Holiday Wrappings
The holidays really are the most wonderful time of the year for home-related merchants.
Two successful retailers explain why.
By Nancy Robinson

The intense focus on home and hearth during the fourth quarter is a tremendous catalyst for home furnishings sales  Whether it's the purchase of a new dining room set around which the family will gather or a bevy of smaller items for holiday decorating, entertaining and gift giving, the consumer is ready to buy what home furnishings stores have to offer.

The question is, of course, how prepared is the retailer to take advantage of the caroling consumer willing to loosen her purse strings?

Some retailers go all out, decking the halls to no end, while others take a low key, yet equally profitable, approach to the season.  Here, Furniture Style shares two Christmas-merchandising case studies.

Practical and Tasteful
One example of a store that takes the "practical and tasteful approach" to holiday merchandising is Cottonwood Home in Chagrin Falls, OH.  For this sophisticated,
small-town merchant, the holiday season officially kicks off as soon as the Halloween hullabaloo ends.

Elegant, hand-blown glass ornaments, holiday music, nostalgic scents of the season, and lots of new merchandise come out on Nov. 1.

"Recognizing that there will be increased foot traffic, we do offer a lot more gift items, such as bath and beauty products; jewelry; and home accessories, such as barware, trays, ornaments, wreaths and books," explained Danielle DeBoe, Cottonwood's Visual Merchandiser.

"But our overall presentation is the same clean, comfortable look we show all year long, yet punctuated with tasteful, practical applications of holiday ornamenting," she added.

Color is one of DeBoe's favorite ways to create a holiday atmosphere.  Accents in the form of red mohair chairs, throws, lamps and baskets look stunning against Cottonwood's apple green walls.

"In dining and casegoods, we show the darker espresso colors, and I pair the rich woods with the red fabrics to create holiday warmth," DeBoe said.

This year, Cottonwood will present a glamorous winter theme that incorporates white upholstery; Venetian, antiqued glass furniture; and tabletop Christmas trees made from birch bark.

"Glamour is big this year, and I have had this in the back of my mind while putting together settings," DeBoe said.  "We're also showing barware, including shakers and martini glass displays, in the same settings, because that merchandise is very in tune with a festive holiday feeling.

"In general, our holiday buying focuses on items that help people set their tables and punctuate their homes," she continued.  "We provide simple touches to help them create a tasteful holiday feeling."

Bustling with Cheer
The Scarlet Tassel in Atlanta is a cheerful, busting place during the weeks leading up to Christmas.  The air is filled with holiday music, while shelves are filled with a mix of everyday basics peppered with holiday merchandise.  In general, the store's approach to Christmas merchandising is direct and verges on the exuberant.

"We do a tremendous Christmas business," explained co-owner Shelly Dozier-McKee.  "We also do quite a bit of decorating in the store.  We put up two fully decorated Christmas trees, and the entire store is vignetted with Christmas themes."

"But we don't buy very deep for our store," Dozier-McKee continued.  "We try to bring in a lot of newness each year; our customers look to us for that."

For the 2005 season, Dozier-McKee said she is showcasing two Christmas trees from which seasonal merchandise can be plucked and bought.  One tree features a traditional theme based on wine-colored red, green and gold ornaments.  The second tree is trimmed with whimsical objects and ornaments in jewel-toned, Mardi-Gras colors.

Additional small, thematic trees are displayed in other areas of the store, including one with kitchen-themed ornaments and another decked out with wine-related objects.

Gifts are a big business for The Scarlet Tassel year-round, but never more so than during the holidays.  "Our clientele is very social, so we sell a lot of hostess gifts," Dozier-McKee said.

"We also have a corporate program for clients who may need 30 or 40 gifts wrapped and shipped," she continued.  Plus, Dozier-McKee said her store offers Hanukkah merchandise to cater to Atlanta's Jewish community.

In spite of their emphasis on holiday merchandise, the owners of The Scarlet Tassel have found that basic goods sell better than ever during the holiday season.

"We have found that customers want to buy everyday product during the holiday season, so we don't disrupt the entire store," Dozier-McKee explained.

"Last year, we had some strong accent furniture and artwork sales during the fourth quarter," she continued.  "People are entertaining more in their homes, so they're sprucing up and buying these products, in addition to gifts."

Dozier-McKee said she studies past sales figures with an eye to maximizing future holiday business.

"We have a good system that allows us to read our business thoroughly." she said.  "We can evaluate our figures from last year and spot areas where we ran short.  We then evaluate whether or not we should beef up that area next year in order to maximize business."

return to "In The News"