Nice Link sees online opportunity in upholstery such as the chesterfield shown here that packs more style punch than a lot of seating seen on the internet.
LAS VEGAS — Upholstery vendors that are familiar resources for brick-and-mortar stores are upping their game for serving the e-commerce channel. Some already have a presence among pure-play e-commerce retailers, but they are extending that to better address the needs of brick-and-mortar customers developing and/or expanding their own reach among consumers that are buying more and more heavy goods online.
Abbyson, for example, built its business on serving the e-commerce channel, and that expertise developed since 2008 is serving it well as more brick-and-mortar stores up their online sales game in light of COVID-19.
“Within the past three to four years, we’ve invested even more heavily in our back end to make it easier for retailers to sell online,” said CEO Yavar Rafieha. In the past year, for example, Abbyson opened a state-of-the-art Los Angeles-area distribution center with 2 million cubic feet of merchandise for immediate shipment.
“Since COVID-19, we’ve been partnering even more with our key retailers to support their online efforts,” Rafieha continued. “We’re helping support their websites with better content. We’ve spent years developing imagery and specific product details, but ‘content’ means a lot more than that now.”
For example, Abbyson developed Q&A support to improve the quality of online selling techniques such as live chat.
“If a consumer asks a question that relates to Abbyson, we have Q&A training to support the online RSA,” Rafieha said, adding “With e-commerce, you have to go beyond what’s expected. On the back end, in the business-to-market aspect, packaging is key to e-commerce. You have to go beyond what you’d do shipping to a store or distribution center to protect the product when it goes straight to the home.”
Expanding retailers’ reach
While Nice Link Home Furnishings has enjoyed success with pure-play e-commerce retailers, the company looks to extend that to include mid-size and smaller brick-and-mortar retailers that are building their presence for online sales.
“A brick-and-mortar retailer say in the Chicago area now finds they have infinite space online,” said Nice Link President Jay Carlson. “To support that, we’re offering all our customers the ability to buy out of our warehouse and drop ship those goods with white-glove service or whatever delivery option they want like threshold.”
He added, “It gives the retailer the ability to add product to their offering without having to expand their physical space. There’s no investment beyond our relationship with them.”
Carlson noted that the company’s concentration on better upholstery out of China offers a step-up product from a lot of the goods consumers see online.
“Even with the tariff, it’s still a good value because of the style and materials,” he said. “We can ship to the retailer’s distribution center or arrange fulfillment ourselves.”
Nice Link, which is concentrating online business on leather stationary upholstery, has dedicated 60,000 square feet of its Mississippi warehouse operation to servicing the e-commerce channel.
“Motion and promotional fabric upholstery have eaten up a lot of space on retail floors, but it’s still a strong category out there in the world of online shopping,” Carlson said. “Our product really pops on the website. A retailer can offer a niche color online without any risk; if you only have four or five slots on the showroom floor, you might play it safer there.”
Kuka Home USA, does business in the pure-play arena online, but its major focus is stepping up efforts to support brick-and-mortar stores’ e-commerce efforts with drop-shippable goods.
“We have some business in pure-play, but our real goal is to work with brick-and-mortar customers with an omnichannel presence,” said CEO Steve Lush. “We’ve created products that are delivery friendly. We’re doing a lot of dining chairs and barstools with KD assembly that ship flat-pack.”
Kuka Home is increasing its focus on helping retailers get its story across to online shoppers.
“We’re stepping up our efforts in digital marketing, providing our retailers with product videos, high-quality photography, and virtual tours and product presentations,” Lush said.
In 2018, working closely with pure-play e-commerce retailers, Klaussner Home Furnishings built an internal Digital Services team focused on improving the Klaussner brand’s websites with rich content and improved technology. Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Chris Barg said such programs are attracting a larger dealer base.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen more interest from brick-and-mortar retailers on improving their websites, and our digital services team has now extended their focus to support these new needs,” Barg said.
“We see this as another way to add value to our strategic partnerships by utilizing the team’s expertise to help the brick-and-mortar retailers improve their sites quickly and efficiently.”
Addressing challenges
Of course, selling furniture online entails challenges, and upholstery resources are weighing those, especially in terms of addressing the needs of varying online-consumer demographics and selecting which products are optimal for the channel.
Abbyson’s Rafieha noted that serving the online consumer entails variation website presentations to address different demographics, requiring not only clarity in imagery, product details and delivery information, but also tailoring to the needs of various geographical areas.
“For example, East Coast shoppers are very different in terms of the products look, even the comfort level, from those on the West Coast,” he said. “That’s why we do things like provide very specific measurements online for cushion depth, for the seats and backs, and back and side heights.”
Online sales for motion furniture are increasing at Klaussner, “but not near the rate of stationary,” according to Senior Vice President Jay Foscue.
“Motion sofas and groups are a much bigger challenge because of weight to have it delivered white glove” through e-commerce, Foscue said. “Individual recliners are definitely easier, much like accent chairs in stationary. They can be an impulse purchase, where groups need much more consideration around room size.”
The challenge for selling the Ekornes’ Stressless brand online is that it is “our product is a considered purchase,” according to Marketing Director Beverly Kastel.
“With many technical features and offerings in different sizes, the product is best chosen by the consumer by actually sitting in it and being fitted prior to purchase,” she said. “It is difficult for a consumer to self-assess what size and/or style they need by reviewing an image on a website.”
She added that since Stressless is a larger ticket-item spend, the price point can discourage the consumer from purchasing online.
“They want to be sure of their selection by going into a store and talking with someone prior to purchase,” Kastel said.
On the other hand, Carlson at Nice Link noted that consumers purchasing online often are willing to pay more for better product.
“So much brick-and-mortar retail is promotionally driven, but if you look at furniture online, a lot of it is more expensive,” he said. “From an e-commerce perspective, it’s not as price-sensitive, and we’re very careful to utilize MAP pricing with our online sales, which also protects the brick-and-mortar floors.”
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Upholstered seating vendors expand e-commerce approach beyond pure-play retailers - Furniture Today
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