Retail Observer

February 2017

The Retail Observer is an industry leading magazine for INDEPENDENT RETAILERS in Major Appliances, Consumer Electronics and Home Furnishings

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RETAILOBSERVER.COM JANUARY 2017 52 I t's not surprising that successful third-generation appliance retailer Mark. A Hartman, of Cabin Hill Maytag, knows a thing or two about retail. Hartman, company president of the 6,000-square-foot store, explained that the business, founded by his grandfather in 1926, got its start selling wringer washers for Fred Maytag. In order to show new models to farmers, the founding Hartman would cleverly tie two washers together and lash them over the top of a donkey capable of navigating unpaved farm roads. That same ingenuity, and a dedication to grow their business were obviously passed down to his grandson. In fact, it was this keen understanding of the changing retail landscape that led him to conclude that new categories were necessary in order to ensure the store's continued growth and profitability. "We've always been successful selling appliances, but the reality is that as the margins for electronics and appliances continued to decline, we needed new categories with larger margins to help keep us growing," Hartman explained. For Hartman, the answer came in the form of bedding, and specifically, a turnkey BrandSource program called SleepSource, which it created with supplier partner, Serta/Simmons. While the concept is designed to allow appliance dealers to floor up to 15 SKUs of mattresses within 600 square feet, Hartman opted to devote 2,000 square feet of space to bedding, and include the 600 square foot space as a gallery within the presentation. "We were fortunate in that there was an empty Rite Aid pharmacy adjacent to us and we were able to convince the landlord to give us about half of that space - about 2,000 square feet - which we allocated to our SleepSource presentation," Hartman said. Today, consumers shopping Cabin Hill Maytag for electronics and appliances, also visit SleepSource, where they can choose from 20 different sleep systems including Serta's Perfect Sleeper, iComfort and iComfort Hybrid. In the store's more than 80 years in business, it had never sold mattresses, but according to Hartman, the support from Serta and BrandSource made it simple and successful. He credits BrandSource with providing great posters and other merchandising support, and Serta for outstanding product training, signage, and its retail platform. Hartman happily reports that since he opened the SleepSource in 2015, bedding now represents a healthy 10% of the store's volume. Commenting on the genesis of the program, industry veteran Scott DeSantis, Senior Director of Sales, Buying Groups for Serta Simmons Bedding, explained that while he and his team knew that appliance dealers could be successful entering the mattress segment, they needed an easy-to-follow recipe for success. To help transform that challenge into a successful retail platform, DeSantis enlisted help from Keith Mackey, part of his company's Retail Concepts Group. The end result of the collaborative effort between Serta/ Simmons and BrandSource was SleepSource, a bedding platform that gives appliance dealers entre into the bedding segment with a carefully edited selection of some 15 mattresses in a concise and efficient 600-700 square foot area. At the upcoming BrandSource Summit in March 2017, DeSantis and BrandSource plan to share success stories, historical data from the program, as well as new displays that will show perspective dealers how SleepSource integrates within the appliance store. "We really provide the retailers with a turnkey operation… we provide the halo, the flooring components and the computer and kiosk. The retailer, meanwhile, is responsible for the installation and samples. But the best part of this is that the retailer can finance the program with BrandSource," DeSantis said. "So far, these programs have been terrific and Serta is happy to be helping the independent retailers find new pathways to profitability," DeSantis concluded. SLEEPSOURCE SHOWROOM SUCCESS RO Mike Allen Furniture Trends E. Michael Allen, BrandSource VP of home furnishings, has been with the organization for 15 years and overseen the growth of the category to one of the largest in the country.

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