Marketing for the James Jefferson Furniture Company simulation for MBA 600

Any company that prospers for a century has a long tradition of successful sales. JJFC is no exception. As a senior member in the small industry of wooden furniture manufacture, JJFC's senior execs have a long tradition of participating in moving the whole industry forward to keep up with often turbulent times where people find it very easy to put off buying new household furniture.

In fact, in its whole history, only eleven men have ever lead JJFC's marketing department. The longest stayed for thirty-two years.

Brand management

The company places high value on its brand perception and distinctive JJ logo. The last two heads of marketing have understood the value of the extended brand, that is, the whole customer experience over the lifetime of that customer's relationship with JJFC.

JJFC has been rated the number seven brand in the industry in terms of brand awareness by several recent consumer surveys. Given its size as one-tenth to one-twentieth of the industry leaders, this recognition is considered a major accomplishment by the company.

More major companies are turning to the Web for marketing their products, but internal impediments often derail such efforts, according to a new survey conducted by the Conference Board. ...

Even after deciding which brands to market online, there remains the question of who's responsible. Typically, three departments -- information technology, marketing and communications -- share responsibility for managing e-businesses. Brand strategy is typically overseen by senior management, working with marketing personnel.

Competitive environment

Market niche

JJFC specializes in high-quality home furniture, using oak, beech and yew solid timber stock and veneers. The product range has focused for decades on the living room, dining room, and occasional furniture sectors of the market. Specifically, the company produces tables, chairs, coffee tables, etc., made from wood. Although glass, fabric, plastic, and metal are occasionally found in ornamentation and in hardware such as hinges, locks, handles, and casters, they are never used structurally. The furniture occasionally uses fabric for cushions and skirts but uses upholstery only for special orders. The company does not produce bedroom, home office, or outdoor furniture.

The dining room range, "the JayJay", gives the company its dominant brand image. These dining sets sell very well in main street retailers and high-end mall showrooms. JJFC now produces five coordinated ranges and a few custom specials. Recently, it has made one-of-a-kind tables and matching sets of chairs for town halls, courtrooms, universities, and corporate boardrooms. The chairs are often upholstered.

Direct competition

The US government classifies 3,700 companies in the wood furniture industry. Only two dozen, or half of one percent of them, are larger than JJFC. However, consumers will often decide between uphostered and non-upholstered, which puts La-Z-Boy in competition with JJFC for the same consumer dollars. JJFC competes quite well with the national brands, listed here in decreasing order of size.

National Brand Competitors
U.S.-based companies

Top Ten

La-Z-Boy

Furniture Brands International

LifeStyle Furnishings International

Ashley Furniture Industries

O'Sullivan Industries

Bassett Furniture Industries

Bernhardt

L&P Consumer Products Unit

Stanley Furniture

Chromcraft Revington (no web presence)

Rowe Companies
corporate | ecommerce

Hooker

Heath Home Furnishings

Pulaski Furniture

Standard Furniture

Flexsteel Home Furniture

According to Furniture Today Magazine, the 80/20 rule of 20% of the manufacturers making 80% of the furniture doesn't apply. The U.S. has about 2,500 manufacturers producing about $65 billion each year. But the top 25 companies make around $14 billion of that. So 1% of the industry makes a whopping 21% of the goods.

Furniture Brands International includes B royhill, L ane, and Thomasville and recently acquired Henredon, Drexel Heritage, and Maitland-Smith.

Question: Can I buy directly from the manufacturer?

Answer: Klaussner Furniture products are only available for purchase through furniture retail stores throughout the United States and internationally.

Question: I live outside of North Carolina and would like to purchase furniture from one of the North Carolina stores. What do you suggest?

Answer: We recommend furniture purchases to be made within your own area. One of the advantages of this is the service you will receive before, during, and after the purchase of your furniture. Usually you are more familiar with the reputation, services, and reliability of your local dealers as opposed to dealers outside your area.

Create and save your very own furniture ideas. It’s absolutely free, and the ideas on your gallery pages are protected by your login name and password.

My Gallery gives you the chance to picture your furniture ideas when you select from the many options of furniture types, styles, colors, and fabrics as well as options.

You can also send your furniture and cover ideas directly to your local La-Z-Boy dealer – then when you visit, they’ll know exactly what you have in mind.

While La-Z-Boy Inc. is perhaps best known for its plush recliners, the furniture manufacturer's IT department is looking to refurnish its own quarters this fall. Out will go 12 servers that now run La-Z-Boy's intranet and help desk; in will be the largest WinTel server available. ...

The installation of a Unisys e-@ction Enterprise Server ES7000 running Microsoft's Windows 2000 Datacenter Edition will reduce the total cost of ownership by providing a single point of management and improved reliability.

As a large decentralized corporation with an "exploding" server population running its business-critical applications, La-Z-Boy realized a year ago that some behind-the-scenes IT improvement was needed.

LifeStyle Furnishings International's web site wouldn't come up. It still seems to include Lexington, BenchCraft, Berkline, Robert Allen, Sunbury, Ametex, and LaBarge, though its major brands -- Henredon, Drexel Heritage, Maitland-Smith -- were recently acquired by Furniture Brands International.

S&P likes furniture maker Leggett & Platt's healthy growth prospects and strong cash flow. A rising dividend also helps. ... With its excellent growth prospects, strong cash flow, and healthy balance sheet -- plus steadily rising cash dividends as a kicker -- Leggett & Platt (LEG ) merits S&P's highest investment ranking of 5 STARS, or strong buy.

Leading Manufacturer of Ready-to-Assemble Furniture Uses LANSA Commerce Edition to Deliver B2B Functionality to Customers

Authorized Pulaski Furniture Dealer

Pulaski Furniture Internet Retailing Policy...

Pulaski Furniture Corporation generally forbids the sale of its products over the Internet. We strongly endorse retailers use of the Internet for advertising and information; however, we will not allow any pricing or sales of our products, nor use of any Trademarks or proprietary photography, on any website without prior approval.

So that Furniture Connection is in compliance with Pulaski's Internet policy we are using this website only to advertise that we are an authorized Pulaski Furniture dealer. We can not put prices or catalog model numbers on this website. If we can furnish any information to assist you please E-MAIL us at pulaski@furnitureconnection.com. Please be sure to include your return phone number with your request.

The Office Designer by Stanley will help you design a home office that suits your lifestyle. Using the dimensions of your actual home office space, you can experiment with different Stanley furniture styles and arrangements. You can try as many layouts as you like, make changes, save your designs and print your plans to take to a Stanley retailer near you.

Imports

JJFC makes all its furniture in the US with wood grown in the US and employs only US citizens. It has made no attempt to market outside US/Canadian borders, though it gets occasional inquiries from foreign channels.

JJFC thus takes an aggressive stance against imports. They're bad for America and bad for Americans.

Trade Associations

JJFC exhibits regularly at the major markets in Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco,and Toronto as well as the International Home Furnishings Center's High Point Market in North Carolina.

e-business

JJFC maintains a brochure-style web site at http://www.jjfc.com (not real) outsourced to its local advertising/pr agency.

The web site contains corporate and investor relations information, reviewed annually, as well as a catalog of products, reviewed quarterly. It does not offer products for sale. The site's primary purpose is to project and protect JJFC's brand image as a manufacturer of good, affordable furniture that values design, selection, quality, and service. The site's secondary purpose is to protect JJFC's distribution channels. It directs users first to brick-and-mortar retail outlets, then to phone numbers, and finally to the retail outlets' web sites.

Internally, the marketing department is thoroughly computerized. Currently, only the PR specialist has Internet access.

At the High Point market in April 2000, no fewer than 10 Internet companies were touting the benefits of an all-industry online exchange, a place on the Web where big companies and small could merge their e-commerce activities and someone could make a buck automating the transactions.

With the recent shrinking of FurnishNet, every one of those 10 companies has either dropped off the planet and shut down, or switched to a different business model.

The concept of an electronic marketplace like Covisint — the much-anticipated exchange the Big Three automakers are assembling — is effectively dead in the furniture industry, unable to attract enough retailers or factories to reach critical mass. Dead with it are companies that saw an antiquated industry just waiting for an idea factory just like theirs.

Marketing

MBA 600 - Spring 2002 James Jefferson Furniture Company