserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.

US POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Furniture World Magazine, PO Box 16044, St. Louis, MO 63105.

Member BPAAssociation of Business PublishersFurniture World Magazine1333A North Ave. #437New Rochelle, NY 10804 Tel: 914-235-3095

Finance

Marketing

Operations

Sales Education

Retail Stories

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EDITORIAL STAFFEditor-In-Chief, CEORussell Bienenstock [email protected]/ Design EditorBarbara BienenstockAssociate EditorS.T. BienenstockRetail Feature Editor Janet Holt-JohnstoneSales Education EditorPeter MarinoOperations Feature EditorDan BolgerMarketing Feature EditorLarry Mullins

BUSINESS STAFFPublisher Barton Bienenstock [email protected] PresidentThelma Mason [email protected] ManagerEastern Region Jon Siegel [email protected] Sales DirectorGary Siegel [email protected]

Welcome to the March/April edition ofFurniture World Magazine thatincludes the first installment in a series

on industry charitable programs.There are important business benefits that

accrue from charitable giving. These includeways to engage customers with retail brandsand, opportunities to hold events that bringcustomers into stores. Giving acts as a coun-terbalance to consumers’ negative perceptionsabout business. It also provides corporate offi-cers with opportunities to network, and buildcaring reputations. So, for those of you whoare concerned mostly with business, please usethis series as a source of ideas. You can, associal commentator Tom Lehrer noted in asong, “do well by doing good.”

Corporate giving at its best is not abouthabit, ego or profit. We, therefore, hope to gobeyond writing about these aspects of giving,to create awareness and inspire.

The author Jack London said, “A bone to thedog is not charity. Charity is the bone sharedwith the dog, when you are just as hungry asthe dog.”

And the individuals interviewed for this seriesare hungry. It’s a type of hunger motivated bypassion and a commitment that draws in thesupport of customers, employees and partners.We will look for exemplars of charitable giving;who notice the suffering of the world, and areworking in a positive ways to create change.

EDITOR’S CORNEROn charitable giving... Jack London...And Compassion.



THINK PROFIT!An in depth look at how to analyze one of your

three critical financial statements: the Balance Sheetby David McMahon

Most business managers canread a Profit and LossStatement (P&L). Sales –Merchandise Cost =

Gross Margin – Expenses = Incomeor Loss, right? This is what peopleeasily understand and focus on. Thetwo other critical financial reports,Balance Sheet and the Statement ofCash Flow are often ignored or areimproperly analyzed. In the last issueof Furniture World, The basics of ana-lyzing a Profit and Loss Statement werecovered. In this article, the analysis,including a furniture store specificcase study, will be extended to theBalance Sheet.

If you have not read Part 1 of thisseries published in the January/February issue of Furniture WorldMagazine, you can find it on thewww.furninfo.com website athttp://bitly.com/Gzmiyl, or scan theQR code below to read it on yoursmart phone, iPad, or Android:

The Balance Sheet is also known asthe Statement of Financial Position.This is because it is a snapshot at one“position” in time – usually at periodend. It starts when you first openedyour business, and does not end untilyour business is either done or sold. Incontrast, the Profit and Loss Statementrepresents a range in time and is resetto zero each year. When the P&L is

reset, your income or loss for that yearis recorded as equity in your BalanceSheet’s Retained Earnings each year.If you have successive years of largeprofits, your equity in your businessgrows. The equity that you do notwithdraw from the business is whathelps finance the business. It is whatfuels growth, longevity, and businesshealth.

Analyzing your Balance Sheet is crit-ical because it shows the strength ofyour business. It highlights thestrengths and weaknesses of yourfinancial position. The way this isaccomplished is through ratio analy-sis. A ratio is the result comparing twodifferent numbers. Once you calculateimportant ratios for your business,comparisons can be made with indus-try averages, peer performancegroups, or historical results. By doingthis, you can identify areas to focus onand track your improvement actions.

CASE STUDYOn the following page is a Balance

Sheet for the same example companyused in the last issue. It is a commonsized statement, meaning that alongside each dollar figure is the percent-age of total assets that number repre-sents. This enables a company tocompare itself with the industry andbusinesses of different sizes. Alsoincluded is a comparative column sothat we can see the change from theprevious year.

Company Background

• Family owned and operated.

• Full line furniture, no electronics orappliances.

• One store operation with onedetached warehouse.

• Family owns buildings separatelyand business pays rent.

• 25,000 square foot showroom.

• Vendor merchandising - mid toupper.

• Special order percentage = 50%.

• 2011 Sales = $5,000,000.

• 2011 Cost of Goods Sold =$2,800,000 @ 56%.

• 2011 Gross Margin =$2,200,000 @ 44%.

• 2011 Net Income After Interestand Tax = $52,000 @ 1.04%.

Note: Analysis and Select Ratios refer-ence the red circled numbers on thesample Balance Sheet.

q Where are the assets? 93% oftheir assets are current. Currentmeans that the assets are expected tobe converted into cash in less thanone year. Long term assets representonly 7% of total assets. This is proba-bly due to the fact that the owners ownthe buildings separately and they arepaying themselves rent. This is com-mon. This company’s health could beimproved by reducing the weight ofassets in inventory and accountsreceivable vs. assets held in cash andsecurities. It would be nice to see 18-20% of total assets in Cash andSecurities.

w How are the assets financed?This can be seen in the per cent oftotal assets under liabilities and equi-ty. This business is 12% internally


The Sales Management Game


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ComparativeCurrent Assets Dec. 31, 2011 % of Total Assets Dec. 31, 2010 % of Total AssetsCash $165,000 11% $210,000 15% Marketable Securities $50,000 3% $65,000 4%Accounts Receivable $100,000 7% $75,000 5%Inventory $1,025,000 71% $975,000 67%Prepaid Expenses $10,000 1% $10,000 1%Total Current Assets $1,350,000 93% $1,335,000 92%

Long Term Assets:Property, Plant & Equipment (Net) $100,000 7% $110,000 8%Notes Receivable (Over 1 Year) $0 0% 0% 0%Total Long-term Assets $100,000 7% $110,000 8%

Total Assets $1,450,000 100% $1,445,000 100%

Current Liabilities:Accounts Payable $250,000 17% $250,000 17%Salaries Payable $25,000 2% $20,000 1%Taxes Payable $20,000 1% $20,000 1%Customer Deposits $550,000 38% $600,000 42%Line of Credit $50,000 3% $37,000 3%Notes Payable (portion due <1 year) $25,000 2% $25,000 2%Total Current Liabilities $920,000 63.45% $942,000 65.19%

Long-term Liabilities:Notes Payable - bank $350,000 24% $375,000 26%Notes Payable - shareholders $0 0% $0 0%Total Long-term Liabilities $350,000 24.14% $375,000 25.95%

Total Liabilities $1,270,000 87.59% $1,317,000 91.14%

Stockholder’s Equity:Retained Earnings $103,000 7% $73,000 5%Net Income (loss) Year to Date $52,000 4% $30,000 2%Paid in Capital $25,000 2% $25,000 2%Total Stockholder’s Equity $180,000 12.41% $128,000 8.86%

Total Liabilities & Stockholder’s Equity $1,450,000 100% $1,445,000 100%

financed and 88% debt financed.Their financing comes from threesources for the most part: their ven-dors, their customers, and their bank.

e Net Working Capital $430,000.(=Current Assets – Current Liabilities.)It represents a company’s ability topay off its short-term debt. This busi-

ness seems solid when looking atworking capital as a dollar amount. Incases where working capital is nega-tive, the business will have difficultymeeting its obligations. That would bea precursor to liquidation.

r Current Ratio 1.47. (= CurrentAssets / Current Liabilities.) Current

ratio is a measure of liquidity. It givesa truer picture of the business healththan net working capital as a dollaramount because it can be applied tobusinesses of all sizes. Although someindustries are different than others, acurrent ratio of a 2 or 2:1 is consid-ered decent. A current ratio of 1would mean that the business could

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Balance Sheet for 2011 - Year End Data



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not pay for its debt if it became due.Here a 1.47 clearly shows there isroom for improvement.

t Quick Ratio .34. (= Cash + Mkt.Securities + AR / Current Liabilities.)Quick Ratio is a more conservativemeasure of liquidity. Inventory is amuch less liquid asset, so it is removedfrom the equation. A Quick Ratio of .5is considered in this industry to bedecent. A .34 could be from either aninventory or debt level that is too largefor its size.

y Cash Ratio 23%. (= Cash + MktSecurities / Current Liabilities.) Cashratio is an even more conservative liq-uidity measure. Over 25% is good.Also note the comparative cash bal-ance from 2010 to 2011 fell byaround 20%.

u Inventory Turnover 2.8 times.(= Cost of Goods (annualized) /Average Inventory.) One reason whythis business is not as liquid as it couldbe shows itself here. Turns are lowerthan the industry average and muchlower than the 3.5 + turns that manyretailers I see are getting. A slowerinventory translates itself into higherliabilities and lower cash flow.

i Days Sales in Inventory 130 days.(= 365 days / Turns.) On average, ittakes this business 130 days to selland deliver a piece of merchandise.That’s tough when they have to paytheir vendors in 30 days. Top opera-tions are turning in less than 100 days.And a few retailers turn so fast, andtheir terms are so good, that areas oftheir inventory are fully vendorfinanced.

o Gross Margin Return on Inventory(GMROI) is $2.20. (= Gross MarginDollars (annualized) / Average

Inventory.) $2.20 certainly is not bad.But it’s not great either. GMROI is theultimate gauge of Return onInvestment efficiency with inventoryoperations. High profit operators liveat or above $2.50.

a Return on Assets (ROA) 4%. (=Net income / Average Total Assets.)Like GMROI, ROA is a return ratio.This, however, compares the netincome produced by the assets invest-ed. This is one of the most telling signsof this company’s below averageresults in profitability. Average totalassets of over $1.4 million only pro-duced $52,000 in after tax incomelast year. ROA should be above 20%.A store I recently worked with hadachieved almost 50% ROA!

s Return on Equity (ROE) 34%. (=Net Income / Average Total Equity.)Equity for the most part is what owner-ship puts into the business and theprofits it leaves there. It is either debtor equity that enables a business tooperate and purchase and sell itsassets (its inventory). Unless an ownerinjects a continuous stream of person-al funds, equity comes from netincome, period. A 34% is on the lowside here. It could be due to the com-pany being a new business, or theowners taking out profits, or in thiscase, it is the lack of successive highprofit years. If this business takes theright actions to become a high profitoperation, leave profits in the busi-ness, and uses its capital properly, thisratio should grow. As it does, its finan-cial position will grow and its futurewill become brighter.

CONCLUSIONThe company in this example has

lots of room for improvement. Analysisof their P&L (see the previous article inthe January/February issue) and theirBalance Sheet here indicates that theyshould focus on improving some spe-cific areas of their inventory and salesmanagement.

They should adopt an overall goaland implement a strategy to raiseGMROI from $2.20 to $2.60... just40 cents. And per last time, theyshould take steps to improve theiroverall profitability. I would also advisethat they leave some equity in the busi-ness to fund further growth.

“Well, 40 cents doesn’t sound likethat much?” you might ask.

Great question! Right, 40 centsdoes not sound like much. Think of itthis way: at $1 Million in averageinventory, if this operation had 40cents extra in GMROI, that wouldequate to $400,000 in extra GrossMargin dollars generated each year!Their financial position would becomefantastic. That’s why it is worth it toThink Profit!

David McMahon is a ManagementConsultant with PROFITsystems and aMember of the Institute ofManagement Accountants.Questions about this article, orto request a similar analysis onyour financial statements con-tact him at [email protected] or call8oo-888-5565.

“A Quick Ratio of .5 is considered in this industry to be decent. This company’s .34 could be from either an inventory or debt level that is too large for its size.”



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On January 21st 2012, theNew York Times reportedon an exchange of wordsbetween President Barack

Obama and Steve Jobs, then theCEO of Apple. “‘What would it taketo make iPhones in the UnitedStates... Why can’t that work comehome?’” Mr. Obama asked. “Mr.Jobs’ reply was unambiguous,” notedthe Times, “‘Those jobs aren’t comingback.’”

Jobs may have been correct. TheiPhone may never again be manufac-tured here. The furniture industry,however, is showing signs of resur-gence in the production and con-sumption of products that are made inthe US and Canada. There are fourgeneral conditions that are makingthis possible:

• Lower availability and higher costfor goods sourced from Asia vs.domestically made furniture;

• An increase in domestic produc-tion, plus a broader choice ofstyles and price points.

• Rising consumer awareness anddemand for domestically madehome furnishings;

• Retailers are becoming moreaware of the need to pay attentionto buying, marketing, displayingand selling the category.

The editors at Furniture World inter-viewed retailers, manufacturers andmarketing experts to provide perspec-tive on this trend and, give readerssuggestions to help them market thecategory.

THE SUPPLY SIDE SHIFTIn his book, “The Furniture Wars:

How America Lost a Fifty Billion DollarIndustry”, Mike Dugan details the rea-sons why furniture manufacturingwent overseas in the later part of the20th century. Everyone in our industryis familiar with this story. He writesabout how furniture importing accel-erated as domestic furniture manufac-turers transferred capital and manu-facturing expertise to Asian factories.After the Sino-U.S. trade agreement in

1999 and China’s admittance into theWorld Trade Organization, this trendbecame unstoppable. By then, com-petitive pressures compelled industryplayers to take advantage of thecheap labor, business friendly envi-ronmental and work rules, and newermore efficient factory settings in over-seas markets.

Recently though, the pendulum thatonce favored offshore production isswinging back toward a neutral posi-tion. “There’s a great back-story dri-ving what’s happening in this indus-try,” observes Bruce Cochrane,President of the recent domestic case-goods start-up Lincolnton Furniture.“In China, goods are now beingdirected toward domestic consump-tion. Projections are that China will gofrom less than 5 per cent of globalconsumption to almost 25 per cent inthe next eight years. US importers are,therefore, facing the prospect thatChina will be consuming much ofwhat they can make, and be import-ing from much of Asia.”

According to Cochrane, ongoing


PLUG IN TO DOMESTICDomestic furniture production is making a comeback.

Have retailers positioned themselves to take advantage of this trend?by Russell Bienenstock

Home Furnishings Trends


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structural changes in China’s econo-my, the impact of labor shortages,wage increase and higher shippingcosts for Asian sourced goods, arecausing something that few in ourindustry thought probable. “Retailersare seeing that it is tougher to getimported goods,” he says. “It may bejust the tip of the iceberg, but there isdefinitely going to be a supply issuefor furniture retailers.”

Santa Clarita, CA based retailerNorb Moniz, Jr., President of A RoyalSuite Home Furnishings, agrees.“With prices of imported products onthe rise, and the cost of getting themhere increasing,” he notes, “we areseeing that it isn't as easy or as cheapas it used to be to get imported prod-ucts. China's productivity and theircost of goods are rising rapidly.”

DEMAND IS RISINGFurniture World asked Jim “Mattress

Mack” McIngvale of Gallery Furnitureto explain what’s driving an increasein consumer demand for domestic fur-niture.

“It’s a recession when your neigh-bor looses his job. It’s a depressionwhen you lose yours.” He replied.“And everyone in this current environ-ment has seen a neighbor be out ofwork. We’ve also noticed that thisMade in America trend has picked upa lot of steam since ABC started talk-ing about it on Good MorningAmerica. I think that it is only going tobecome bigger, and more smartretailers will begin to tell the Made inAmerica story because that’s whatpeople want to hear.”

Diane Ray, President, Garden City

Furniture, and NHFA BoardChairman also sees a positive trend.“Consumers are asking for domesti-cally made products across theboard,” she told Furniture World.“This young generation Y wants well-made products, and they don't want towait 16 weeks to get a replacementpart. They are used to getting instantgratification, and they are very pickyabout what they buy. These customerswill buy one piece if that's all they canafford, and wait to get the otherpieces as their financial situation per-

mits. Our older customers are tellingus, ‘oh it's so good to see made inAmerica again.’ That's what I amhearing out on the floor.”

When asked about his younger cus-tomers, Chester Hine, President ofNew Mexico-based retailer AmishConnection, says that he sees thesame customer buying behaviors asDiane Ray. Amish Connection sellsonly American made products. “Manyof our customers are baby boomers,”he says, “but we are seeing moreyounger shoppers. Because we carry


“Today our consumers are saying, ‘I want to knowwhere this was made, what kind of wood it’s madefrom, and I want to feel good about purchasing thispiece of furniture.” - Diane Ray, Garden City Furniture

President’s Day Sale promotion on A RoyalSuite’s website features Norb Moniz, Jr. saying, “I’m committed to putting Americansback to work. We feature American MadeFurniture.” Moniz is also featured in theirtelevision spots. “Our television spots,” he says, “have been most effective withAmerican-made products because peoplecan see and hear our sincerity.”

Above is the Made in USA Brand certificationmark, a non-mandatory brand enhancer andidentifier of goods made or grown in theUnited States.


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Amish made furniture, these youngercustomers have confidence that they canbuy a bed and maybe one nightstand,then purchase the dresser later.” Theydon’t need to worry about the set beingdiscontinued, so they don’t feel com-pelled to buy a complete, but more pro-motional set. “We can almost always,”Hine explained, “get matching piecesfrom our Amish craftsmen suppliers.Even stuff that we sold years and yearsago, and that we don't carry anymore,can be ordered. Our store has itemsfrom about 120 craftsmen on the salesfloor including products like jams andjellies, plus smaller accessories. Weshop both the Ohio Hardwood FurnitureMarket and the NIWA Indiana shows.”

Norb Moniz, Jr., has also noticed thatdemand for his domestically sourcedproducts have increased, an observationthat was a major motivation for his deci-sion to move to a larger location andexpand his selection of furniture made inAmerica.

“Our community,” he noted, “is mid-dle-class, and the middle class has beenaffected most by imported products.Before 2011, I don't think the middleclass really realized the true impact ofmanufacturing plants being shut downacross the US. Now they're starting towake up. We get a substantial numberof people who walk into our store afterhaving shopped in the local big box

store that carries a substantial amount,or all imported products. Many peoplefrom this community just don’t want tobuy there anymore.”

Canadian retailers interviewed for thisarticle emphasized that their customersare looking for locally made products,well constructed and competitivelypriced, but not necessarily Made inCanada. This outlook is quite possibly areflection of the health of the Canadianeconomy that has seen much higher lev-els of job growth and lower unemploy-ment over the last two years than itssouthern neighbor.

Paul Comrie, Senior Vice President forThe Brick, one of Canada's largest vol-ume retailers of household furniture,mattresses, appliances and home elec-tronics says, “Our customers tell us thatthey want more Canadian made domes-tic goods and, depending on the regionwhere a store is located, it can be morepronounced. But so far it’s only anecdo-tal information. We have no data to saythere is an uptick, or that the consumerwill pay a premium for domestic goods.”

Comrie says that in spite of this, TheBrick’s “goal is to grow the rate of pen-etration of our domestic sales relative toour import sales, or at minimum at leastmaintain the current mix.”

Sue Toby, owner of Insideout HomeStore, Victoria, British Columbia,emphasizes that her customers are more

“The good salespeople say, ‘This upholstered sofa’smade in the United States.’ They tell customerswhat part of the country it’s made in, and they tellthem a story about it.”-Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, Gallery Furniture

The http://www.mattressmack.com Blog discusses products made in Americaas well as “cool” furniture finds in High Point, videos from customers aboutwhat they like and don’t like at Gallery Furniture, design information, storeand community news. ‘Mack’ is pictured top left.


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focused on the broader consumertrend towards seeking locally sourcedproducts, that she considers to bemade both in Canada and the USA. “Ibelieve there is a trend to buy locallymade products,” she told us,“However, we usually say NorthAmerican made, as we have so muchto offer between the two countries.”She observes that, “people are veryinterested in local, but it is still aboutthe dollar. Our customers are stillshopping price, so even though theymay want to buy local, if it’s madesomewhere else cheaper, they willpurchase cheaper.”

“I don’t think there is a trend per sefor Canadian made furniture,” addsSteve Forberg of Toronto basedDecorium, “but I have noticed a trendin consumers requiring better qualityproducts. Whether it be from Canada,U.S. or Asia, they just want a productthat will last.”

Paul Dekker, owner of ConwayFurniture, Listowel, Ontario agreesthat Canadians want value, but hehas noticed increased awarenessamong his customers. “There is atrend,” he says, “and we are seeingpeople who realize we need manufac-turing here in Canada and NorthAmerica. They set out with that aspart of their ideal, whether they endup buying Canadian or importdepends on the salesperson and thevalue.

“Canadian consumers want value.The imported products, in manycases, are less expensive, especiallyon more unusual and elaboratelooks. The challenge is to sourcemore interesting domestic productsthat show good value, but that isn’teasy in a lot of categories. If you canshow the value, the Canadian contentis the clincher.”

CONNECT WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS

Most of the people interviewed forthis article, believe that furniture retail-ers can do a better job of connectingwith potential customers who areinterested in purchasing domesticallymade products.

We asked Katherine Andes whospecializes in copywriting for SEO andweb content development, to providesome expert guidance. She is also acontributor to Furniture World’sweekly e-newsmagazine.

TIP #1: Pick AppropriateWebsite Images

“If you decide to put patriotic logossuch as flags on your website to showa commitment to domesticallysourced furniture,” said Andes, “I rec-ommend that these logos be placedon every single page. Look for logothat really stands out. Do a Googlesearch for the phrases ‘Made in USA’,‘Made in Canada’, etc., and thenlook at the top, or top left of thesearch results page. There will be alabel that says ‘images’. Click on itand thousands of images will appearincluding lots of logos. Browsethrough them to see which ones clear-ly stand out, and strongly communi-cate where the products are made.Once you get an idea of what type ofimage will work for you, you caneither hire a designer to create some-thing similar from scratch, or clickthrough and buy the rights to use anexisting logo.”

Marcie Gabor is President, Made inUSA Brand and a principal at market-ing agency Conrad Phillips Vutech.The Made in USA Brand is an organi-

zation that helps American companiesidentify their products by providingthem with the Made in USA Brand cer-tification mark, a non-mandatorybrand enhancer and identifier ofgoods made or grown in the UnitedStates. We asked her to also commentabout choosing a logo to use formaterials. “Many companies placesmall icons next to products to showthat they are made with wind power orhave recycled content, but they maynot have an identifier for which prod-ucts are made in the USA. There is agreat opportunity to get this messageacross to customers, so even if theyaren't looking specifically for productsmade in the USA, it now becomes topof mind. Studies have shown that newconsumers, we call them conscien-tious consumers, who are thinkingbefore they buy, are conditioned tolook at labels. They already look fororganic, or products made with windenergy or made locally. Polls haveshown that there is an equal amountof interest in products made in theUSA.”

TIP #2: Add Alt & Title Tags ToYour Website Images

“Once an image or images for yourwebsite have been selected,” contin-ues Katherine Andes, “make sure thatyour developer fills in the alt tag, alsocalled an alt attribute. Search enginesuse alt tags to identify images. So, ifsomeone is searching online for prod-ucts that are made in America, thatlogo will show up. Use a variety of alttags. I searched for some key termsthat furniture retailers should be look-ing at,” she told Furniture World. “Forthe month of January, 450,000searches were made for the phrase


PLUG IN TO DOMESTIC: SALES TIPS


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‘Made in America’. ‘Made in USA’had 673,000, and ‘Made in theUnited States of America’ had 90,500searches.

“I suggest that furniture retailers putthe alt tag ‘Made in America’ onsome pages, ‘Made in USA’ on oth-ers. ‘Made in the United States ofAmerica’ is not as important, but ifyou have a lot of pages, I would alsorecommend that you include that. ForCanadian furniture retailers, addingalt tags for ‘Made in Canada’ isequally useful.”

Also make sure that your title tagsinclude the title of the picture, anddescribe it accurately. Users will seethis title when their mouse hovers overthe picture.

TIP #3: Add DescriptiveText To Your Videos

Andes says that, “Videos are greatand I highly recommend them, butalways add text to summarize theircontent. Some users won’t be able toget your video to play, and others just

won’t want to take the time to sit andlisten. They would rather quickly scanthe text.”

TIP #4: Optimize YourWebsite For Keywords &Phrases

“If you can manage to get Made inthe USA or Made in CanadaFurniture, and other important wordsand phrases into the descriptive texton your website without making itsound awful, that's great,” Andes says.“But if you want to track and rank highfor specific words or phrases, it gets alittle bit more sophisticated.

“In general, furniture retailers dohave attractive sites, and they're doinga good job of getting their productsup on the web. In terms of payingattention to how visible their website iswhen consumers search for keywords,and in the area of helping their storesstand out from the competition, how-ever, they're not doing a very goodjob.

“And the reason that most aren’t

paying close attention to website visi-bility, is that they don’t have anyoneon staff who has the time or training tokeep up with it, or they haven't out-sourced it yet. It’s often hard for retail-ers to wrap their heads around whatprofessionals are doing with key-words, title tags and alt tags. This isnot necessarily work that needs to bedone full-time, so it’s important toeither find someone outside the orga-nization who is skilled at this kind ofwork, or get a staffer some trainingand coaching.”

TIP #5: Create A Pageor Section On Your Site

Armanda Turney, President ofArmanda Designs, Inc., the webdevelopment company that createdFurniture World’s www.furninfo.comwebsite suggests that it is an excellentidea to create a separate web page orsection that tells the story of why andhow you buy domestically madegoods. “Increase the effectiveness ofyour message by creating a page thattells your story,” she says. “Briefly dis-cuss the choices you made and whyit’s important for your business to offerAmerican made or Canadian madefurniture. Include photos, customertestimonials and related informationon your suppliers, sustainable andquality features. But it’s not enoughto just create a great looking page.Make sure that your page title, pagesection headings and meta tagsinclude phrases that potential cus-tomers are most likely to type in tosearch engines such as, Made in theUSA, Made in America, American fur-niture manufacturers, Made inCanada, etc. Also include supplier’snames in your meta tags. And finally,the visible text on your page should be



Cardi’s Furniture’s website (left) featured a large banner for LincolntonFurniture with links to an interview featuring that manufacturer on NBC’sRock Center.


23 furnworld 0412 decorrest_FWAD 3/24/12 1:56 PM Page 23

written in a way that incorporates asmany of these searchable words orphrases as is practical, without beingtoo obvious.”

TIP #6: Use Pay PerClick Wisely

“If you're really ambitious,” con-cludes Andes, “you could run a payper click campaign to tie into patriot-ic events on a national or local levelright before holidays like the Fourth ofJuly, President’s Day or Canada Dayholidays. So when people are lookingfor information on local fireworks dis-plays, other events, specific newsitems, or anything patriotic, you canquickly put up a pay per click cam-paign, and your ad will show up in aGoogle search next to the results.

“And it's a good idea to keep youreyes open for breaking news storiesall year long. Recently a major net-work ran a series about furnitureMade in America, and people weredoing internet searches for additionalinformation. You and your suppliersmay not have been mentioned in thestory, but you could still have donesome pay per click advertising so thatyour ad appeared next to every searchresult for that story. Google ad wordsand other search engines have thesame kinds of programs. You shouldbe very careful using Google AdWords though, because Google canrun through a ton of your money very

quickly. It’s important to hire a pay perclick expert so that your ads don’tappear in the wrong places, causingtoo many clicks that are just emptyclicks. Some retail managers I knowdo their own pay per click ads. Thesuccessful ones spend a lot of timestudying, and a lot of time tweakingtheir results. So, if you have a realpassion, do it yourself. But if not, mysuggestion is to bring in an expert.”

TIP #7: Attend ToPatriotic HolidayAdvertising

We’ve all seen ads that run beforenational holidays that promote hugediscounts and attractive financing,accompanied by bold graphics. “Inoticed some furniture store advertis-ing this past President’s Day,”observes Made In USA Brand’sMarcie Gabor. “The ads were big onpromotion, with lots of stars andstripes graphics. But it wasn’t possibleto know from where these storessourced their furniture. Holidays suchas Presidents' Day and the Fourth ofJuly are good times to think aboutdoing something substantial, some-thing big to promote Made in Americaand tell a real story.”

Diane Ray from Garden CityFurniture is already working on thiskind of promotion. “We are justbeginning to kick off an advertisingprogram emphasizing our Made in

America effort,” she said. “In fact, ourinitial kick-off will be in July. Up untilnow, the news has been spread byword-of-mouth, floor displays and in-store signage. But we intend to beginto promote Made in America during atwo-week Fourth of July Made inAmerica sale. We are located in aresort community where the Fourth ofJuly is enthusiastically celebrated. Wesponsor fireworks in our local com-munity, and are working on a flaggive-away with purchase. Customerswill receive a free American flag todisplay at their home if they sochoose. The promotion will featurelots of signage at the front of thebuilding playing up the Made inAmerica direction. And of course wewill promote with TV, radio, newspa-per ads and through our website andFacebook page.”

As for big patriotic events to pro-mote Made in Canada, Paul Dekker,owner of Conway Furniture, Listowel,Ontario told us, “I do some radioadvertising focusing on some of ourgood Canadian suppliers. We alsodo a Canada Week event, and get aspatriotic as Canadians get!”

TIP #8: Tell Your StoryIn Advertising & PR

If you don’t tell the story in youradvertising and public relationsefforts, you can’t do a good job ofattracting customers that self-select for


Vermont Wood Studios covers all the baseson its website (vermontwoodsstudios.com)which includes high quality video that tellscustomers about their business philosophy.It features a local craftsperson, speaksabout environmental stewardship and prod-uct quality. The company has chosen not tolink to the websites of their suppliers. Abanner to Copeland Furniture providescomplete information on the line including,“10 reasons to buy Copeland FurnitureHere at Vermont Woods Studios.” TheMade in USA logo appears on most everypage, as does the SFC logo.


25 furnworld 0412 elran_FWAD 3/24/12 2:06 PM Page 25

an interest in domestically producedproducts.

Larry Mullins has been tellingFurniture World readers for years thatcreating selling messages in print is alost art in the furniture industry.“Promotional flyers, ROP newspaperads and direct mail all look alike andfail to tell a story,” he tells us. “Is ‘NoPayments Until 2012’ really the onlymessage we have for the consumer?Don’t we have anything to say aboutthe things our fabulous products, ded-icated service and unparalleled exper-tise can do for their home? They needto be complemented by a compelling

message.” For stores that carrydomestically sourced furniture, thereis an opportunity to create a com-pelling story with emotional content. Itcan relate the history of your store, thehistory of your suppliers, consumerbenefits and your motivations as athoughtful merchant.

A number of retailers are doing justthat. “Wherever possible we promoteMade In America products,” GalleryFurniture’s Mack McIngvale toldFurniture World. “That’s because Ithink it makes people buy more fromus, and appreciate who we are.When they see that we are working

hard to provide jobs for Americansincluding some right here in Texas, Ithink that’s relevant, and it certainlyincreases our credibility. Plus it’s a bigpart of who we are and why we are inbusiness. Our ads mention that webuy Made in America whenever possi-ble to make the public aware that wesell Made in America upholstery andMade in America wood furniture.”

Chester Hine, from AmishConnection agrees that telling a storyis key. “For retailers who are thinkingabout getting into American-madeproducts,” he says, “it's just sales andmarketing 101. You have to differen-tiate your product, and tell them whatmakes you different. In our case it’sthe Amish craftsmanship, the solidwood and the conversion varnish fin-ish. People are willing to pay for thequality if you can differentiate it, andtalk about its longevity.”

Like Amish Connection, DebbieCrepeau’s company, UpperwoodsFurniture Company, Edmonton,Alberta, is a domestic furniture spe-cialist, though she carries onlyCanadian made products. “We arethe ‘Passionate Purveyors of CanadianMade Furniture’, she tells FurnitureWorld. We use this tag line on all ofour mail pieces, ads and website, TVand even a little radio.”

The final word on promoting comesfrom A Royal Suite Home Furnishings’Norb Moniz, Jr. “We recently wentfrom carrying primarily mattresses andbedroom, to a full-line store, heexplained. “Royal Suites has beenaround for over 30 years, and con-sumers have been requesting a widerselection of products from us. Anddue to the lack of independent retail-ers in our area, we decided to expandinto a full-line store that actively pro-motes American-made products.”

Moniz, who is growing the percent-



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age of domestically sourced productsin his store, is the featured spokesper-son in every one of his TV spots pro-moting the American-made theme.“We use mostly television and radio topromote the category,” he says, “Ourtelevision spots have been most effec-tive with American-made productsbecause people can see and hear oursincerity.”

He suggests that retailers work withsuppliers to get listed on their websitesand encourage them to tell their sto-ries on a national level. Moniz tells of

his recent experience following anational broadcast of an interviewwith Bruce Cochrane. “We are listedon The Lincolnton website,” he said.“When the program ran, we receivedabout 30 phone calls. People said tous, ‘when you get the product in, wewant it. Call us, and we are going tobuy.’ It was as simple as that. Noprices were mentioned and, it didn’tmatter. It was unbelievable. Ourphones rang off the hook for threedays. Lincolnton is upper end for us,as is Furniture Traditions, another

Retailers that carry furniture made in Americashould consider putting a logo or identifier onevery page of their website, then take it onestep further by adding alt and title tags to theimages.

“Tell them what makesyour store different. In our case it’s theAmish craftsmanship,the solid wood and the finish. People arewilling to pay for thequality if you can differentiate it.”-Chester Hine, Amish Connection



quality line we carry.”A number of our interviewees men-

tioned that working with manufactur-ing partners is critically important.“For retailers to be able to do the bestjob they can, it has to start with thefurniture manufacturer, Marcie Gaboradvised. There is now a great oppor-tunity for manufacturers to claimopenly that they're making furniturehere. It starts with a compelling storyon the manufacturer’s website aboutwhere the product is made, its quality,and the craftsman who make it. Thestory continues with their label on theirproduct, and with something visiblelike a hangtag that the consumer caneasily see. I think that this has to be inplace before retailers can convincing-ly convey the message to the public.”But it need not end there. Retailerscan benefit by working to provide use-ful online information such as links toarticles and videos, and by promotingthe lines they carry in digital newslet-ters, article marketing, blogging andFacebook posts.

TIP #8: WayfindingIn Your Store

Whether style and price is a cus-tomer’s primary focus, or if they arelooking specifically for Made in USAor Made in Canada furniture, it is agood idea to let them know up frontthat you’ve made a commitment tothe category.

Marcie Gabor whose certificationmark is used by several furniture man-ufacturers, suggests that, “Wayfindingis important. Customers react on thespot to what they're seeing when theyenter a store. So if the category isn’t

easy to find, then you’ve lost animportant opportunity. Point-of-pur-chase materials are really importantand these are not limited to just hangtags. Floor decals, counter cards andshelf talkers, can be used to identifyand tell about American-made prod-ucts. And it can be done in a tastefulway. Sometimes retailers overdo itwith huge flags and patriotic displaysthat may not be a good fit for theirstore. It is possible to get the pointacross in a more subtle, design friend-ly way, perhaps taking a hint fromstores that feature organic products –a more lifestyle approach.”

Insideout Home Store’s Sue Toby, isthinking of taking a differentapproach for her Canadian-madefurniture displays. “Signs on our dis-play boards that say ‘Made inCanada’, and include a story aboutthe products, where the wood camefrom, etc. I am getting some signsmade that will say Canadian-made,but I want them to be special. I amthinking of using a beaver or amoose. Probably sounds weird, but Ithink they will turn out great!”

Upperwoods Furniture CompanyOwner Debbie Crepeau feels that shedoesn’t need special signage to pro-mote the category. “Specific tech-niques to highlight Made in Canadaare not really needed in our store asALL of our furniture is Canadianmade,” she says.

TIP #9: Sales AssociatesNeed To Tell Your Story

There are three main ways thatretailers interviewed for this article telltheir stories to customers. Some intro-

duce domestic goods as a separatecategory with its own features andbenefits. Others look at Made in USAor Made in Canada as a product fea-ture. Specialists, like DebbieCrepeau’s Upperwoods FurnitureCompany goes further and treatsthese products as equivalent to herstore’s brand.

“Our best salespeople introducethe topic of Made in Canada as cus-tomers enter our showroom,” contin-ues Crepeau. “all our furniture ismade in Canada and is of great qual-ity. Solid wood, superior finishingprocess, controlled emissions andmany of our manufacturers arefocused on becoming green andusing finishes that are formaldehydefree.”

New Mexico based retailer NorbMoniz, Jr., says that “the American-made story is part of our presentation.There's a quality aspect, a customerservice dimension, and a deliverystory. We don't bash imported goodsand we don't bash our competitors. It'snot our style. We feel customers out

“When people are looking for information on events, specific news items, or anything patriotic, you can quickly put up a pay per click campaign, and your ad will show up in a Google search next to the results.” -Katherine Andes

Above, the Google AdWords website atwww.google.com/adwords2. It’s easy toquickly put up a pay per click campaign totake advantage of events and news items,but be careful. Poorly conceived campaignscan be non productive and expensive.

furnworld 04-12-4_furnworld 3/29/12 3:51 PM Page 28

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and make them aware if what they arelooking at is American-made or not.Some people don't really care. Thepeople that are strong American buy-ers, and we are seeing a hugeamount of those right now, will tellyou, ‘I only buy American, show meonly American.’

“Maybe it's because we’ve beenpromoting it and getting behind it, butI've never seen anything like what’shappened in the last three months.The nice thing is that all of our sales-people on the floor, ownership, man-agement and all the way down to ourcustomer service department, allbelieve in it strongly. Everybody here isproud, more so every day, when theycan sell American-made products.When I put a new group on the floorand it's made in America, they're excit-ed.”

When asked about his salespeople,Gallery Furniture’s Mack McIngvaletold Furniture World, “the good sales-people, and that’s about 60 per centof them, bring it up. They say, ‘Thisupholstered sofa’s made in the UnitedStates.’ They tell customers what partof the country it’s made in, and theytell them a story about it. The goodones use it to their advantage. Wehave no problem telling the Made inAmerica quality story, if it is indeedquality furniture. The stuff that is qual-ity, we tell it loud and we tell it proud.We tell them, for example, that thefurniture we get from MayoManufacturing is made in Texas, is

beautiful and that they don’t make fur-niture like that in China because itcosts too much to ship it over here.We are proud to say that it’s bigger,better and it lasts longer. We alsocarry Simply Amish, a great Made inAmerica line of upper-end bedroomand dining room furniture.”

“If you're a salesperson and you'retalking about upholstery or casegoods from Harden or Norwalk,” saysMarcie Gabor, “the customer knowswhere it comes from. It doesn’t origi-nate in an ambiguous location.Customers can go back and find outabout its roots, it’s history, its qualitystory. It gives them a choice to buy adesk from Pottery Barn, of unknownorigin, or they can buy from VermontWood Studios, Thomas Moser, orStickley and create a legacy.Salespeople should always talk aboutwhat makes the product superior andsometimes even cost a little more.And, in addition to creating jobs athome, salespeople can present thebenefits of buying local and buyinggreen as well. Made in America is thenext ‘green’ because there is such ahunger to buy green products, andnow there is a similar craving for buy-ing the red white and blue, made inUSA products. A lot of that is becausethere is less of a carbon footprint forfurniture products shipped locally ornationally versus globally.”

At Garden City Diane Ray told usthat, “Right now we are looking at 20to 25 per cent American-made goods

on our floor. Our salespeople bringup that it's made in America, and dolet customers know that we are mak-ing a strong push for made inAmerica at this time. We have a wholecollection with one factory, VaughanBassett. It is a big statement for us tohave eight bedrooms from one ven-dor all made in America, on the floor.And It is great to see that people real-ize that we are offering such a greatvalue. We also carry Bassett, Broyhill,Flexsteel, Smith Brothers, Yutsey andWinesburg. We will probably do busi-ness with additional Amish vendorsand expanding the amount of Amishproducts on our floor.”

TIP #10: Don’t ForgetOther Product Benefits

Only one of the retailers inter-viewed for this story, Paul Comrie atThe Brick focused his comments onthe back-end advantages he sees forbuying domestic. “We are motivatedto sell domestic goods for the invento-ry efficiencies and the benefit wederive from supporting localeconomies,” he noted. “Respondingto a consumer’s desire to buy domes-tically made goods is our secondaryreason. The primary reason is thebenefits we receive on the supplychain side. Vendor reliability, qualityof the product, low inventory carryingcosts, and the ability to react quicklyto promotional needs since we aresuch a promotional company.


Online retailers generally doa good job of promotingMade in America.Clubfurniture.com says it is“your clear choice forAmerican made furniture.”The website features aninformative video and textthat touts its domesticallyproduced upholstery. Thereis no reason why brick andmortar retailers cannot telltheir story in a substantialway online and through theuse of other media.


31 furnworld 0412 laun_FWAD 3/24/12 2:15 PM Page 31

“So far we have yet to see that youget a sales lift simply by calling thatbenefit out. The Brick has yet to seecustomers pay a premium for domes-tic goods, so the bigger benefit is notnecessarily for the end consumer inour opinion. We believe the biggerbenefit is for the retailer. And the moresuccessful we are at selling domestic,the more streamlined our distributionbecomes. The commitment we havehad to make is on the margin compo-nent and recognizing that the pricehas to be equal to offshore in order toperform at retail. What we sell still

comes down to the values we offerThe Brick consumer. We recognizethat we need to work on lower initialmarkup for domestic goods becausethe price needs to be equivalent tooffshore goods with similar qualitystories. Price still wins out on our floorso we have had to identify the valueadded benefits we get from domesticgoods. If you don’t see that value andwork on the same initial markup asoffshore goods then most times youare putting the consumer in the posi-tion to pay a premium for domesticgoods. Offshore will win out every

time on our floor in that scenario.”

TIP #11: Ask Suppliers For Support

Norb Moniz, Jr. explains that, “Theproblem we have as retailers, ofcourse, is the lack of American-madefurniture products. I've seen a sub-stantial increase in that, and if youreally sit down and do some research,and really look for vendors, you canfind them. And those American-madecompanies are hungry and willing todo what they need to do. More sothan ever before. They are glad toparticipate in flooring of the goods,and customer service. There's somuch more available now fromAmerican-made manufacturers.”

CONCLUSIONIn the past few months the industry

has seen a modest increase in thenumber of domestic furniture manu-facturing jobs. And despite consolida-tion in the Canadian furniture market,strong domestic producers persist.Companies like Stickley, Harden,Vaughan Bassett, Copeland Furniture,AA Laun, Omnia, Braxton Culler,Décor-Rest, Ashley, Bassett, Bermex,Dutailier, Furniture Traditions, HickoryChair, Elran, Country View, Flexsteeland scores of others design and man-ufacture a wide range of domesticproducts. The result is that domesti-cally made furniture at all price points,and with mainstream styling, is easy tofind.

Clearly Norb Moniz, Jr., of A RoyalSuite Home Furnishings is excited. “Ibelieve,” he said, “that when I comeback from High Point next year,American-made could be 80 per centof our store. It's a huge trend rightnow. Furniture retailers, manufactur-


“Price still wins out on our floor, so we have had to identify the value addedbenefits we get from domestic goods. If you don’t see that value, and work onthe same initial markup as offshore goods then most times you are putting theconsumer in the position to pay a premium for domestic goods.” -Paul Comrie, The Brick


04-12 wallbeds 33_furniture world 3/24/12 2:45 PM Page 33

ers and consumers are going to bethe ones to put Americans back towork.”

Garden City Furniture was foundedin 1947 by Diane Ray’s father. Shetold Furniture World that like many inour business she “grew up during thetime when American furniture brands

were really strong. And I can say Godbless America, I'm so glad to see theindustry come back here. We are asmall independent store of 40,000square feet and it's been a learningcurve to have to deal with the importproducts over the years. We survived,we dealt with it, and changed our

methods of doing business.“Today our consumers are saying, ‘I

want to know where this was made,what kind of woods it’s made from,and I want to feel good about pur-chasing this piece of furniture. Theysee that America is ready for a newdirection. I know our consumers arehappy to see these products in ourstore. Their eyes just light up when wesay, ‘this piece is made right here inthe United States, in Virginia, shippedto us, just the way it used to be.’ Andit feels good when I call up a factoryand say, ‘I need one night stand,’ andhear the reply, ‘I'll have it to youtomorrow, Ms. Ray.’”

Bruce Cochrane gives us our finalwords on this subject. “I think what I'mseeing mainly is a lot of retailers real-ize how important American-madefurniture is,” he told Furniture World,“because they are having so manycustomers come into their stores andask about it, now more so than everbefore. That's something that I hearfrom retailers as I travel all over thecountry. I also see that many of themdon't have any American-made prod-ucts at all, and even if they do, theydon't have enough to really makeenough of a statement. So numberone, retailers need to have it on thefloor if they want to promote it.Number two, if they have it, they needto promote it, mention it in their ads,and say, ‘come see our made inAmerica collections.’”


Biltrite Furniture in Milwaukee (http://biltritefurniture.com),has established an identity that includes many products thatare made in America. The site says that, “Our specialtiesinclude affordable quality furniture and mattresses and alarge selection of USA and Amish made furniture. The USAMADE logo appears on each page of their website.

“Sometimes retailers overdo it with huge flags andpatriotic displays that may not be a good fit fortheir store. It is possible to get the point across ina more subtle, design friendly way.” -Marcie Gabor


35 furnworld 0412 loloi_FWAD 3/24/12 5:33 PM Page 35

Sam Parker wrote a distin-guished work titled, “ 212: TheExtra Degree”. The core con-cept of the book focuses on the

fact that at 211 degrees water is hot;at 212 degrees, it boils.

Seemingly small things in the “pro-fession of persuasion” make a signifi-cant difference.

Mr Parker suggests that applying anextra degree of temperature to watermeans the difference between some-thing that is simply very hot and some-thing that generates enough force topower a train.

That is a beautifully uncomplicatedmetaphor that should ideally feed ourevery endeavor from persuasion toparenting, from providing service toselling, consistently pushing us tomake the extra effort in every task andevery action that we undertake.

Since the 1950’s we have lived inthe golden era of civilization. Whenwe enjoy the good life, and we do,why is it critical that we strive to oper-ate at 212 degrees and consistentlyseek continuous improvement?

Some answers may be obvious, butin addition to challenges in theFurniture industry there may be addi-

tional challenges... and they mayinvolve ….. other industries.

Competition may be keener in oursociety today than at any previoustime in our history.

How do we arrive at that conclu-sion?

Well, let’s look at and list yourgreatest competition.

Some may say, other independentfurniture retailers; some suggest chainor big box stores, mass merchandis-ers, discounted imported goods oremail merchants, but careful consid-eration may cause us to pause... andjustly so.

Step back for a moment and look atthe competition for our customers’personal checkbook.

Let’s see how Mr and Mrs John Doedivide their disposable dollars, afterwithholdings, provided their income isover $40,000 annually.

The demand for the dollar from theconsumer’s checkbook, on average,suggests we spend:• 31 to 32% on our homes, our fur-

nishings, amenities and upkeep;

• 15 to 16% on food and bever-ages;

• 14 to 15% on transportation, fueland maintenance; 9 to 10% onclothing and accessories.

All remaining categories are singledigit. They include: additional taxes,electronics, recreation, vacations,computers and communication, utili-ties, pets and vets, medical care andpharmaceuticals, insurance plans andprotection, miscellaneous and some-times savings.

We did not include college educa-tions, charitable donations or emer-gency expenditures.

Add up most budgets and you get102% on the high side. Sound famil-iar?

The average American consumersaved little money until 2011. Usingcredit they regularly spent 2% morethan they normally took home.

Now, I’ll ask the question again…who’s your greatest competitor?

Well, it soon becomes obvious thatevery person that is managing a busi-ness is your competition, not just thosewho sell either furniture or furnishings.

Every time your customer drivespast -- a gas station, an auto dealer-ship, an amusement or ball park, agrocery or convenient mart, a massmerchandiser or discounter, a travelagency or airport, a medical center ora hospital, a university or college, afast food or a 5-star restaurant, ahome improvement or lawn and gar-den center, a drive-thru or pizza par-lor, a cemetery or mortuary -- they aredriving past your greatest competitor.

Every consumer has a limited num-


90 SECONDS TO $UCCESS SERIESYour Greatest Competitor.

by Ray Morefield, Common Goals

COMPETITION IS KEEN

DEMAND FORTHE DOLLAR

“Seemingly small thingsin the profession ofpersuasion make a significant difference.”

EVERY CONSUMERHAS LIMITED DOLLARS


37 furnworld 0412 profitsys_FWAD 3/29/12 6:21 PM Page 37


ber of dollars. They stretch only so farand every merchant wants a cut – of –the – buck.

And if your customers do not drivepast your competitor’s place of busi-ness, other entrepreneurs call on thephone; send an email or direct mail.If they don’t advertise by mail, they selltheir databases to someone that does;use TV, radio, newspapers or maga-zines; highway billboards; bumperstickers; even take to the sky with hotair balloons and blimps.

Now -- I’ll ask the question again…who is your greatest competitor?

Regardless of what we sell, regard-less of how we increase our knowl-edge or improve our skills, it is imper-ative that we seek continuousimprovement.

Remember that adding just oneextra degree to hot water brings it to aboil. That one extra degree ofimprovement can make the differencein successfully competing for your cus-tomer’s disposable dollar and a shareof the market. for your considerationare eleven actions that can help youto ad that extra degree:

#1- Frequently EngageIn Continuing Education:

New management and businessconcepts evolve continuously and it isessential for managers to keep cur-rent. The good news is that it is easierto access continuing education froma variety of resources such as theinternet, industry associations andinstitutions of higher learning.

The American ManagementAssociation (AMA) conducts hundredsof seminars each year. Of the coursesthey offer, one of the most frequentlyattended are the time managementseminars.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Thistime like most times is a very goodtime – if we know what to do with it”.Many of us suggest if we had more

time we would be more successful. Itis important to note you have exactlythe same number of hours per day asWilliam Shakespeare, Madam Curie,Mother Theresa, Thomas Edison,Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, ThomasJefferson or Bill Gates.

#2 - Stay Active In Important Community Affairs:

Consider service organizations suchas Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, United Way,Meals on Wheels, Habitat forHumanity, YMCA, Scouts or theAmerican Red Cross. Our normalsphere of influence is 220 to 240people. Involvement in just one orga-nization can double or triple yoursphere of influence in your marketingarea in a positive and meaningfulmanner.

#3 – Build Brand Recognition:Much advertising stresses features

and benefits, however, features/bene-fits are of little interest to your cus-tomers until it is time for them to makea decision. The critical first step whena need or a want arises is to triggerthe name of your business or productsin the mind of your target consumer atthat time.

#4 – Become A Specialist: Market with the intention to become

the leader in a category. It is difficultto become all things to all people.When you become a generalist, likebig box stores, price is frequently aleading consideration. As a result, tosimulate sales, margins shrink andfrequently, quality is moderated.

Innovators excel. Imitators follow.First in the market, gains and retainsmarket share. Steve Jobs with new,innovative ideas, and creative ideolo-gy triumphed price and sales soaredwithout price or discounting becom-ing the key consideration.

Specialization separates your prod-

ucts and services from the masses andprotects margins. Perhaps the mostsignificant way to create the UniqueSelling Position (USP) is to become thespecialist in your marketing area.

#5 - Understand Your Limits:Don’t attempt to be all things to all

people. Mastering and managingyour inventory is a challenge that car-ries a cost of 2½ to 3% per month.The Dartnell Sales Corporationadvised the rate of turnover was themost important factor in business.

Find your niche in the market. Makeit the focal point of your business.Master the scope of your products,service or operations and you’llbecome the master of your fate.

#6 - Measure The Effectiveness Of Your Forecasting:

All spending is predicated on fore-casted revenues. When we find thatour forecasts are not accurate, weover-inventory, over-staff and over-promote. When reality does not meetexpectations we are frequently metwith cash flow limitations.

#7 - Stress People Skills:Stabilize your work force. Minimize

your turnover. One of the major rea-sons that businesses fail is failure tomatch skills to the job.

Employees who enjoy their workexcel. People relate to people, fre-quently more so than they do withproducts.

Michael Abrashoff, U.S. Navy mili-tary management specialist, adviseswhen personnel turnover occurs, thecost of developing proficient skills formaximum effectiveness in the newposition, as a result of change, isequal to 1½ times the employee’ssalary.

Most impressions are made in thefirst 10 to 20 seconds. First impres-sions are important.

“One extra degree of improvement can make the difference insuccessfully competing for your customer’s disposable dollarand a share of the market.”


Psychologists suggest that if cus-tomers like us, they trust us. Trust iscritical if we are selling service andquality as opposed to price. Price sel-dom generates customer allegianceand repeat sales. It is far more costlyto advertise to bring in traffic than toretain an existing one.

#8 – Avoid Discount Fever:Almost daily the frequent incentive

to encourage traffic and sales is theinsidious discount. Many who attemptto match competitors find it the roadto ruin. Accountants advise cash isking. Yet nothing compromises cashflow more than discounting.

#9 – Learn To Manage Change:Business is changing with the speed

of light with advancements in logistics,communication and technology.Psychologists advise the biggest prob-lem in business and industry is resis-tance to change or as Edwin Demingpreferred to call the process “transfor-mation”. Successful managers focuson building a “culture of change” thatemployees are willing to adapt. It isunderstood that more important thanthe change is the manner in whichchange occurs.

#10 – Stress Publicity.Use a balance of advertising and

publicity. Advertising is a necessity.However, publicity with emphasis onstorytelling has proven to be 5 or 6times greater than the readership ofads. In addition, when publicity fea-tures people the retention of the storyis enhanced.

#11 – How You PurchaseProducts And Services Is DirectlyRelated To How You Sell:

Buying in a manner that allows youto offer options is a meaningful step inclosing the sale.

Some suggest 3 major reasons we

fail to close the sale are: a failure tooffer options; coming back with thesame sales pitch; and rationalization.Close by offering options of size anddesign. This helps minimize the yes/noclosed response and involves thebuyer in a meaningful manner. Andconsider the merit of options otherthan product including paymentplans, guarantees, delivery, etc.

Unless 212 is your constant com-panion, your business is at risk ofattaining just lukewarm performance.

The history of successful businessentrepreneurs suggests that the great-

est challenge we face may not beexternal competition but the self-imposed internal limitation of themind. If that’s true, regardless of thenature of your competition or the stateof the Union, small things in the “pro-fession of persuasion” do make a dif-ference, and you are in control.

Ray Morefield has been affiliatedwith leading corporations in the furni-ture, housewares, hardware and coat-ings industries. He has also servedother industries in an advisory capaci-ty through his company CommonGoals, Inc. Questions on any man-agement topic, or comments on thisarticle can be sent to him by [email protected].

REMEMBER TO APPLYTHE 212 PRINCIPLE


Dutailier

Contact information on index page 106.

Agio


Jaipur Rugs


furnworld 4-12 design 1:04-05 2 design 3/30/12 7:28 PM Page 40

March/April 2012 41

Country View Woodworking


Leather Living


Wallbeds

Contact information on indexpage 106.






March/April 2012 43









March/April 2012 45





Home Trends & Design





March/April 2012 47



Contact information on index page 106

Contact information on index page 106


Spotlight on Charitable Giving

A HOPE TO DREAMLessons the Ashley Furniture HomeStore organization learned

while implementing a charitable giving program at the retail level.Interview with Kendra Maggert

Editor’s note: The followinginterview with Kendra Maggert,Interactive Marketing Manager,Ashley HomeStores, Ltd., is the

first in a series focusing on charitableinitiatives in the home furnishingsindustry. The object of these articles isto provide models for those in ourindustry who have an interest in sup-porting existing programs, or inlaunching meaningful charitable ini-tiatives of their own.

Question: What is the purpose ofthe "A Hope to Dream" program?

Answer: A Hope to Dream’s missionis to help less fortunate children get agood night’s sleep by providing themwith a mattress set (twin Ashley Sleepmemory foam mattress, foundation/frame & comforter set).

Question: What reasons did AshleyFurniture HomeStores have forfocusing on children as the pro-gram’s beneficiaries?

Answer: We wanted to continue our

efforts in making a difference in com-munities where we operate, and at thesame time, create a charitable effortthat Ashley Furniture HomeStorescould call its own.

Since children are a vital part of anygrowing community, we looked for away to help them to live healthier andmore productive lives. We know that agood night's sleep has a positiveimpact on all areas of a child's life,from academics and extracurricularactivities to relationships with friendsand family.

Question: Did one individual in theorganization champion the initia-tive?

Answer: Ben Thorud, our Sr. VP,Ashley HomeStores, Ltd., was the dri-ving force to get the program started.He asked if I would be interested inleading the program and be responsi-ble for developing the SOPs, logistics,assets, launch process, etc. I was hon-ored! Since then, we have had somany other employees join in making

the program a success. Without theirhelp and passion, the program would-n't be where it is today. It truly is agroup effort.

Question: What considerationsshould Furniture World readerswho are thinking about startingtheir own program be mindful of?

Answer: First, you need to ensure youare starting a program for the rightreasons - what is your intention? Is itgenuine? If so, you're on your way tosuccess. Then you begin to prepare bymaking sure that launch documents,


A Hope to Dream (Jacksonville, FL) partners withSalvation Army to provide 50 beds to children in needthis past holiday season (left).

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“Going on deliveries,meeting the familiesand seeing the smileson kids faces is whatdrives me!” - Kendra Maggert


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assets, roll out checklists and trainingmaterials are all in place. If your inten-tion was truly genuine this is whereyou will see the program come to life.Your staff will become engaged andwant to spread the word about thegoodwill that they, and their company,are a part of.

Question: What steps did you taketo make sure the program wouldroll out smoothly?

Answer: We began by first developingprogram details and assets at a cor-porate level and rolling out the pro-gram in 52 of our corporately ownedAshley Furniture HomeStores. Wewanted to make sure, that asdesigned, the A Hope to Dream pro-gram would address the local needand guarantee that our store staffwould embrace the program. It did!After 6 months, we had given awayalmost 900 beds in our 52 corporateAshley Furniture HomeStore locations.

Then we invited our Ashley FurnitureHomeStore licensees to join us in theirown local markets. Today, we haveover 170 independently owned andoperated Ashley Furniture HomeStorelocations supporting the A Hope toDream program (visit www.ahopeto-dream.com to see a full list of partici-pating locations).

We have also found it beneficial toassign one or more “Local MarketChampions” in each market. These

people are responsible for coordinat-ing a smooth and effective roll-out,including making connections withlocal schools, churches, and othercommunity organizations. It worksbest if the official person in charge hasa passion for the program and a will-ingness to educate others – knowingthat others will follow once they getinvolved and create their own person-al connection.

However, it’s important for anyorganization to remember that whenstarting a program like this, that theresponsibility of the program’s opera-tion should not rest solely with just oneperson.

Question: Did the organizationlearn any valuable lessons?

Answer: We learned that programslike this won’t run on their own. Efforthas to be applied continuously to keepthem alive.

We found that it is very important tomake contacts in the local communityand keep them abreast of programefforts and updates. Without theinvolvement of these community part-ners, who act as ambassadors, itwould not be possible to have a viableprogram. After all, the A Hope toDream program needs these contactsto refer children in need of a mattressset.

Seeking out community membersand establishing trusting relationships

is time consuming, but is essential toour program.

Question: How has working on AHope to Dream influenced youpersonally?

Answer: Watching the program growhas been an indescribable experience.Going on deliveries, meeting the fam-ilies and seeing the smiles on kids

March/April 2012 FURNITURE WORLD 51

CHARITABLE PROGRAMPOINTS TO CONSIDER

1. Ensure your intention is true,factual and genuine.

2. Get employees involved – let them bring the program to life. What they DO, they willUNDERSTAND.

3. Create contacts that count atschools, churches and local organizations – they will becomeambassadors for your program.

4. Be careful using your programfor its PR and sales-buildingpotential. It's “ADDED VALUE” andshould not drive your program initiatives.

5. Remember to manage the program based on your originalintention – to give back and makea difference!

“Be prepared by making sure thatlaunch documents, assets, roll outchecklist and training are all in placebefore launch.”

Pictured is a brochure that explains the program and helps to generate leads to find children in need.


faces is what drives me! Personally, ithas opened my eyes and made merealize how easy I had it growing up.

We knew there was a need and thatmany children don’t get the sleep theydesperately need, but to be honest, Ithink many of us were shocked at thelevel of need that exists in our ownbackyards.

Question: Did you need to do anyspecial corporate or tax planning?

Answer: A Hope to Dream is not aregistered charity. We looked into this,but we came across some limitationswith our licensee structure. We reallywanted our program to live at a locallevel – allowing our stores to collectfunds and distribute them in their ownlocal communities.

The accrual accounts are set up atthe store/market level. At the end ofeach month our licensees look at howmany mattresses they sold and multi-ply by the donation amount. It’s aseasy as that!

However, we do have customersask if they can make cash donationsto the program. Since we are not aregistered charity, we cannot providethem with a tax deduction form, butsome customers are okay with thattoo.

Question: What can retailers do toensure that charitable initiativesdon’t become a secondary priority?

Answer: I believe that it is very impor-tant for retailers to manage the inten-tion of their charitable programs. Atthe end of the day, an effort such asthis does take time and resources.However, the full team including mar-keting, customer service, sales,finance, delivery, etc. should bereminded of the program's core inten-tion. In our case, it's to help childrenand make a difference in our localcommunities.

This is another reason why gettingstaff involved in the program is criti-cal. We invite our staff to call recipi-ents and go along on deliveries. Thisallows them to make a personal con-nection, and tell their own storiesabout what the A Hope to Dream pro-gram means to them. We know if weprovide the opportunity for our staff toDO, they will UNDERSTAND. They willnaturally want to move the programforward, knowing that they help tomake a difference in their communi-ties.

Question: Is it important to setgoals for any charitable effort?

Answer: Yes, we set goals on thenumber of mattress sets we hope togive away, and we're always lookingto increase store participation. In ourfirst year alone we gave away almost2,000 beds. For 2012, our goal is todouble that!

Question: Do companies need tobe careful not to seem to exploitrecipients or congratulate them-selves too much?

Answer: Yes, I think there is a fine lineto be walked. It becomes a problem ifan organization’s charitable intentionis NOT true, factual and genuine.Store staff, customers and the localcommunity will see through it. Afterall, reading from a script comesacross like pretending to care, so any-one in a retail organization who needsto memorize his or her lines willcome across as not genuine, and thatwill reflect negatively on the entireeffort.

That’s why I take the time to sharepersonal stories about deliveries andtry to get across the simple fact thatsomething most of us have alwaystaken for granted, a bed to sleep in, isnot a reality for a number of children.I only encourage stores to becomepart of the A Hope to Dream programif they have a true desire to make adifference and help these children.

Question: Based on what you seein our industry, what final advicecan you leave with Furniture Worldreaders?

Answer: Get employees involved!These programs should be a feelgood for all, and something manyemployees have the ability to touchand help out with. If your staff is notinvolved, the program will lack lifeand energy. Allowing retail staff tohave a personal connection to theprogram will allow their true passionto shine through and make the pro-gram what it is, or intended to be,heartfelt and real.


“The newsletters keep the program living and remind our staff that they aremaking a positive impact in their localcommunities – year round.”

CHARITABLE PROGRAMS


53 furnworld 0412 PMP_FWAD 3/28/12 6:29 PM Page 53

THE POWER IS YOURS!Retail guide to selling power bases.

by Russell Bienenstock

This installment in FurnitureWorld Magazine’s “SellingBetter Bedding” series will focuson one of the fastest growing

and most profitable bedding sectoritems, variously referred to as thepower base, adjustable base, powerfoundation or lifestyle base.

Five industry experts were inter-viewed to give Furniture World’s read-ers insight into how to best promote,display, present, and manage the cat-egory.

THE ADJUSTABLE PAST“Until recently a lot of people didn't

know what an adjustable was,” BenGroce, CFO of Flex-A-Bed, a manu-facturer of beds and mattresses tellsFurniture World. “It was a product thatretailers stuck in the corners of theirshowrooms for use by old people withback problems. Now that the industryis marketing the product to such awide group of people, it has openedup the customer base, and creatednew awareness.”

Jay Thompson, President of Leggettand Platt’s adjustable bed group, thelargest supplier of adjustable bases,also recalls that the “previous view ofthe category as something that your

kids buy for you when you are one stepaway from the nursing home. I'm apart of the generation,” he says, “thatremembers commercials targeted toan older customer. The reason for thischange are that an effort has beenmade to re-market the category. Theproduct itself has been improved toinclude more style components, mak-ing it, in some ways, like a piece offurniture. The functionality is moreadvanced as well, with creature com-forts that help improve overall well-being.”

Industry veteran Niles Cornelius,General Manager, Hickory SpringsRetail Products Division that marketsthe iCare line of adjustable bases,agrees. He remembers when,“Retailers used to put adjustable basesin the back of the store, a twin-longsold as electric bed, that was made forgrandma to transition before she wentinto a nursing home. I know thatsounds terrible, but I think that's whatwe were stuck with. And back then anumber of people in our industryadvised retailers to do a better job ofselling adjustable bases. A few peoplelike myself were passionate from thebeginning, but we were swimmingupstream. Retailers would tell me, ‘We

don't get very many calls for electricbeds.’”

RECENT CHANGESMartin Rawls-Meehan, Managing

Member at Reverie, a leading manu-facturer of Mattresses, Adjustable Bedsand Pillows, provides perspective onthe recent growth of the category.“We started selling in the US market in2004,” he says, “and at that time a lotof retailers were afraid to sell powerbases. There were a limited number ofsuppliers, and it was difficult to getretailers to carry the product with morethan one or two floor models.

“We've seen a big change over thelast few years, and part of that is dueto the emergence of specialty bedding.The industry has seen an explosion inthe amount of advertising and the vol-ume that's being done. Retailers arelooking at consumer response, andare reacting.”

Johnny Griggs, President ofDomestic Sales at Ergomotion, amajor OEM suppler of lifestyle foun-dations, agrees that the rise in thepopularity of the specialty-beddingcategory created the right conditionsfor this transition. “The mattressindustry used to enhance sleep prod-

Better Bedding & Mattress Sales Series

New iterations of power bases allow for more comfortablepositions for sleeping, reading, interacting with family, television watching and massage -- all in a fashion forward,technically attractive package. Photo compliments ofErgomotion.


55 furnworld 0412 hickorysprings_FWAD 3/24/12 2:52 PM Page 55

ucts,” he observes, “by adding coilsand additional layers of foam. But thefocus of the past five years has beenon specialty sleep, which has seen sig-nificant growth. The industry made alot of recent progress in producingmattresses that provide the propersupport and comfort by adding newand innovative materials, but thenasked, ‘What else can we do?’ So,now there is a focus on lifestyle foun-dations that allow consumers to morecomfortably sit in bed and watch tele-vision, work on a laptop, read, or justsit up and have a conversation. Theconcept has been gaining ground forseveral years, but over the past yearand a half, especially since there hasbeen more brand advertising by Sertaand Tempur-Pedic with motion beingintegrated into the message, we areseeing a huge transition. Consumersare starting to ask for it now.”

RETAIL GROWTH TRENDSFurniture World asked our experts

what they think is driving this trendand, the answer we were told, is prof-it. Power bases provide a huge bene-fit for retailers because they don’t takeup any additional floor space.

Reverie’s Martin Rawls-Meehanobserved that the economics of thepast few years has caused retailers tolook for ways to increase revenue. “Inthe recent down-economy,” he says,“retailers looked for ways to maximizethe dollar value of every sale.”

Johnny Griggs from Ergomotionelaborates, noting that, “Retailershave an finite number of square feetdedicated to their bedding depart-ment. So if a retailer has 50 SKUs onthe floor, how great is it that all theyhave to do is put a lifestyle foundationunder each mattress. It's a very easyprocess.”

Hickory Springs’ Niles Cornelius,told Furniture World that he “remindsretailers that they have a finite amountof retail space. “A 60-inch wide by80-inch queen power base with amattress on top,” he points out, “hasthe ability to turn six to 12 times peryear. So I ask them, if they wouldrather turn a mattress set that has a$300-$400 foundation made out ofcardboard and wood, or turn a$2,000 base underneath that space.Even if they only turn the mattress 6 to12 times per year, and the power baseturns three times per year, that repre-sents a big improvement in sales dol-lars.”

Cornelius believes that although thesales volume in power bases is cur-rently a small percentage of total bed-ding sales, the conditions are right fora huge increase in volume. He alsobelieves that the industry only has awindow of 18 months to two years tomake this happen.

Martin Rawls-Meehan at Reverie isalso optimistic. “Obviously,” he says,“adjustable bases are still a very smallpercentage of the whole foundationmarket, however, when you look atsome of the retailers and some of thebrands that have really committed tothe category, the attachment rates are

extraordinary. There's no reason tothink that the market share for the cat-egory as a whole couldn't substantial-ly increase from where it is today ifthat wave of confidence continues.So, as we see more brands and retail-ers feel confident in the product’spotential, and go from showing acouple of floor models to putting themunder all the mattresses on theirfloors, we are going to see adjustablebases get to double digit market shareoverall. How much farther than that itgets, depends on us as manufacturersand innovators. It depends on whatwe are able to bring to the market-place in terms of new functionality,price points etc.”

BEST PRACTICESFOR ADVERTISING

When asked about what kinds ofadvertising support Furniture World’sretail readers should provide to thecategory, Leggett & Platt’s JayThompson explains, “It helps to con-dition the consumer with advertisingthat shows an image of a mattresswith an adjustable base in televisioncommercials, newspaper flyers andon websites. It’s also a good idea toshow the product articulated, withimages of people from multiple agecategories, not just the elderly". Theseare practices that help retailers pro-mote the category and target theiradvertising towards people who arethe best candidates to buy this productand might not know about it yet. Thisis what most good retailers arealready doing today in order to condi-tion their customers to say when theywalk in the store, ‘you know what? Isaw that thing in the paper.’

“Some retailers that dedicate anentire flyer in the Sunday paper toadjustable bases, may not be the oneswho are really knocking the cover offthe ball. The ones who are, really

“So I ask them, if theywould rather turn a mattress set that has a$300-$400 foundationmade out of cardboardand wood, or turn a$2,000 base underneaththat space.” -Niles Cornelius, Hickory Springs



57 furnworld 0412 ergo_FWAD 3/31/12 5:26 PM Page 57

know what to do with the consumerwhen they walk in the door.”

More on what retailers are doing toincrease consumer interest comesfrom Reverie’s Martin Rawls-Meehan.“If you look at what's happeningtoday,” he says, “obviously you seesome national advertising campaignsincluding some of the great things thatTempur-Pedic has done for the cate-gory. That's important. Retailers arealso running ads featuring reasonableprice points that include an adjustablebase with a nice mattress -- and thatdrives consumers into stores.Slumberland has done a really goodjob of driving in business with ads thatfeature power bases in their generalsale advertising.

“A lot of retailers are using promo-tional price point mattresses on pro-motional price point adjustable bedsto bring in business. I've seen sets pro-moted at $999 or lower for an entry-level queen with an adjustable base.Retailers are trying to hit the sweetspot for price points and drive trafficinto stores. And many lower pricepoint mattresses these days are com-patible with adjustable foundations.This brings customers into stores who,in many cases, will purchase a prod-uct at a higher price point than isshown in the advertisement.

“With that said, however, advertis-ing alone is not going to do it. My

sense is that particularly today, thebiggest challenge that retailers havein selling adjustable bases is gettingretail sales associates to show themevery time, or even better, start thesale on an adjustable base every time.

DISPLAY TECHNIQUESIn researching this article, Furniture

World was told repeatedly that retail-ers who do a great job of sellingpower bases have sales associatesthat do an exemplary job of present-ing them at every opportunity.

“We think that one of the first keysto doing this,” comments Leggett &Platt’s Jay Thompson, “is to have anumber of adjustable bases on thesales floor, commit to the category,and place them in prominent placesthroughout the showroom. I was in asleep shop last week and they were allburied in the back. None were articu-lated, they were displayed flat with noway for customers to tell that the foun-dations were capable of movement. Aselling associate told me, ‘Well, youknow, I kind of bring adjustable basesup late and if someone mentions thatthey might have pain or something, Ishow it to them.’ Retailers who aregetting better results are placing thesebases in prominent places in theshowroom, under good selling mat-tresses that are adjustable-friendly. Italso helps to display at least a few of

them in an articulated position toattract the attention of customers.

“Another best practice is to not onlyhave a number of bases on the floor,but also arrange them in a good, bet-ter, best lineup. A retailer that showsthree bases on the floor, maybe oneor two models of each, spreadthroughout the showroom and dis-played nicely with some of them artic-ulated will have an easier time ofworking them into a selling sequence.

“The question of how to displaypower bases is a good one,” HickorySprings’ Niles Cornelius adds,“frankly, retailers are all over theplace on this issue. When consumerswalk into the store they may not evenknow what a power base is, so one ofthe most successful ways to introducethem, is to have as many bases on thefloor as possible, mated togetherwith adjustable-friendly mattresses.Consumers will see people raisingthem up and down. There is immedi-ate identification, and some will ask,‘what is that?’ It's a talking point. Andthat gives salespeople an opportunityto start a conversation. When retailersdisplay some of the beds half raisedup, that's a talking point as well.Consumers will ask, ‘So, these bedsgo up and down?’ Then you're rightinto your presentation. But there isanother view, that it is best to displayall the beds flat and price tag them


THE POWER IS YOURS

“Even though this perception is changing, when a retailer displays a mattress in an articulated or upright position, whathappens a lot of the times is that younger couples, vibrant couples and people who don’t have a health need, won't evenlook at that mattress. -Johnny Griggs, Ergomotion


59 furnworld 0412 leggett_FWAD 3/31/12 5:30 PM Page 59


“My personal feeling, he says, “is that it is best to find theright mattress for the customer first, only introducing thebase after the customer says, ‘this is the right mattress. Itsupports me, comforts me and I would like to have it deliv-ered on Wednesday.’ - Johnny Griggs, Ergomotion

showing the mattress and foundationset price, and then underneath,include the words ‘with power base’.So, perhaps it says, $3,000 for a mat-tress and a foundation, or $4,500with a mattress and a power base.Even without sales assistance, cus-tomers will get the idea and think tothemselves, ‘Oh, I saw that ad on TV.

That must be the power thing.’ Sothey're already pre-selling themselveson the idea, and also getting used toa $4,500 price. There are a lot ofstores doing it this way. Sometimes outof necessity, because salespeople maybe waiting on multiple customers, it’sa good idea to have this kind of dis-play and good signage, so by the timethe customer is engaged by an asso-ciate, they've got some pricing in theirmind.”

Ergomotion’s Johnny Griggs sug-gests that retailers use the flat bed dis-play approach, and that mattresses bepaired with an appropriate base. “We

always recommend that the retailerjust put their lifestyle bases in the flatposition because 99 per cent of cus-tomers that come in a store are look-ing for a mattress only. Adjustablebases are still thought of as a health/older person’s product. And, eventhough this perception is changing,when a retailer displays a mattress inan articulated or upright position,what happens a lot of the times is thatyounger couples, vibrant couples andpeople who don’t have a health need,won't even look at that mattress. It cansend a subconscious message thatthis is more of a health issue productthan an actual lifestyle bed. So, intoday's market, it is always better tojust lay it flat and then you have theelement of surprise once the customerhas chosen a mattress. Then you cansay, ‘let me show you how you canenhance your new mattress choice,’and start the demonstration puttingcustomers in positions that fit theirlifestyles.

“Here is what we recommendregarding display. If a mattress isadjustable friendly, retailers shouldput a coordinating lifestyle base underit. That’s because when a customerlays down on a mattress they love, youcertainly don't want to ask them towalk across the room to a mattressthat they didn't like, to show them thelifestyle base.”

“With respect to display,” addsReverie’s Martin Rawls-Meehan, whoalso suggests flooring as manyadjustable bases as there areadjustable-friendly mattresses dis-played, “retailers that embrace this

practice have seen an amazing cor-relation between increasing the num-ber of floor models and per floormodel sales. Art Van has embracedthis idea, and is seeing extraordinarysuccess.

“It makes the sales process a wholelot easier if a retailer has anadjustable base under every mattressthat's compatible, and has lined upthe good, better, best mattresses withgood, better, best adjustable founda-tions. So, whatever mattress a cus-tomer chooses, the sales associatecan present the base right then andthere. Not every retailer wants to setup their store like that, so the chal-lenge then becomes how to figure outhow to pair up the mattresses andfoundations in such a way that thesale can happen as naturally andsmoothly as possible.”

The final word on display comesfrom Ben Groce of Flex-A-Bed. Hesuggests that retailers who don’t showa large number of adjustable baseson the floor, leave their beds in aflexed position so that when customerswalk by, it distinguishes them from allthe other dozens of flat beds on thefloor. “So, the customer will say, ‘Heythis one moves, let's try it out.’ Wealways recommend displaying twotwins side-by-side,” he suggests, “adual king. That way customers canselect different mattresses, even mixan innerspring on one side and latexor memory foam on the other.”

PRESENTATION TIMINGThere was some disagreement

“A powerful technique isto get the customerinto the zero gravityposition by elevatingthe head a little, thenelevate the feet slightlyabove heart level. - Martin Rawls-Meehan, Reverie

Photo compliments of Reverie


61 furnworld 0412 fabrictech_FWAD 3/28/12 5:34 PM Page 61

“Showing them how much more their mattress can be than just a flatsurface, is key to closing the sale. -Jay Thompson, Leggett & Platt

among our experts as to whether it isbest for sales associates to introducethe subject of a power base early intheir presentations.

Jay Thompson at Leggett & Plattobserves that, “Introducing the prod-uct earlier, is one of the things thatsome of the bedding brands that havea lot of success suggest. They showtheir products as part of a system,working them into their sellingsequence, and letting consumersexperience them sooner, rather thanlater. Bringing it up early helps cus-tomers start to think, ‘Maybe this issomething I would like to consider,’ orif they're not interested, they can shutit down. Bringing it up later in theprocess as an accessory -- well let'sface it -- a power base is a veryexpensive add-on. Our recommenda-tion is for sales associates to use thepresentation style they are comfort-able with to sell mattresses, but to becreative and work the adjustable baseinto the process sooner rather thanlater.

“By the time consumers have decid-ed that they're going to buy a mat-tress; it feels to them like the salesassociate is trying to add somethingon to the sale. And that's really whatthey are trying to do when they say,‘Now that you've chosen thisadjustable-friendly mattress, could Iinterest you in this thing?’ We'velearned that attachment rates arereduced the later adjustable bases arebrought up in the process. When itbecomes a more integrated part ofthe experience of buying a new mat-tress, the likelihood of success is high-er.

Hickory Springs’ Niles Corneliustells Furniture World that there is away to “bring it up at the beginning.With this scenario, the sales associatecan go through his or her usual wel-

coming ritual, and then say, ‘By theway, have you seen the advertisementfor the advanced Ergo power basethat goes up and down?’ And, if theyreply, ‘Yeah, I saw that on TV.’ Thesalesperson can respond by saying,‘We just got a new base on our floorthat I would like to show you. Do youhave a second?’ That’s a merchan-dise greeting used to introduce thepower base product early in the salesprocess. But unless the customer givesbuying signals, it isn’t a good idea todwell on the power base. Instead getthem focused on the more immediategoal of choosing a mattress.

“My observation with retail salesassociates is that if a product, optionor accessory isn't brought up early inthe sale, they are dead. That’sbecause as the sales processadvances, customers are consideringthe price of the mattress, figuring outhow they are going to pay for it, andmaybe if they will be able to pay offtheir credit card balance at the end ofthe month. And as products areadded, the total rises. So, if the cus-tomer has been closed on a $3,000mattress, and then the subject of thefoundation is brought up at the end bysaying, ‘By the way, this bed willbend,’ and the sales associate startsto present a $1,500 power founda-tion, there is a higher likelihood ofrunning into resistance. That’sbecause she’s already anticipated thetotal price she will be paying. Instead,sometime earlier in the presentation, itis useful to look her in the eye and say,‘You know, I just want to remind youthat when you buy a new mattress it'snot all you need for a good night’ssleep.’ At that point the mattress pad,pillow and the base can be broughtup, so some or all of those items canbe added into her internal calcula-tions.’

Ergomotion’s Johnny Griggs has avery different view. “My personal feel-ing,” he says, “is that it is best to findthe right mattress for the customerfirst, only introducing the base afterthe customer says, ‘This is the rightmattress. It supports me, comforts meand I would like to have it deliveredon Wednesday.’

“99.9 per cent of customers whowalk into a bedding department say,‘I'm looking for new mattress,’ not, ‘Iwant one of those mattresses thatmove.’ Once they find the right mat-tress, it’s time for sales associates touse those great questions they askedpreviously to help them introduce thelifestyle base to enhance the choicethat they've already made.

“Even though I advocate presentingthe lifestyle base later, as I do trainingacross the United States I do see thatsome really good sales Associates willtell customers earlier in the salesprocess, ‘We’re here to find the exactright mattress for you, and we aregoing to make sure that the supportand comfort is there.’ They might alsobring up pillows and mattress protec-tors at the beginning. And then they'lladd, ‘We’re going to talk about thefoundation choice as well because wedo have a couple of options, so let'sget started by finding the right feeland comfort for you.’”

Hickory Springs’ Niles Corneliusadds, that aside from a possible briefmention at the beginning, it can bedangerous to introduce or demo anadjustable base too early in the pre-sentation. That’s because, “you don'tknow what kind of a mattress the cus-tomer is going to choose yet, so if youstart at the beginning by saying, ‘Bythe way, we have lifestyle bases thatyou are going to absolutely love,’ andthe customer chooses a mattress thatis not adjustable-friendly, now all of a



sudden you've backed yourself into acorner. You need to tell them that theycan’t have an adjustable base with themattress they’ve chosen.”

PRESENTATION TECHNIQUESWe’ve established that in order to

effectively sell power bases you needto show them in a substantial way,and focus customers’ attention on thecategory. The next step is giving a for-mal presentation. First and foremost,customers must be encouraged to liedown on the mattress and made tofeel comfortable. A number of tech-

niques for doing this were presentedin “Dreaming of Better Bedding Sales– Part Three”, posted to the articlearchive on the furninfo.com website.

“When a presentation that's idealfor an adjustable bed is given,”Reverie’s Martin Rawls-Meehanexplains, “we see attach rates in manycases that are 50 per cent or higher.But when it's not shown, obviously,people can’t buy it, or if it's not shownright, or not shown with confidence,it's not going to sell.

“People have different perspectives,but in our opinion you really want to

get customers to feel the benefitsadjustable bases provide during thepresentation. An extraordinarily pow-erful technique is to get the customerinto the zero gravity position by ele-vating the head a little, then elevatethe feet slightly above heart level. Thistakes pressure off of the lower lumbarcurve, distributing it throughout thebody, and giving the customer a senseof weightlessness. It’s a position thatrelieves the pressure and tensenessgenerated by the central nervous sys-tem typical of lying in a flat-back posi-tion on many mattresses. We find that

Photo compliments of Reverie


when customers are moved from theflat position to zero gravity, experienceour massage system and are toldabout the system’s features and bene-fits -- when they are lowered back to aflat position with the massage turnedoff, they sense immediately that goingflat is no longer as comfortable asthey initially thought.

“They may also sense the differencewith the massage motor on versus off,realizing that a pain in their neck isgone or that there has been a positiveimprovement in circulation. That issomething you can't replicate with justthe pitch by itself. When they return tothe flat position, customers realize thatthey do not want to lie flat anymore.As soon as that happens, the sale ispretty much made.”

Leggett & Platt’s Jay Thompsoncouldn’t agree more. He says that,“Showing them how much more theirmattress can be than just a flat sur-face, is key to closing the sale.Getting them on the bed and gettingthem to experience the range of posi-tions, is absolutely essential to closing.Research suggests that the in-storepresentation sequence is a key driverto closing the sale. Most people don'twant to buy these things unless they'veexperienced them. If they see it in amagazine or a newspaper, they maysay, ‘That's interesting.’ But if you don'tget them to lie down and have anexperience, they are much less likelyto buy.

Thompson warns salespeople that,“Most consumers don't want to be

overwhelmed by technical details.They care about buying a safe, high-quality product that does what it issupposed to do, lasts a long time, andis backed by a reputable company.”

With regard to technical specifica-tions, Hickory Springs’ NilesCornelius, believes that it is importantthat salespeople understand someaspects of construction so they canmake general benefit statements tocustomers. “For example,” he says,“they can say, the steel chassis that'sunder this unit is the strongest in theindustry and what that means to you isif you have two people on your bed,along with a heavy mattress, havingthat strong steel chassis will ensureyou that your foundation will have along life because the weight will bedistributed evenly.’ When they knowthe features and benefits of a unit, itcan’t help but improve their retail pre-sentations.”

Ergomotion’s Johnny Griggs pro-vides additional suggestions on howto perform an expert presentation. “Ialways raise the lower body slightlybefore I do anything,” he explains.“It's a feeling that everybody can rec-ognize because when you raise thelower body first, it relieves stress off ofthe lower back. Then once the cus-tomer says, ‘That's high enough, thatfeels really good,’ I move the upperbody into whatever position is appro-priate for their lifestyle. If I found outearlier that they have a TV in theirbedroom, and the customer told methat they wake up early in the morning

and watch the news, then I might askthem, ‘By the way, how do you watchTV? You usually stack the pillows,right?’ And, if they reply, ‘yeah.’ ThenI say, ‘Let me ask you how would thisbe?’ And then I raise the upper body.It is always a good idea to start with alower body massage feature first aswell. Then introduce the upper bodymassage.

“That’s how I do it, but a lot of salesassociates are successful with puttingcustomers immediately into the zerogravity position that 99 per cent ofcustomers love. Then they look atthem and say, ‘Do me a favor, Mr. andMrs. Smith, don't move.’ And thenthey press the flat button and don't saya word. They let it go flat, look atthem, notice them wiggling, and say,‘How does that feel compared to theother position you were just in?’ Andthey will say, ‘Oh, please put me backin that zero gravity position.’ At thatpoint they've already sold themselves.They are thinking, ‘I don't want to beput back in the flat position.’”

Flex-A-Bed’s Ben Groce gives us analternative way to language goingfrom upright or zero gravity to the flatposition. “As you are lowering themdown,” he advises, “say, ‘Okay, I wantyou to tell me when it gets uncomfort-able,’ then lower the bed back downtoward a flat position. As the bed low-ers, every time they will say, ‘It's begin-ning to get uncomfortable.’ And then,when the customer gets back to a flatposition, he or she will tell you, ‘Thisis the most uncomfortable position.’


Photo compliments of Ergomotion.


And then you say, ‘That's how you aresleeping right now.’ That's the way weclose sales here at our factory show-room and it works nine out of every10 times

CLOSING THE SALEOur retail experts all agree that the

most important contributing elementto a successful close is a properbeginning. When retail conditionsinclude great display, a willing cus-tomer, and a knowledgeable, motivat-ed sales associate; closing can justhappen naturally. Often times, howev-er, customers can have objections andprice concerns that can benefit froman additional sales technique.

“Either the selling process starts withsignage, or with the beds displayed in

different positions, showing that theyare resting on power bases,” contin-ues Hickory Spring’s Cornelius. “Andone of the most successful retailersI've seen, after going through theprocess of mattress selection, closesby saying, ‘Now, let's talk about thefoundation.’ And in most cases, theconsumer looks at them quizzicallyand replies, ‘What do you mean, thefoundation doesn't come with it?’ Andthe salesperson says, ‘Of course itcomes with it. But you have options.I'd like you to lie down here, and I'mgoing to show you my recommenda-tion.’ At this point the salespersondemonstrates the power base.

“But let's say that following thedemonstration the customer says, ‘Sothis adjustable foundation changes

the price?’ The salesperson replies,‘The foundation that comes with thisbed has a certain amount of cost to it.But if you upgrade to a power base, Ican give you credit for the flat foun-dation that comes with it, and you willonly pay the difference.’ At this point,the worst thing that will happen is thatthe customer will buy the mattress theyselected along with the flat founda-tion.

“Another variation on this close thatI happen to like better goes this way.The salesperson says, ‘Let's talk aboutbase options,’ followed by the samereply, ‘I thought that comes with it.’The salesperson then says, ‘Yes itdoes, but let me tell you what youroptions are.’ The salesperson thendemonstrates the power foundation

“When you tell them, ‘Oh, and by the way, we're going to give you a$300 credit on the flat base.’ It’s a better closing technique than saying,‘Let me tell you how much more this lifestyle base costs.’” -Johnny Griggs, Ergomotion.


and quickly tells them, ‘You can get this mattresswith a standard height nine inch foundation sim-ply made out of wood and cardboard. It hasone job, that is to hold a mattress up to heightso you can make your bed. Or you can get alow profile if you need your bedspread to touchthe ground.’ Consumers notice that the powerfoundation is the first option presented, and thatflat foundations have the seemingly unimportantpurpose of just holding the mattress up. Thismakes the adjustable base option seem muchmore attractive.”

Echoing Cornelius’ observation, JohnnyGriggs at Ergomotion mentions that the closeoften begins with customers asking the price.His personal preference is not to give out pric-ing during the demonstration. If the customerasks for pricing, he also prefers to offer a creditfor the cost of the flat base. “This really res-onates with customers,” he says, “When you tellthem, ‘Oh, and by the way, we're going to giveyou a $300 credit on the flat base.’ It’s a betterclosing technique than saying, ‘Let me tell youhow much more this lifestyle base costs.’”

BLUNDERS, OBJECTIONS,UNFORTUNATE MISTAKES

Commenting on common errors, our panel ofexperts gave the following advice:

Selling features without benefits: “A majorerror sales associates make is selling a featurewithout the benefit that is matched up to the cus-tomer’s need.” -Jay Thompson, Leggett & Platt.

Making assumptions about your customer:“Another mistake is assuming that your customercannot afford an adjustable base, or for someother reason is not a candidate. That’s too bad,because there are a lot of opportunities to getsurprised when retailers actually take the time toput customers through the selling sequence andtry to understand what their needs are. If youshow them how the product can improve theirlifestyle and their comfort level, a lot of peoplesay, ‘You know what, I want to invest in this, I'm



“The salesperson says, ‘let's talk about base options,’ followed by the same reply, ‘I thought that comes with it.’ Thesalesperson then says, ‘yes it does, but let me tell you whatyour options are.’ The salesperson then demonstrates thepower foundation and quickly tells them...” -Niles Cornelius, Hickory Springs

investing in my comfort and well-being.’ Judging them early definitelydecreases the attachment rate. Thereare probably going to be low conver-sion rates in some parts of the market.But there is a much broader marketfor adjustable bases than the 45 or 50year old man or woman who has anice watch and is looking at Viscofoam mattresses. There's a muchbroader audience that can afford itand is willing to pay. Jay Thompson,Leggett & Platt.

It won’t fit with my frame: “Manyproblems arise because sales associ-

ates are not sufficiently prepared toprofessionally present power bases.So, for example, a customer mightsay, ‘My grandmother passed down aheadboard that was hand carved in1812. Will this work with it?’ And ifthe sales associate isn't properly edu-cated, they might not know that anysituation can be accommodated dur-ing delivery. So even though this is aquestion, not an objection, if the cus-tomer doesn't feel that he or shereceived a knowledgeable response,they will probably say, ‘You know, I'mjust going to go with the wood foun-dation. I know that will work.’” -Niles

Cornelius, Hickory Springs.

Neglecting customers’ health con-cerns: Most of this article has stressedthe new found attractiveness of powerbases as a lifestyle choice. Your cus-tomers’ car seats recline, tilt and heatup for a bit of added comfort.Likewise, new iterations of powerbases allow for more comfortablepositions for sleeping, reading, inter-acting with family, television watchingand massage -- all in a fashion for-ward, technically attractive package.The more traditional market foradjustable bases is still present and

Photo compliments of Hickory Springs



growing. “A huge percentage of our popula-

tion are baby boomers who are start-ing to enter in to that age groupwhere some of them need a little morethan just a regular bed,” instructs Flex-A-Bed’s Ben Groce. “They are buyingfor health concerns. There’s a hugecustomer base. It’s a shame that somuch of the marketing now is exclu-sively aimed at younger customers,because there is a big market amongbaby boomers and their parents. Forpeople of all ages who have acidreflux, hiatal hernias, bad backs, poorleg circulation, restless leg syndromeand other chronic conditions, thereare health benefits adjustable bedsprovide.

“Furniture retailers are losing busi-ness to home health care stores andInternet specialists. I wouldn’t suggestthat most furniture stores feature pho-tos of older, disabled people in theirregular advertising, but for most furni-ture and bedding retailers, it’s notbest to ignore the health benefitseither.

“Of course, it’s important to becareful about the message given inadvertising and sales presentations.

“Sales associates shouldn’t say thatif a customer buys an adjustable bed,it’s going to cure all of his or herproblems. What we always tell them isthat the product will help to alleviatesome of the symptoms.

“An adjustable bed can be a transi-

tional product for some customers,Groce continues. “A flat bed is notquite good enough for them or theirparents, but they are not to the pointyet where they need a hospital bed.That’s why a lot of our retail dealersdisplay a hi-low that looks similar tothe other adjustable beds on theirfloors. It has the massage, raises thehead and foot, but for people thathave a need, showing the bed inmotion helps them to understand thebenefits. It may be that most cus-tomers won’t have any interest, but forthose that do, there’s a lot of marginto be had.

“Furniture retailers who make acommitment to this segment of themarket have had success networkingin their communities to get referralsfrom local physicians, social workers,chiropractors and other health profes-sionals. The first thing though is toeducate salespeople to be able tointelligently assist customers who havehealth concerns.”-Ben Groce, Flex-A-Bed.

Weight and delivery objections:“There are sometimes objectionsabout weight. Customers may say, ‘Ibet that thing is heavy. I'm on the thirdfloor, and my house was built in1610,’ or ‘I live on the fourth floor ofa row house in Philadelphia and Idon’t think that you can get this upthere.’ If the retail sales associate isn'tthat savvy, and doesn’t realized thatthere are queen split power bases,and that the mattress is bendable,many sales associates will find it easi-er to just let the sale convert to a reg-ular foundation and lose an opportu-nity to improve the customer’s life.”-Niles Cornelius, Hickory Springs.

Making assumptions about the features customers will like: “It is abig mistake to assume that customersare going to like every feature of abase. For example, a lot of times thesales associate will turn on the mas-sage motor and the customer will say,‘Wow, I don't know whether I likethat.’ And instead of saying, ‘Oh, let'sturn it off now, but maybe you mightlike it for those really stressful days,’Some sales people will respond,‘you'll love it after you lay there for awhile.’ But that's just sales 101; theimportance of listening to your cus-tomers.” -Johnny Griggs, Ergomotion.

Fear of adding to the sale: “Manysalespeople, after they sell a mattress,are afraid of trying to boost the saleanother couple of grand. That’s oneof the biggest mistakes of all.” -NilesCornelius, Hickory Springs.

MANAGEMENT & EDUCATION

There was also consensus amongour experts that management over-sight, proper reporting and continu-ous sales education can overcomelow attachment rates.

Flex-A-Bed’s Ben Groce, says that,“The main thing is that store manage-ment has to make a commitment. Ifyou want to sell adjustables, you mustlearn a lot about them. The best deal-ers are the ones whose salespeopleare the most knowledgeable aboutthe product. But there are still timeswhen I am in retail stores and see cus-tomers asking questions that sales-people just can't answer. They don’tknow the specific features or benefits,and that creates doubt in customers’

“When a customer lies down on amattress they may have questions aboutthe kind of foam used and warrantyquestions, but with an adjustable bed,they really have to know what it is thatthey're selling.” - Ben Groce, Flex-A-Bed

The traditional market for adjustable basesis still present and growing. People of allages have health issues. Baby Boomerswith aging parents may need to purchasean adjustable base with more functionality .


69 furnworld 0412 flex_FWAD 3/31/12 5:33 PM Page 69

minds about the product. I can justsee customers thinking, ‘If the sales-person doesn’t know enough aboutthis product to sell it, it must not beworth buying.’ People can tell whensalespeople are genuine and excitedabout a product.

“When a customer lies down on amattress, they may have simple ques-tions about the kind of foam used andwarranty questions, but with anadjustable bed, sales associates reallyneed to know what it is that they're

selling. There's a lot that goes into anadjustable bed. You not only have themattress, but there are motors, elec-tronics, moving parts and hand con-trols. Most customers at the point ofsale just want their sleep system to feeland look good, but others will be con-cerned about warranty and service, sosalespeople also need to know aboutservice policies and manufacturers’warranties so they can take some ofthe worry out of customers’ minds.”

Hickory Springs’ Niles Cornelius

elaborates, by observing that,“Salespeople have to make customersbelieve that their lives are going toimprove if they buy a base. The key tomaking this happen is good salestraining.”

Cornelius explains that when hegives presentations to groups of sales-people, he removes the mattress,turns the base upside down to showquality construction and ease of main-tenance. He then speaks about ser-vice and what customers should beinstructed to do if they have any diffi-culties. “Sometimes,” he says, “I seesome of them dozing, and usually it'sthe top salesperson. But if there are adozen people attending the session,there will be one or more that willimmediately become passionateabout my product. When that hap-pens, it's like osmosis, and the passionwill eventually transfer to everybody.Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm. So Iquickly figure who is going to be thepassionate player, then I'll focus onthat person to help train the rest of theretail sales force.

“We see good results from storesthat do consistent training and havemonthly evaluations based on attach-ments. Those retailers that hold sales-people accountable for bringing upattachment rates, and help them to gofrom, for example, a minimum of 10per cent, pushing them toward 20 or30 per cent, do best. Emphasizingthis over a period of time, salespeoplestart remembering to offer powerbases to every customer, every time.”

Leggett & Platt’s Jay Thompsonagrees that management involvementis key. “Ensuring that sales Associatesdo a good job is more than putting apicture in the newspaper, postingimages to a website, and flooring afew different models,” he tells us. “Theretailers who do really well are theones that incentivize their people tosell the products. They allow their ven-dors to come in and train their retail


THE POWER IS YOURS


71 furnworld 0412 showplace_FWAD 3/29/12 3:08 PM Page 71


sales associates, and they focus onthe category in their sales meetings ina focused way, not as an amorphousbedding category. They watch attach-ment rates, see who the star perform-ers are, and they allow those peopleto be spotlighted. There are certainsalespeople who can achieve 30 or40 per cent attachments, while anoth-er salesperson at the exact same storemay only get 10 per cent. The peoplewho get really good at it do sobecause management drives them tobe good at it. They encourage sales-people with the best attachment ratesto share their best practices andapproaches.”

Martin Rawls-Meehan at Reveriefeels that reports are essential.“Reports are important,” he says,“because in any retail organizationthere are a variety of different perfor-mance levels with respect to attachrates for adjustable beds. Some storescan be at 50 per cent while others willbe at single digits. What good report-ing does is provide detail on whatpractices are working to producegood results. They give managers areason to go out and talk to thosepeople who are doing things well, andthose who are having trouble, to fig-ure out how to resolve performanceissues to bring everybody up to those

high numbers. “We've seen varying results from the

use of incentives. And I think that partof the reason we are seeing this is thatone of the biggest issues in our indus-try is still training. It's no secret thatteaching people to present our prod-ucts properly and to do it every time,is really the biggest challenge. That’sthe low hanging fruit in the industrytoday. I think that as training gets bet-ter and as confidence builds, incen-tives will begin to play a bigger role.”

Still on the topic of education,Johnny Griggs at Ergomotion saysthat it is important to remind salesassociates that presenting a lifestylebase isn’t a lot of extra work. “Retailsales associates who work on com-mission,” he explains, “all know thatthey only have so many ups in a dayand need to maximize each one ofthose ups. So, management shouldcontinue to stress to their sales teamsthat they're not really doing anythingmore. If they are already talking to Mr.and Mrs. Smith, then all they need todo is show them one more thing thatthey can own to enhance their sleepsystem. If they are already showingpillows and making sure to tell themthat a mattress protector is a must,then the lifestyle base is just somethingelse that should also be introduced.”

DELIVERY & SERVICEThere’s one last aspect of training

that retailers neglect at their peril,Hickory Springs’ Niles Cornelius tellsFurniture World. It’s making sure thatdelivery people know how to deliverand set up adjustable bases properly,plus answer customer questions abouthow to operate them.

Reverie’s Martin Rawls-Meehanagrees. “Make sure that your ware-house and delivery guys are very welltrained on how to install product,” headvises retailers. “The lion’s share ofcalls we get to our call-center arefrom consumers who haven't had theirbed set up properly. And one way tolose a customer is when a beautiful,expensive, sleep system, completewith an adjustable foundation andmattress isn’t installed properly and itdoesn't work right, or they're just nothappy with the installation crew. Youdon't want to work really hard in thestore, only to have the delivery, whichshould be the easiest and most rou-tine part of the entire process, ruin thesale for you. Adjustables are heavyand have working parts so you needto make sure that your people knowhow to handle them, set them upproperly and make sure that cus-tomers are happy and everything isworking before they leave.”

Photo compliments of Leggett & Platt

“Ensuring that sales Associates do a good job is more than putting apicture in the newspaper, posting images to a website, and flooringa few different models.” - Jay Thompson, Leggett & Platt


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The young saleslady smiled con-fidently. “Are you interested in amemory foam mattress?” sheasked. I explained that I wasn’t

going to buy anything, that I wasresearching an article for FurnitureWorld. She was a bit disappointed,but with no other prospective cus-tomers in sight, she seemed willing tocontinue to visit with me.

I was in a medium size northernMinnesota city, and the 80,000 sq. ft.store was one of the most beautiful Ihave ever seen. The salesladyexplained to me that Tempur-Pediccustomers had always come to thestore pre-sold on the product. Shesaid people already understand the

many benefits that brand advertises.They expect unique pressure-relievingcomfort, and an ability to conform toeach person's body. They know aboutthe durability and quality of the prod-uct, and motion isolation properties.So, even though it is an expensivesleep system, selling a Tempur-Pedicproduct, for her, is a relative breeze.

Then recently, Serta iComfort camealong with a new story. On their web-site they used a soft-sell but very effec-tive strategy. iComfort experts toldcustomers that traditional memoryfoam technology hasn’t changedmuch since it was invented more thanfour decades ago. And while it hasbeen the perfect bed for many people,

others had issues with it. Some feltsleeping on a memory foam mattresswas too hot. Others felt they sink intoo deeply and this made it hard toadjust sleep positions. Then iComfortasked the killer question: Isn’t it abouttime that someone reinvented memo-ry foam? This sounded more andmore like a good idea, especiallysince Serta’s iComfort was priced atabout half the price of Tempur-Pedic.

iComfort branded itself as “theworld’s first memory foam infused withthe support and cooling touch ofMicro Support gel.” The branddeclared that it was a revolutionarynew memory foam Sleep System fea-turing Cool Action Gel Memory Foampromising to deliver superior pressurerelief and more targeted support whilesleeping cooler, plus, antimicrobialand dust mite resistance. iComfortoffered a longer warranty and alonger in home free trial. So, at alower price, what was not to like?

THE MISSING LINKIN MATTRESS SALES

The missing link in retail mattresssales is the disconnect between thecompetence and marketing expertiseof the mattress manufacturers and theweakness of the retailers.

Let’s examine the Tempur-Pedicstrategy. How did Temper-Pedicachieve the ability to pre-sell cus-tomers on their products to anunprecedented degree? After adecade of relative obscurity, the com-pany became an overnight successwhen they applied the principles ofevidence-based advertising. First,

Mattress One, the largest mattressretailer in Florida, now featuresequal space in their weekly flyers forTempur-Pedic and iComfort. Thesetwo brands usually are collectivelygranted half the advertising space inMattress One flyers and ROP ads.The marketing people for MattressOne have elected to present fivemodels of each brand. They arepriced in an unusual way, by thecost per day for owning a Tempur-Pedic or an iComfort sleep system.

MATTRESS WARS Part 2: And the winner is...

by Larry Mullins

Advertising Advisor



75 furnworld 0412 wiz_FWAD 3/24/12 5:35 PM Page 75

they developed a compelling storyand a U.S.P. [Unique SellingProposition] for their website and printmedia. “In the early 1970s, NASAdeveloped a pressure-absorbingmaterial to help cushion and supportastronauts during lift-off. The materialwas temperature-sensitive and it even-ly distributed body weight. NASAreleased this material to the public inthe 1980s. Another set of scientists …continued development on NASA’screation. After nearly a decade andmillions of research dollars, these“Swedish scientists” perfected TEM-PUR material for use in mattresses.”

This “Tempur material” is their keyproduct feature. But so far it is a “so-what?” story. The marketing brains atTempur-Pedic then did something thatother home furnishings manufacturersand retailers continue to fail to do.

They took the next step and elevatedtheir story into something compellingfor potential customers. Theyexplained the benefits that their prod-uct provides and answered theprospect’s ever-prevailing question:“So what? What’s in it for me?”

Every savvy salesperson knows thatyou should never describe a productfeature without explaining the benefitsit provides. Yet look-alike retail furni-ture ads generally use price-item fea-tures, label headlines, and are almostbereft of benefits. Moreover, even theBig Boxes fail to establish and localizetheir brand. Tempur-Pedic expertsknow this, so they compensate forpoor retail advertising by pre-sellingprospects with their own benefit-richpresentations. Rather than provideCO-OP, Tempur-Pedic sells theirunique brand directly to the customer.

The other top mattress brands dooffer CO-OP dollars to retailers andoffer attractive preprinted flyers.However, manufacturer flyers sell theirown brand, not the retailer’s identity


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75 furnworld 0412 wiz_FWAD 3/24/12 3:21 PM Page 77

and distinct advantages. There is littledealer identification other than alogo. So, when a dealer runs apreprinted flyer from Sealy, Simmons,or Serta, he sells their products forevery other dealer in his area as wellas for himself. The ultimate sellingproposition would do both. It wouldsell prospects on the manufacturer’sproducts, and also present com-pelling reasons why they should buyfrom this particular dealer.

Tempur-Pedic promises continuedproduct innovation in their web pre-sentations. But Serta’s iComfortpolitely suggests that Tempur-Pedichasn’t changed its product much inforty years. They state that Tempur-Pedic has a great product but: “Isn’t itabout time that someone reinventedmemory foam?” The strategy seemsto be working.

SOMETHING ODDIS GOING ON AT RETAIL

Although many retailers havebrushed off the idea that a Serta prod-uct could threaten Tempur-Pedic’smarket dominance, smart retailers do

not. If you carry both Tempur-Pedicand iComfort it will be difficult toexploit the changing market condi-tions. For example, Mattress One, thelargest mattress retailer in Florida,now features equal space in theirweekly flyers for Tempur-Pedic andiComfort. These two brands usuallyare collectively granted half theadvertising space in Mattress One fly-ers. The marketing people forMattress One have elected to presentfive models of each brand. They arepriced in an unusual way, by the costper day for owning a Tempur-Pedic oran iComfort sleep system. In verysmall print they explain this cost perday in this way: “Daily cost of owner-ship is based on a 10 year FullReplacement Warranty of Mattress.”For example, the starting price pointfor a Tempur-Pedic is 54 cents a daybased upon their 10 year full replace-ment warranty. iComfort starting pricepoint is listed as 35 cents a day basedon the same 10-year disclaimer.

But hold on! iComfort actually hasa fifteen year full replacement warran-ty. Based on this, the iComfort price


“The ever prevailing question of the consumer isalways, ‘What’s in it for me?’ This will be followedby: ‘Why should I buy from you?’”

Subscribe! FURNITURE WORLD MagazineSix powerful issues. In-depth articles that help retailers to boost sales, cut costs and identify growth opportunities. Click the “subscribe” link at... www.furninfo.com

Some retailers are using the iComfortadvertising strategy to successfully establishthemselves as the source for memory foamsleep systems. One Serta dealer in Duluthis using print media, radio and in-storesigns that claim iComfort sleep systemssuperiority over the “40-year old technology.”


79 furnworld 0412 ihfc_Service 3/29/12 3:03 PM Page 79

point would be 29 cents a day, not35, making it almost half the price ofTempur-Pedic. Perhaps this was simplyan oversight by Mattress One, but itwent on for months. Then Tempur-Pedic introduced new lower pricedmodels, and the Mattress Onechanged their ads. They decided tobase their per-night cost for bothbrands on Tempur-Pedic’s “20 yearwarranty life of the mattress” [this is alimited prorated warranty] instead ofTempur-Pedic’s ten year full replace-ment warranty. Their new presentationdoes mitigate to some degree the

price differential, and perhaps molli-fies the price-comparison concerns ofTempur-Pedic.

But hold on again! iComfort has atwenty-five year life of the mattresslimited warranty. Using a twenty-yearwarranty obviously skews the pricecomparisons in favor of Tempur-Pedic.Why Mattress One does this is any-one’s guess.

In another retail development, theWall Street Journal recently reportedthat an 800 store chain, MattressFirm, reports that as much as 40% of

their sales now come from memory-foam and other non-innerspring mat-tresses. I know that for some retailers,their memory foam sales actually sur-pass their innerspring sales.

AND THE WINNER IS?The jury is still out, but it has been

said that the only thing that simultane-ously creates destruction and growthis change. And change is inevitable. Ifyou are a manufacturer or a retailer,how can you benefit from thesechanging mattress retailing trends? Byembracing them.

If you are a manufacturer, youcould become the winner if you arewilling to step out of your comfortzone and consider the situation of themattress retailers. They need help.Few of them know how to create aunique identity and stand out amongthe crowd of other retailers. Your mar-keting experts could help them.Instead of focusing exclusively on yourown product, give them some help inbuilding their own brand. You bothwill do more business. I have writtenhere that the missing link in retail mat-tress sales is the disconnect betweenthe competence and marketing exper-tise of the mattress manufacturers andthe weakness of the retailers. The firstmanufacturer who understandsthis–and helps the retailer develop aunique identity and stand out from thecrowd–will be the winner.

If you are an independent retailer,there may be an opportunity here tocapture a larger market share ofmemory foam business. Here is oneway to do it. If you do not carryTempur-Pedic, you are probably notgetting your fair share of memoryfoam business. Consider youroptions. Many leading brands have


“Load your messages with benefits. Remember the simple, basic principlestoward overcoming the ‘So what?’ reaction to your advertising messages.”


81 furnworld 0412 genesis_Service 3/24/12 5:25 PM Page 81

also have their own version of anadvanced memory foam product.(Including a new, lower pricedTempur-Pedic). In the exhibits of thisarticle you will see how some retailersare using the iComfort advertisingstrategy to establish themselves as thesource for memory foam sleep sys-tems in their trading areas. One Sertadealer I know is using print media, TV,radio and in-store signs that featureiComfort sleep systems over the “40-year old technology.” A Restonic deal-er is doing the same thing withRestonic TempaGel HealthrestMemory Foam sleep systems, one ofthe huge number of the “new,advanced,” lower cost memory foamproducts on the market.)

It is likely that Tempur-Pedic, with itssophisticated evidence-based market-ing methods will continue to dominatememory foam sleep systems for theforeseeable future. Even so, you coulddouble or triple your own share of this

market with an aggressive marketingstrategy.

A Key factor in your success will beyour ability to load your messageswith benefits. Remember the simple,basic principles toward overcomingthe “So what?” reaction to youradvertising messages. Product fea-tures support benefits. People do notneed or want a memory foam mat-tress. They want better sleep. Whenthey sleep better, they will be happierand healthier. The ever prevailingquestion of the consumer is always,“What’s in it for me?” This will be fol-lowed by: “Why should I buy fromyou?”

If you are an independent retailer,you can be the biggest winner in themattress wars if you can answer thesequestions with clarity and confidence.

Larry Mullins is a contributing edi-tor for Furniture World and has 30+years of experience on the front lines

of furniture marketing. Larry’s main-stream executive experience, his cre-ative work with promotion specialists,and mastery of advertising principleshave established him as an expert infurniture marketing. His affordableHigh-Impact programs produce resultsfor everything from cash raising eventsto profitable exit strategies. His newestbooks, THE METAVALUES BREAK-THROUGH and IMMATURE PEOPLEWITH POWER… How to HandleThem have recently been released byMorgan James Publishing. Joe Girard,“The World’s Greatest Salesman” saidof this book: “If I had read LarryMullins’ book when I started out, Iwould have reached the top muchsooner than I did.”

Larry is founder and CEO ofUltraSales, Inc. and can be reacheddirectly at 904.794.9212 or [email protected]. See morearticles by Larry at www.furninfo.comor www.ultrasales.com.


1009 North Main St., High Point, NC336-883-4011

E-mail: [email protected]

Available For Meetings & Seminars

Mary Jane Conger head of theCataloging Dept., UniversityLibraries, University of NorthCarolina at Greensboro andher team recently re-catalogedthe entire collection of 5,000research & design volumes.

Top to bottom renovation makes theBernice Bienenstock Furniture Libraryready for research, industry meetings,design events and seminars.

Ongoing project to bring the collection intothe digital sphere for universal access.

Capital Improvements At High Point’s Furniture Library

“How can you benefit from these changing mattress retailing trends? By embracing them.”


83 furnworld 0412 mktsquare_FWAD 3/28/12 6:31 PM Page 83

There are very few people in NewEngland who are not acquaint-ed with Bernie and Phyl’s. Thelargest privately owned furniture

retailer in the region, Bernie andPhyl’s, has been described as iconic.Consider the rationale. The family-runbusiness, based in Norton,Massachusetts, owns and operateseight stores: Braintree, Hyannis,Raynham, Saugus, Westboro andNatick, Massachusetts, Nashua, NewHampshire and Warwick, RhodeIsland. Bernie and Phyl’s Furniturereceived the prestigious BetterBusiness Bureau Local Torch Award forExcellence in 2011, 2009, 2007 and2004, given to companies thatembody the highest ethical standards.In 2002, the company was named“Retailer of the Year” by the NationalHome Furnishings Association, thehighest honour in the retail home fur-nishings industry. And the companyranks among the Top 100 furniture

stores in the country! Iconic, indeed.Bernie and Phyl Rubin have come a

long way. And the road was not alwayssmooth. Their story could truly bedescribed as a realization of theAmerican Dream.

The vision began to take shapewhen Bernie was very young. Hisfather was a milkman and Bernie usedto help him make deliveries to cus-tomers around Boston. Bernie carriedthe milk to the top floor of Boston’sthree-decker tenements so his dadwouldn’t have to walk up all thosestairs. It taught him the value of hardwork at an early age.

A few years later, Bernie’s fatherstarted driving a truck for a local furni-ture company; that’s how Bernie gothis first job in a furniture store. He was13 years old and every day afterschool he would go to the store, washfloors, polish furniture and runerrands. Bernie loved it. And he

dreamed that one day he would opena furniture store of his own.

At 18, then a senior at High School,Bernie met and soon fell in love withbeautiful 16 year old Phyllis Segal.Bernie attended NortheasternUniversity as a commuter student, sohe was able to see Phyl every day. Theymarried when he was 20 and she 18,and the relationship appears to haveworked well. That was more than 50years ago, and the couple has threechildren and 10 grandchildren.

After university, Bernie went back towork with his father, helping him runhis furniture trucking business. It waswhen Bernie and Phyl were in their for-ties that they made the decision to pur-sue Bernie’s life-long dream. Theytook their small savings, borrowed abit more from relatives and opened avery small sleep sofa store at Quincy,Massachusetts. It was 1983, almost30 years ago.

Our Retail Furniture Heritage 1800-2012

YOUR STORIESPart 12: Retailer Bernie and Phyl’s shares the story of its

founding, challenges, hardship and strategies for success. by Janet Holt-Johnstone

Pictured along with the Natickstore are Rubin family members: Larry, Phyl, Bernie,Michelle (Pepe), and Rob.


“This is the place to go if youʼre looking forKid Friendly, and good looking furniture. Ipurchased a sectional couch 6 years ago,and it still looks like new!! We went back tothe El Cajon store recently looking for abedroom suite for our daughters. It was instock and professionally delivered and set

up the very same day!! I would definitely tell people to check out Jeromeʼs during

your furniture hunt.” -unsolicited letter from a military family.

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65 furnworld 1011 diakon_furniture world 3/24/12 3:49 PM Page 85

At their annual toy donation event, pictured fromleft to right are: the Bruins Bear, two cheerleadersfrom the New England Patriot's flank Michelle Pepeon either side, and behind is the Boston Celticsmascot "Lucky."

Below, Boston Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Acevesjoined Bernie Rubin, co-founder of Bernie & Phyl’sFurniture, to sign balls for kids from The Home forLittle Wanderers as part of the twelfth annualBernie’s Baseball Buddies outing at Fenway Park.Mr. Rubin brought a group of children from TheHome to watch batting practice, meet players, eatballpark food, and see their first game.


The first few years were difficult.Bernie and Phyl worked side by side intheir little sleeper store, 14 hours aday, seven days a week, trying to makeit a success. With three children athome and a mortgage to pay, therewere many times they thought of giv-ing up. But, of course, they didn’t.

They took a huge financial risk inlate 1984. They bought their compa-ny’s first building, a 12,000 squarefoot former shoe factory in Weymouth,and left their cramped leased space atQuincy. With the move they were ableto expand into a fully-fledged furniturestore. During the next few years moreleased stores followed. In 1993, theybought a warehouse in Brockton.

Two years later, they took anotherbig financial leap and bought theircurrent headquarters, warehouse andland in Norton. The Brockton facilitywas just not big enough for the com-pany’s future growth plans.

In 1997, Bernie and Phyl purchaseda 42,000 square foot building, and26,000 square feet of warehousespace on Route 9 at Westboro; thisbecame their first large store. And itwas a spectacular success!

Then a prominent 50,000 squarefoot building on Route 1 in the town ofSaugus went up for sale. They boughtit and opened their second major storein January, 1999.

They purchased another building inAugust, 2001, 41,000 square feetwith a 1.87 acre parcel of land on theDaniel Webster Highway in Nashua,New Hampshire. In September theyopened the new Bernie and Phyl’s inthe existing building. Meanwhile theyconstructed a new three-story 86,000square foot store in two phases, so thecompany never had to close for busi-ness. Nashua is now the biggest storein their chain, and one of the largest inthat market.

In June 2003, they bought a55,000 square foot store on Route 44in Raynham, Massachusetts, andopened for business two months later.And in October 2004, yet anotherstore, 50,000 square feet in Braintree,Massachusetts, which they opened inFebruary 2005.

Three years later, March 2008,Bernie and Phyl found a store just wait-ing to be purchased at Hyannis; thatstore was open for business by May

ARE YOU A RETAILERWITH A GREAT HISTORY?

WANTS TO TELLYOUR STORY

Our editors are looking for more furniture retail histories to feature

in future issues. Call 914-235-3095or email [email protected].

Pictured above are Bernie and Phyl withrepresentatives of the Boston Celtics’organization.


87 furnworld 0412 mexico_Service 3/29/12 1:43 PM Page 87


2008. By October 2010, they openedtheir first Rhode Island store inWarwick.

Two buildings located on a highprofile, high traffic stretch of Route 9in Natick, Massachusetts, attractedtheir attention in October 2011, anew market area for the company.And, in February 2012, they opened a34,000 square foot showroom in thelarger of the buildings, along withtheir first ever “Metro Living” conceptstore in the adjacent 5,000 squarefoot building.

The Metro Living store features awhole new line of higher styled andfiner quality upholstery and leather liv-ing room furniture, ranging from tran-sitional to contemporary to urbanlooks, only available at Natick MetroLiving.

Today, Bernie and Phyl’s is one ofthe largest furniture retailers in NewEngland, and one of the most suc-cessful retailers in the country, eightstores and more than 400 employees.

It was also Bernie’s dream that hischildren would fall in love with thebusiness just as he had, and that they

would eventually become partners inthe endeavor. He has always believedthat working side-by-side with hisfather for over 30 years was the great-est gift of his life.

Bernie and Phyl’s second son,Robert, joined the company in 1985after graduation from SyracuseUniversity. Their eldest son, Larry,joined them in 1989 after he graduat-

ed from Northeastern University, hisfather’s alma mater, and worked asan electrical engineering professionalfor 10 years. Daughter Michelle

worked in the company for severalyears, and married a fellow Bernieand Phyl employee. Michelle spentseveral years as a full-time mom andcame back to work five years ago.

As a result of starring in their ownadvertising commercials, the mem-bers of the Rubin family have becometelevision personalities over the years.Bernie and Phyl’s is one of the mostrecognizable brands in New England,and the company’s catchy jingle,“Quality, Comfort & Price, That’sNice”, has become part of the popu-lar culture.

Each family member has a veryclear role within the company’s struc-ture, and really “owns” that area with-out oversight from other family mem-bers. Larry is President and CEO.Robert is President of Merchandisingand Marketing and Michelle, Directorof Community Relations. Everythingthey do is highly collaborative; theywork together to achieve the commongoal of making the company success-ful.

And everyone shares the sameethos: family relationships are themost valued part of life. After workingtogether day in and day out, they stillenjoy dinner together after work,going to sporting events with oneanother, spending holidays together,and taking vacations as a family.Working together and being a familyunit is simply part of their lives, indica-tive of the strong bonds they have witheach other.

As a corporate family, every facet ofthe company is infused with Bernieand Phyl’s personal philosophy eachlearned as children, “be honest, workhard, treat people the way you wouldwant to be treated and take care ofyour family”. And this includesemployees, vendors, customers and

“They took their small savings, borrowed a bitmore from relatives andopened a very small sleepsofa store at Quincy,Mass. It was 1983, almost30 years ago.”

BERNIE & PHYLS

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Below, ribbon cutting ceremony at theBernie & Phyl’s Warwick, RI store. In thefront row left to right: Michelle Pepe(Bernie and Phyl's daughter), Phyl Rubin,Bernie Rubin, and the Mayor ofWarwick, Scott Avedisian. In the backrow left to right: Bob Pepe (B&P employ-ee and son-in-law), Larry Rubin (son),and Robert Rubin (son).

“Bernie and Phyl’s is oneof the largest furnitureretailers in NewEngland, and one of themost successful retailersin the country, eightstores and more than400 employees.”

Pictured at above is Bernie andPhyl’s first store at Quincy,Massachusetts in 1983.

the greater community.Treated as “family”, Bernie and

Phyl’s 400-plus employees are an“amazing team” of loyal and dedicat-ed people who care passionatelyabout the company. “Treating team

members well and empowering themto solve problems on their own,inspires each individual to serve cus-tomers and vendors with the highestlevels of professionalism and ethics.“The true foundation of Bernie and

Phyl’s ongoing success” is thefounders’ expectation that they will acthonorably in every dealing with cus-tomers, vendors, suppliers and thecommunity, working hard to go aboveand beyond what is expected.


The number one priority is “to keepcustomers happy, even when thingsgo wrong! Customers won’t find highpressure sales tactics or a high stressretail environment at Bernie andPhyl’s. What they will find is beautiful,quality furniture at a price they canafford every day. And a company thatis always willing to go that extra mileto make their shopping experience100 per cent positive every step of theway”.

The company also values its strongrelationship with vendors. “The mutu-al respect and trust that Bernie andPhyl’s has with all of its partners isessential to the company’s past andcurrent success.”

There is another dimension toBernie and Phyl’s philosophy, belief intheir obligation to give back to thoseless fortunate. Through their “Friendsin Need” programme, donations offurniture are made regularly to chari-table organizations across the region.One particularly outstanding projectwas Pine Street Inn’s Home forVeterans. Sixteen homeless veteransmoved into a renovated HartfordStreet house in Dorchester,Massachusetts. There they have theopportunity to rebuild or stabilize theirlives within a structured and support-ive home environment. Each veteranhas an individual room with sharedbathrooms, and a shared living roomand kitchen. Case managers helpthem connect with community ser-vices, secure employment, furthertheir education and independenceand maintain stability.

The renovation was completed byPine Street Inn which is a non-profitorganization based in Boston, anational leader in the fight to endhomelessness. Federal grant fundscover the cost of ongoing operationsand support services, but the group

reaches out to the community atlarge. Bernie and Phyl’s contributionwas 16 Sealy beds, dressers, night-stands and headboards, and furniturefor the common living room.

But one of Bernie and Phyl’s mostheartfelt and continuous efforts is theiralignment with the National MultipleSclerosis Society and their local chap-ter. The Rubin family serves on theboard, is a major monetary sponsorfor the many events they promotethroughout the year, and conductextensive fundraising promotions, thelargest an annual event in the monthof May. They have helped raise over$500,000 in the past two years tosupport the MS Society’s ground-breaking work and will continue theseefforts. It is a personal crusade. PhyllisRubin has suffered from MS for nearly40 years, so the disease has touchedthe whole family.

A couple of years ago, Phyl starredin a series of MS public serviceannouncements for national MS

Awareness Week. She made the deci-sion to go public with her own story inthe hope that others would be helpedand to increase awareness of MS. Ofcourse, the target of finding a cure forthe disease is critical. Multiple sclero-sis affects more than 2.1 million peo-ple worldwide, including over400,000 Americans and 16,000 inNew England.

Phyl received the national MS HopeAward from the Society’s NewEngland Chapter, honored for the

RETAIL STORIES


Pictured from left to right above is:Robert Rubin, Paula Flemming from theBetter Business Bureau, Larry Rubin, andBernie Rubin accepting a Torch Award.

One of Bernie and Phyl’s most heartfeltand continuous efforts is their alignmentwith the National Multiple SclerosisSociety and their local chapter. At rightan MS event.

Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture was recognizedrecently as a Local Torch Award forExcellence finalist by the Better BusinessBureau (BBB) of Central New England.Photo below shows three generations ofthe Rubin family accepting the award.Bernie Rubin (far right) is joined by hisgrandson, Alex Rubin (far left), and son,Rob Rubin, in accepting the award fromNancy Cahalen, BBB President and CEO.


91 furnworld 0412 customdes_FWAD 3/24/12 3:59 PM Page 91

“inspirational life she has led as anentrepreneur, businesswoman, com-munity benefactor, wife, mother andgrandmother, despite living with MSfor so many years”. She had her firstattack in 1971, but was not diag-nosed until two years later when shelost permanent sight in her left eye. In

those days, MS was a very difficultdiagnosis to make, and there were notreatments for the disease.

Said Phyllis, “There are times whenit’s been frustrating, like when I could-n’t do even the simplest task likebrushing my own hair. But I’ve alwayshad the philosophy that you make the


Married when he was 20 and she 18, Bernie and Phyl’srelationship appears to have worked well. At right PhylRubin and daughter Michelle Pepe at a blood drive.

“The number one priorityis to keep customershappy, even whenthings go wrong!”


93 furnworld 0412 tags_FWAD 3/29/12 7:29 PM Page 93

best of what you have. Getting MSwas something I couldn’t control, so Idecided early on I wouldn’t let it stopme from living a full life.”

MS is an unpredictable and oftendisabling disease of the central ner-vous system that interrupts the flow ofinformation within the brain, andbetween the brain and the body. Theprogress, severity and specific symp-toms of MS in any one person cannotyet be predicted, but with advances inresearch and treatment it may be pos-sible in the future to eradicate the dis-ease.

“While I’ve had many tough yearswith MS, I have been fortunate thatsome of the new medications devel-oped in the past decade to treat MShave helped me control my symp-toms,” said Phyl. “But more needs tobe done. I hope that by sharing mystory, others will be motivated todonate to the National MS Society athttp://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/PhylFund,and join me, Bernie and my family inour quest to create a world free ofMS.”

This spring, Bernie and Phyl againsponsored the well-organized andvery popular Annual Walk for MS.

And there are other community ini-tiatives. For example, holding annual

Red Cross blood drives in the compa-ny’s stores, sponsoring annual toyand food drives, hosting car seatsafety-checks, sponsoring youthsports teams locally. And organizingBernie’s Baseball Buddies program.He takes underprivileged kids to see aRed Sox game and tour Fenway Park.And there are many public servicetelevision sponsorships with mediapartners.

Another notable event was thegiveaway of a thousand free tickets toa Boston performance of comedianJay Leno, his stand-up show at theEmerson Cutler Majestic Theater.Anyone who took a Sealy Posturpedicsleep test at Bernie and Phyl’sreceived two free tickets to the show.Larry Rubin said, “We have the bestcustomers in the world and we want-ed to give something back to themthat was extra special. Jay Leno is anicon here in Massachusetts where hegrew up and it’s really an honor toparticipate in filling the house for thisspecial live performance.”

Back in time for the 2010Olympics, Bernie and Phyl’s spon-sored an Olympic Contest with onelucky Gold Medal winner receiving a$5,000 shopping spree at any of itsstores. The Silver Medalist won a 55inch LCD HDTV and the Bronze

Medal winners, three of them, won a“Family of Four Ski and Stay”, a LoonMountain weekend getaway. Againthe Sealy Posturpedic sleep test pro-vided the magic. “Anyone age 21 orolder was automatically entered towin, no purchase necessary. This pop-ular contest was mounted in conjunc-tion with Channel 7/WHDH-TV, whichbroadcast the 2010 Winter OlympicGames”.

As recognition for New England’sveterans, a military discount is offeredto all active duty, reserve, and retiredand disabled service members. Thecompany provides discounts from 10to 20 per cent, depending on pur-chase price, and zero financing fortwo years.

As you might expect, Bernie andPhyl’s has attracted much recognitionover the years. As well as the presti-gious Better Business Bureau TorchAward, four times, they were gratefulto receive, in 2008, theMassachusetts Family Business Awardin the large company category.

In 2005, for their good work in fos-tering mentoring of children, theywon the Champions of Mentoring

BERNIE & PHYL’S

“Be honest, work hard,treat people the way youwould want to be treatedand take care of yourfamily. And this includesemployees, vendors, customers and thegreater community.”

Members of the Rubin family at Nashua ground breaking.



Award from the Mass MentoringPartnership. It is the only state-wideorganization solely dedicated tostrategically expanding quality youthmentoring in Massachusetts, and theumbrella organization for more than190 mentoring organizations support-ing 23,000 youth. Services includetraining and technical assistance, net-working and professional develop-ment, mentor recruitment campaigns,advocacy, resource development andrecognition and mentor-menteematch activities.

Back in 2003, the company washonored with the ExecutiveTechnology Retail Community ServiceAward, which recognizes businessesthat are building a better world forpeople through their community ser-vice efforts.

In 2002, as well as receiving theNational Home FurnishingsAssociation’s Retailer of the YearAward, they were also chosen as therecipient of the Home FurnishingsAssociation of New England’s notableRobert E. Richmond Award ofEminence, given to companies thatexemplify strong ethics and profes-sionalism. And two years earlier, aMillennium Award, the company wasnamed 2000 Retailer of the Year bythe Retailers Association ofMassachusetts.

Bernie and Phyl Rubin’s dream is ashining reality.

Note about the National MultipleSclerosis Society: MS can stop peoplefrom moving forward with their lives.The National MS Society exists tomake sure it doesn’t. The organizationhelps each person address the chal-lenges of living with MS. Through thehome office and the 50-state networkof chapters, the Society has devotedmore than $126 million to programsthat enhanced more than one million

lives. To move us closer to a world freeof MS, the Society also invested over$45 million to support 440 researchprojects around the world. You can

join this worthwhile movement atwww.nationalMSsociety.org. It’s a fas-cinating website.-Janet Holt-Johnstone


EMPLOYEE THEFTIt’s a far greater problem in our industry than you may think.

by Dan Bolger

Warehouse Operations

The news media recently report-ed that management at furni-ture retailer The Dump inPennsylvania learned of an

employee theft last October when acustomer tried to return furniture sup-posedly purchased from the store. Aninvestigation disclosed collusionbetween two warehouse employeesand a college student working as asecurity guard. All were arrested andare awaiting trial. Video security wasof significant value in the investigationof the $26,000 theft in ten identifiedinstances. Could these situations hap-pen at your facility? Yes, they proba-bly can.

Preventing theft takes an ongoingcommitment from management. Theftby furniture retailer employees is a fargreater problem than thefts by out-siders. The University of Florida's2011 National Retail Security Surveyreported that in 2010 total inventoryshrinkage approached 35.3 billiondollars. Employee theft was 15.9 bil-lion dollars, while shoplifting was

10.9 billion dollars. Administrativeerrors totaled 5 billion and vendorfraud was 2 billion. Minimizing therisk isn't rocket science, but requiresattention to the basics of warehousemanagement and controls.Safeguards can help your businessavoid these losses.

All too often, our routine manage-ment reviews disclose problems. Theftof goods is on the rise in furnitureretail establishments nationwide. Dueto the size of furniture pieces, theftusually involves employee collusion.Most of your products are easily soldby thieves or are stolen by employeesto meet specific requests from theirfriends or associates, or even to fur-nish their own houses! Since you can-not operate your warehouse like abank vault, what steps can you take toprotect your investment?

Your first line of defense is to makesure that one individual doesn't con-trol receiving, inventory, disburse-ments and adjustments. Be especiallyaware of the trusted employee who

works long hours and never takes avacation. You probably trust yourbookkeeper, but just to play it safe, asa good business practice, bank state-ments should be sent to the owner'shome for personal review for non-existent service contracts, vendors andcredits. Checks and balances are nec-essary for routine control.

Mass thefts by organized crimerings where thieves hijack a furnituretruck or break into a warehouse arerare. Pilferage or disappearance ismore common. Pilferage may involvecollusion between truck drivers andwarehouse people who receive lessthan the full quantity of material off aninbound shipment or load "extra"products on the truck when delivering.They may also load the ordersobtained through their fellow thievesemployed as sales people.

There are multiple ways to defendagainst theft and pilferage. One is acombination of physical deterrentsand systems that make it difficult tobreak security. Another defense is to

“There are multiple ways to defend against theftand pilferage. One is a combination of physicaldeterrents and systems that make it difficult tobreak security.”


attempt to confirm the honesty of youremployees.

ELECTRONIC SECURITYElectronic warehouse security sys-

tems to protect your building when it isunoccupied can be supplied by awide range of devices. These includewindow and door monitors, move-ment sensors, and sonic alarms.Digital video and capability forremote viewing have largely replacedclosed loop video systems. Possiblyeven more important is external secu-rity. Adequate lighting of exterior wallsensures that thieves don't have thecover of darkness in your parking lotsand dock areas. You may also consid-er a gate to prevent access to the rearof the building. Whenever possible,employee parking should not beagainst the building.

The ability to remotely access yourdigital video security system via anInternet connection to your computerat any hour of the day and night is anexcellent tool available at significantlylower costs.

EMPLOYEE HIRINGManagement's lack of concern for

security is a major factor in thefts bywarehouse and delivery people. TheNRSS report shows part time employ-ees steal much more than permanentemployees. A primary cause of theft ispoor attention to the value of pre-employment screening. Personal inter-views, drug screening, referencechecks and criminal background

reviews all have merit. The minimumis a series of phone calls to verifyemployment dates and to ask whetherprevious employers would rehire yourapplicant. Expect some companies toonly disclose the dates of employmentand the job title in today's “sue every-body” environment. You therefore,may want to use honesty tests that dis-

close attitudes of people who are like-ly to steal. These tests typically takeless than an hour, can be scoredquickly and are low cost. You mustcomply with all regulatory require-ments for hiring.

MANAGEMENT VIGILANCEManagement can also reduce the


YouTube Video (left) of Parking Lot theft of furniture from retailer truck thatisn’t locked. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N2dT9BeDyM

Below, news item from www.pressofatlanticcity.com detailing how furniturestore employees pocketed money from merchandise sold to unsuspectingcustomers, issuing phony receipts for cash-on-delivery payments.


risks of employee theft by drivingaround the back of the building whencoming and going, checking thedumpster and walking through thewarehouse at random times. Insistthat your managers do the same. It

takes so little time but shows employ-ees that you are alert. Cycle countingand periodic inventories are essential.

Multiple warehouses present aneasy opportunity for easy thefts whenthey are not manned full-time and

when many employees have keys.

RECEIVINGSome thefts occur through a joint

effort of warehouse receiving staff withvendors, trucking or shipping person-nel. Receiving counting requiresabsolute accuracy. Many retailersreceive from a copy of the purchaseorder and mark off the count receivedand also count off from the carrier'spacking list. The receiving tally is thestart of the audit trail. This documentmust contain the required informationplus any exceptions such as overages,shortages and damage discrepancies.These must be noted and fully docu-mented. Always count twice beforesigning once!

Bottom line, you must know youhave the material ordered, the quan-


Subscribe!FURNITURE WORLDMagazineSix powerfulissues.In-depth articlesthat help retailers to boost sales, cutcosts and identify opportunities.

Subscribe at www.furninfo.com.

DOs & DON'TsOf Employee Theft Prevention

Always...

• Be completely honest with your employees and customers.Management must set a good example.

• Make sure that all employees are aware of the rules of the business.

• Always check employees' reported hours before you sign theirtimesheet. Make sure that the employees have worked the hours theyare reporting.

• Check out any suspicious feeling that you have toward an employee.Make sure that your suspicion is reasonable.

• Make sure that the employee parking lot is not close to the building.You don't want it to be convenient for them to move things out of thebusiness.

• Monitor cash transactions as often as possible.

Never...

• Be too busy to monitor employees regularly.

• Allow employees to handle their own transactions (when they purchasethings for themselves).

• Wrongly accuse an employee of theft. Make sure that accusations areinvestigated before you have a serious meeting with an employee.

• Allow a lot of time pass before you look into suspicious activity. Thelonger you wait, the more money you will probably lose.

Article from www.wbtv.com, Charlotte, NCdetailed an investigation into 235 pieces of furniture alleged to have been stolen by a furniture store employee.

Website www.phyllyburbs.com reported on howfurniture warehouse employees approachedcustomers, offering them half price deals.Perpetrators were caught when a customer triedto return an item.


tity ordered, items received within anacceptable time frame, acceptablequality and an accurate record of thetransaction. Today's bar coded ware-house management systems havenumerous features that provide con-trol... but they are only effective whenthey are used consistently. Anyremaining bar code labels must beturned in with the paperwork. It maybecome necessary to use undercovercontract employees to detect seriousthefts by your employees. Undercoveremployees can help to inform youabout on-the-job drug sales and otherillegal enterprises.

DELIVERYWhen goods are staged for deliv-

ery, everything should have corre-sponding tags matching the truck

manifest to assure that only the cor-rect merchandise is loaded. Someretailers use fenced cages to isolatethe stock going on a particular truck.

Delivery trucks may be followed toassure they stay on route, are securedat customers’ homes and on time.Real time vehicle tracking costs are farlower than previous years.

A favorite tactic with identity theftperpetrators is to make major pur-chases with credit cards as customer

pickups. You should record the licensenumber of every vehicle making acustomer pickup and note the vehiclemake. The NRSS data shows this issuerepresents a growing avenue for crim-inals.

RETURNED GOODSReview how you handle returned

goods. Many furniture retailers' proce-dures are inadequate.

For example: An entertainment cen-

“The ability to remotely access your digital videosecurity system via an Internet connection to yourcomputer at any hour of the day and night is anexcellent tool”

EMPLOYEE THEFT


ter is picked up from the customer andnever makes it back into inventory.There are several possibilities.• It makes it back to the store and

even though it is fully satisfactory,it is written off as scrap or con-signed to donations.

• It may have been entered intoinventory but was actually droppedoff somewhere else on the wayback. If you have the same personpicking up the unit and entering itback into inventory, your riskincreases dramatically. The lostunit will only show up when youare out of stock or take inventory.Then it will probably simply bewritten off as a discrepancy.

To prevent this from happening, allreturns should go to a designatedarea, be reconciled daily and bereviewed by a second person.

Bottom-line, maintain adequatecontrols and take time to walk thewarehouse and check the facility out-side regular hours. Most of all, hire

the most honest people you can find,yet maintain a healthy skepticism thatthey will always be honest.

Contributing editor Dan Bolger ofThe Bolger Group helps companiesachieve improved transportation,warehousing and logistics. See manyother articles by Dan in the articlearchives on the furninfo.com website.You can send inquiries on any aspectof transportation, warehousing orlogistics issues to Dan Bolger care ofFurniture World Magazine at [email protected] or call himdirect at 740-503-8875.

Resources:Rutgers University:http://crimeprevention.rutgers.edu/crime/emp_theft/emp_theft.htm

University of Florida:http://soccrim.clas.ufl.edu/criminology/srp/finalreport_2010.pdf


“You should record thelicense number ofevery vehicle making acustomer pickup andnote the vehiclemake.”

EMPLOYEE THEFT


101 furnworld 0412 scarsdale_FWAD 3/30/12 5:37 PM Page 101


ARTICLE MARKETINGPart 1: It’s time to invent a new business future through

writing articles—your love letters to potential clients!by Margo DeGange

New Media Marketing

You may not consider yourself awriter, but by the end of thismessage I hope you reconsid-er. Your willingness to write

what you know can make a huge dif-ference in your bottom line.Remember how writing a love letter tosomeone who was crazy about youchanged your future? Well it’s time toinvent a new business future throughwriting articles—your love letters topotential clients!

WHAT IN THE WORLDIS ARTICLE MARKETING?

Article marketing is the practice ofwriting keyword-focused articles thatyou then submit to online article direc-tories to gain leads and build your list(A second type of article marketing isusing articles to connect meaningfullywith prospects who visit your business,your networking events, or your web-site).

Submitting to article directories isthe cat’s meow and the way to cata-pult your online visibility and evenyour local status. People love to readarticles online, and often considerauthors to be leading experts!

WHY DO I CARE ABOUTARTICLE MARKETING?

Why shouldn’t you? It’s a totallyfree awareness-building tool thatdraws ideal clients right to your virtualor actual door. Although you won’tget paid directly for writing and sub-mitting articles, taking the time for thispowerful marketing strategy can payoff big! There are few easier or cheap-

er ways to gain higher rankings insearch engines, valuable back links,and targeted visitors interested in yourwebsite!

A few more juicy reasons to writeand submit articles:• You attract better clients who

actively look for the informationyou publish.

• You get visitors to come to yourwebsite through your links.

• You build your mailing and emaillists when a reader is led to yoursite.

• You increase your credibility bybeing viewed as an expert in yourfield.

• You build your brand with yourvoice and style.

• You gain trust that closes the gapon potential sales.

• You target specific niches with per-tinent and valuable niche-rich con-tent.

• You get lots more exposure foryour online business.

• You get more and better newslettersubscribers.

• You reach new people who wouldotherwise not know you exist.

People want to do business withthose they know, like and trust. Yourarticles become the way you connectand get to know potential clients.Prospects can then find out moreabout you, and even share a piece ofYOU with their social media world!

It’s gravy on the potatoes! Sincemost article directories allow you topost for free, and many online visitorsseek expert information from articledirectories, article marketing becomesan amazingly inexpensive and person-al way to promote your expertise and

“It’s a totally free awareness-building toolthat draws ideal clientsright to your virtual oractual door.”


Finding GREAT PEOPLE Is What We Do!Furniture Team is your top talent recruiting solution! From mid-level managers totop executives in retail, wholesale, and distribution--let us find the best candidatesfor you. We will access, qualify, interview, evaluate, and secure potential candi-dates to help you get the best team possible.

• We work with home furnishings companies nationwide and abroad. • We not only find great candidates for you, we can also assist in the offer/

negotiation and transition processes. • We have worked with over 200 client companies in 10 years. • Member, NFHA and WHFA.

Furniture Team Management Recruiting, Inc.Call Pete Tomeck today! 717-361-7858 • www.furniture-team.com • [email protected]"I put my name on the line with each placement!--Pete Tomeck, President - Member, SHRM


ARTICLE MARKETINGyour business.

STEAL THIS BOOKWell it’s not really stealing and it’s

not really a book, it’s an article! Yetonce your article is published, peoplecan snatch your content, and depend-ing on the article directory site theysnagged it from, they can legallyrepublish it on their websites or blogs!This is exciting news for you, sincemost all directories insist articles areposted in their entirety, and thatincludes your author info andresource box (more on that in a bit).This means there’s a link that directsthe reader right back to your site!

It’s like free advertising to the mass-es, since many of today’s article syn-dication sites have a tremendousreadership following.

If you own a furniture store and youwrite an article

about how various colors in the interi-or environment can positively affectour lifestyles, then a designer, colorexpert, or huge paint company couldrepost the content (citing you as thereference) or a link to your article ontheir website or blog, resulting in evenmore exposure for you, especially iftheir site drives a lot of traffic.

GOOGLE PANDA UPDATEAND ARTICLE MARKETINGRecently, Google made some

changes relating to how they indexwebsites and how different sites fare interms of rank. These changes areknown as the Google Panda update.In 2011 several updates werereleased, and no doubt several moreupdates will be released throughout2012. The updates change the gameof SEO, and have shaken up theonline landscape and “freaked out” alot of people.

As a result of the Google Pandaupdates, many blogs and websites, aswell as article marketing directories,have lost rankings (some temporarily)because the rules are different now.Unfortunately, some individuals react-ed to this news with doomsday mes-sages about the future of article mar-keting. Most of these screamers simplydidn’t understand why the Googlechanges were made in the first place,and why it makes sense that somearticle directories have dropped in therankings (and why some have and willcontinue to pick back up). Many alsodon’t understand that this is a neces-sary part of the needed change thatwill actually make article marketing

even better in the future, as reputabledirectories respond favorably andprofessionally and line up with thenew unwritten SEO rules.

WHY CHANGE WAS NEEDEDIn the past, the use of keywords on

pages, posts, in articles, and in web-page titles and descriptions was asurefire way to help your searchengine rankings. So was the use oflinks back to your site. Soon, peoplefound a way to abuse the use of key-words and links on millions of web-sites and blogs, and article marketingdirectories were not immune to thisabuse. It wasn’t long before businessowners, bloggers, and get-rich-quickschemers were guilty of key-wordstuffing, back-link abuse, illegal con-tent sharing and content stealing, andall kinds of other tactics to drive trafficto specific websites. This made theexperience of many online visitors lessthan ideal.

For years, Internet visitors whosearched online for reliable, expertinformation were being led to bogusor unprofessional websites and blogs,with horrible content, or “spammy”sites filled with one-sided, super“sales-y” offers. How frustrating!Webmasters and site owners got awaywith this because they skillfully usedSEO strategies that worked to drivetraffic and get high SEO rankings,and much of this had to do with theuse of keywords and links.

DIRECTORY ABUSERSBefore the Google Panda update, a

lot of article “authors” who were notlegitimate experts in their fields andwho really did not care about ouronline experience used and abusedarticle marketing directories to gettraffic to their websites. Their maingoal was to get their linked-filled, low-

One of many articles posted to hub pages.com by Leon Tuberman

of Los Angeles based Barn Furniture. See http://leontuberman.hubpages.com

for a list of his articles on this online article directory.


quality, overly keyword-heavy,garbage content out all over theInternet, flooding hundreds, eventhousands of article directories andwebsites with the very same (identical)annoying articles, to bring peopleback to their sites. Today, this kind ofactivity is a red flag for Google andother search engines, and site ownerswho ignore the importance of theuser’s experience will drop in therankings. No longer does gettinghigher rankings in the search enginesdepend on unnatural keyword stuffingand crap content with irrelevant links.Today, it’s all about what the userwants—original, usable, relevant,informational, high-quality, exception-al content and a great online experi-ence!

THE USER’S EXPERIENCENow and in the future, Google and

other search engine rankings willdepend on the quality and richness ofthe user’s experience. Webmastersthat get this and make that experiencegreat will gain rankings. Sites basedsimply on keywords (and ESPECIALLYon keyword stuffing) will drop. Now,Google wants to know if the user isenjoying where they go and what theyget online. Going forward, Googlewill look at how great and unique asite’s content is, on which website thatcontent FIRST showed up (the first getsextra kudos), how long a visitor stayson a site before jumping ship, and

which sites (hopefully reputable ones)link to other sites (perhaps yours)!

WHAT’S THE VERDICT ONARTICLE MARKETING?

The bottom line is that article mar-keting is here to stay! Yahoo! Yes, itdid take a temporary hit with thesearch engine changes, but again it isall part of a bigger picture of a betteronline user experience, and bettercompanies to serve these visitors. Asindividuals and businesses begin tomake the necessary adjustments totheir websites and content and work tomake the user experience as great asit can be, search rankings will reflectthat.

Now that you understand whatGoogle and other search engines areaiming for, you don’t have to listen touninformed people who try to scareothers into believing that article mar-keting is now dead or no longer agood practice for getting traffic. This issimply not true. However, there aresome important article marketingguidelines you should follow goingforward.

Well, that’s all for now! In the sec-ond installment (of three) of this dis-cussion, I’ll share some great tips aswell as article marketing guidelines toalign with the new Google PandaUpdate!

The next two installments will coverhow to re-purpose your content

through social media, other business-savvy ways to use your articles, how towrite great articles, how to submitthem to article directories, when andwhere to post your original content,popular article directory sites, howmany articles to write and how often,article size, using quotes, yourauthor’s bio, your article resourcebox, your article summary, evergreencontent, using keywords, tips for over-coming your writing aversion, andother great article writing tips, sostayed tuned!

Margo DeGange, M.Ed. is aBusiness Empowerment Coach, andfrequent contributor to Furniture WorldMagazine on retail sales, interiordesign and marketing topics. She isthe creator of the Twelve Step GoBuild a Biz Marketing Program(http://www.GoBuildABiz.com) for aThriving & Profitable Business Fast!Margo is totally committed to yourwild success. She’ll mentor & coachyou to get crystal clear on your mostideal target client, connect to themwith a magnetic marketing message,establish your unique (and empower-ing ) value position, build trust throughamazing offers and information, andclose the sale almost effortlessly.Questions about this article can bedirected to [email protected] orVisit www.MargoDeGange.com forproducts, programs and coaching toput YOU on the map!


“If you own a furniture store and youwrite an article about how various colorsin the interior environment can positively

affect our lifestyles, then adesigner, color expert, or huge

paint company could repost thecontent or a link to your article

on their website or blog.”


3Dream.net 800-449-9984 [email protected] 89A.A. Laun 920-894-7441 [email protected] 30ACA 800-882-8588 [email protected] 95Agio 800-416-3511 [email protected] Cover 4All American Furniture Expo 717-393-6466 [email protected] 22Arc Way Trolleys 800-263-1338 [email protected] 76Ashley Furniture www.ashleyfurniture.com 3,4,5Bolger Group Consulting 740-503-8875 [email protected] 88Braxton Culler 336-861-5800 [email protected] 47Capel Rugs 800-382-6574 [email protected] 42City of Hope 800-272-2310 www.cityofhope.org/furnitureworld 100Copeland 802-222-9282 [email protected] 15Cory Home Delivery 201-795-1000 [email protected] 11Country View Woodworking 330-674-1390 [email protected] 17Cruise4Two 866-541-8077 [email protected] 67Custom Design Software 800-884-0806 [email protected] 91Décor-Rest Furniture 905-856-5956 [email protected] 23Diakon 703-530-0677 dgreen@ diakonlogistics.com 85Donco 817-923-5010 [email protected] 47Dutailier Furniture 800-363-9817 [email protected] 40Elran 800-361-6546 [email protected] 25Ergomotion 805-979-9400 [email protected] 69Fabrictech 800-758-8563 [email protected] 61Flex-A-Bed 800-648-1756 [email protected] 58Furniture Library 336-883-4011 [email protected] 82Furniture Team 717-361-7858 [email protected] 103Furniture Traditions 714-538-2088 [email protected] 21Furniture Wizard 619-482-2613 [email protected] 75, 77Furniture World Subscription 914-235-3095 [email protected] 106Galt Display Rack 800-461-3892 [email protected] 99Genesis Software 509-536-4739 crystal@ @genesisadvantage.com 81Glenmont 330-377-4098 47Greenington 206-462-9603 [email protected] 45HFIA 800-942-4663 [email protected] 95Hickory Springs 800-438-5341 [email protected] 54Horizon Home 602-447-6000 [email protected] 1

Huppe 819-758-1529 [email protected] 44IHFC (High Point Show) 336-888-3700 www.ihfc.com 79Jaipur Rugs 404-351-2360 i [email protected] 49-50JS Sanders 845-378-4832 [email protected] 63Karel Expositions 305-792-9990 [email protected] 100Leather Bits 818-241-7242 [email protected] 76Leather Living 877-554-8464 [email protected] 41Leggett & Platt 800-876-2641 [email protected] 73Loloi Rugs 972-503-5656 [email protected] 35LR Furniture 330-698-0480 47Mat The Basics [email protected] 44Mega Motion 800-800-8586 [email protected] 13Mexico Int’l Furniture Market +52(33)3343 3400 [email protected] 87Morry Dickter 1-800-521-9935 [email protected] 66NIWA Furniture Expo. 260-768-7878 ext.2 [email protected] 29Nouveau Concept 800-465-0716 [email protected] 26OKINUS 800-446-0970 [email protected] 70Omnia Leather 909-393-4400 [email protected] 19Planned Furniture Promotions 800-472-5242 [email protected] Cover 3Profit Management Promotions 215-343-8700 [email protected] 53PROFITSystems 866-595-9376 [email protected] 37Rizzy Home 706-602-8857 [email protected] 65Scarsdale Security 877-277-7732 [email protected] 101Service Lamp 800-222-5267 [email protected] 57Showplace 336-886-4700 www.showplace-highpoint.com 71Simply Amish 217-268-4504 [email protected] 27Slit Tags 877-235-3095 [email protected] 93Storis 888-478-6747 [email protected] 9Surya 706-625-4823 [email protected] Cover 2, 6-7TD Retail Card Services 732-290-0121 [email protected] 39Truck Skin 877-866-7546 [email protected] 92UltraSales 303-530-5366 [email protected] 103Varier 781-444-7754 ext207 [email protected] 43Wallbeds 800-934-6711 [email protected] 33WHFA 916-960-0349 [email protected] 80Yoder’s Woodworking 888-810-0568 34


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