Case Study: FURNISHING AN EXPERIENCE

Walk into a Jordan's Furniture store on a Saturday afternoon. If you have the time, you can watch the latest 3-D IMAX movie before you pick out your new sofa. This might sound like a crazy in-store activity for a furniture store, but events like this are what drive sales at Jordan's Furniture stores in the Boston area. The company's slogan, "not just a store . . . an experience," keeps customers coming every day.

Jordan's calls their store strategy "shopper-tainment." Every location offers food, music, shows, and plenty of surprises. The store in Natick, Massachusetts, provides a marketscape theme by recreating New Orleans Bourbon Street, complete with live Jazz.

Jordan's has been successful with their strategy. When the company was purchased by Berkshire Hathaway in 1999, the New York Times reported that Jordan's sold more furniture per square foot than any company in the United States. Their annual revenue was reported as $250 million.

The furniture market is substantial with approximately $60 billion in annual sales. Furniture stores, including Jordan's, still account for most furniture sales, but mass merchandisers (e.g., Target and Walmart), home improvement stores (e.g., Home Depot and Lowes), and warehouse clubs (e.g., Costco and BJ's) are becoming an increasing threat. In a survey by Mintel, 38 percent of those surveyed had purchased furniture at a mass merchandiser and 28 percent had purchased furniture at a home improvement store. If furniture retailers want to stay competitive, they will need to work hard on drawing people into their stores.

What else do customers want? According to Mintel, they want to buy their furniture on sale. Jordan's runs sales regularly and is also known for some unusual promotions. In a recent television ad, Jordan's Furniture president and CEO Eliot Tatelman appeared with former Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez and announced the following promotion:

"Buy anything . . . ANYTHING . . . at Jordan's Furniture starting today and it could all be FREE if the Red Sox pitch a perfect game between July 19, 2013 and September 29, 2013."

As Jordan's continues to be innovative in their store atmosphere and promotions, other furniture retailers are also creating innovative products and shopping experiences. IKEA, a major furniture retailer, offers a shopping experience that is fun and engaging. Crate and Barrel has just launched a 3-D room design tool in their stores. With this tool, customers can upload a photo of a room to their 3-D screen and try on different Crate and Barrel merchandise.

If you find yourself in the Boston area in the near future, consider visiting the Avon location of Jordan's Furniture. That location's Motion Odyssey Movie Ride (MOM) will bring you the 4-D thrills of a major theme park ride. After the ride, you just might want to pick up a new desk for your room.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1 Evaluate the shopping experience at Jordan's. Why is it so successful?

2 If Jordan's were building a new location near colleges, what might they include in their stores to draw young customers?

3 How has Jordan's used the brand community around the Boston Red Sox to its' advantage? What other communities could it use?