Art Van: Michigan’s largest furniture retailer focuses on customer interaction
Cover Story
by Gerri Hunt -- Kids Today, 7/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
When children enter many of Art Van Furniture’s 30 full-line stores across Michigan, they are inevitably drawn to “The Castle,” a large structure that includes a pit of balls, a TV room for cartoon watching, coloring tables, and most importantly, supervision.
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| Art Van Furniture shows 12 youth vignettes, like this Princess group by Canyon. Another 14 collections can be found online. |
The average size of The Castle is 1,400 square feet, which is amazing, considering the first Art Van store that opened 50 years ago was just 4,000 square feet. But even back then, youth was in the product mix.
“It’s primarily a way for us to attract a younger shopper,” said Melinda Lehman, a buyer whose responsibility includes the youth department. “She’s about 20 to 30 years old and it may be her first visit, but we may end up with a customer for life.”
And the retailer does what it can to get that shopper and keep her, by offering a broad selection.
“Because of our breadth, we can accommodate an extra large age group,” said Bob Price, vice president of merchandising. “A customer with a 4- to 5-year-old can buy, but we also have groups for tweens to 15- and 16-year-olds.”
No matter what the price point, “it’s part of Art Van’s way to have equal value of good to better to best,” he said. “We take responsibility to keep prices consistent.”
The stores dedicate 2,500 to 3,000 square feet of floor space to 12 youth vignettes, each with one collection and at least two bed options. The vignettes feature furniture and a full array of bedding, rugs, lighting and accessories. Another 14 groups can be found online.
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| This Pulaski Build-A-Bear Collection shows a full-size bed, in an effort to show that it can be used in a vacation home or small adult bedroom too. |
Lehman said bunk beds and other options with storage and functionality are hot sellers. “A lot of times, kids’ rooms are the smallest in the house,” she said.
Desks are also popular, and “anything tied to video games and electronics are a plus,” added Price. “We do well with products that appeal to children at 8 years old and still at 15.”
One of the best ideas Art Van has had for merchandising its youth lines was to offer a merchandise assortment with broader appeal, what Lehman calls “crossing over.”
“What is applicable to youth can also be used in a vacation home, a second room or a small master bedroom,” she said. “And we floor beds in full-size, to reach out and grab a wider variety of customers.”
Price said that small-scale furniture trends have coincided with that move, even though customer room sizes vary in the retailer’s markets.
“We also continue to spread out our assortment for ages and genders; we want to make sure it’s not just for one,” he said. “With a full assortment we can do that. We have the ability to pull all of that together.”
The retailer has put its youth category on the front line to battle the economy this past year.
“We’ve aggressively marketed it, and continue to make the assortment more comprehensive,” Price said.
Advertising avenues include print, TV and direct mail. “We try to use each (type of advertising) every month, so two to three times per month we get exposure,” he said. The company’s Web site has also been expanded to include extra products not found in the stores, like loft bed systems, which take up too much space.
“A complete assortment online lets us catch every segment of age groups,” Price said.
“And the youth shopper will do her research first online,” added Lehman. “If she felt like she had a good experience on our Web site, she’ll more likely make her purchase in our stores.”
Art Van is Michigan’s largest furniture retailer and America’s largest independent furniture retailer. Yet it remains a family-owned business dedicated to the tradition of total guest satisfaction.
Employees go through extensive training. While manufacturers help with major seminars to teach product knowledge, the retailer focuses on customer interaction.
“Typically a mother comes in with a child and is constrained with time,” Lehman said. “It takes a special person to help her. She may not have a lot of time, but she still wants to make an informed decision.”
And training is probably the biggest daily challenge facing the retailer, since there are so many stores and so many sales associates working different shifts.
But whatever the retailer is doing, it’s working, as accolades continue to pile up. Chairman Art Van Elslander and the company have received several Retailer of the Year awards, including this year’s recognition by Kids Today’s sister publication, Furniture Today. Art Van ranks No. 17 on Furniture Today’s Top 100 Retailers.
Art Van Furniture’s goal for the future is to “serve customers and grow the trust that have in us,” Price said. “When a customer in Michigan decides to buy furniture, we’d like to be first on their list.”
Thank you Gerri for you nice comments about my art and for steering Rebecca to Oopsy Daisy. Love your Blog, keep up the great work.
Thanks so much, Aaron Christensen
Aaron Christensen - 2009-07-20 19:23:00 EDT
Thanks so much, Aaron Christensen
Hi Rebecca, the art is by Aaron Christensen, available through Oopsy daisy - Fine Art for Kids. Their website is www.oopsydaisy.com. He's an incredible artist, with a lot of vintage-feel pieces.
The art canvas is printed, and hand-stretched over wood bars. The sides include a decorative edge, so no framing is necessary.
Gerri Hunt - 2009-07-20 15:31:00 EDT
The art canvas is printed, and hand-stretched over wood bars. The sides include a decorative edge, so no framing is necessary.
I love the set of 3 sports pictures featured on the cover. I looked on your website and didn't see anything like that. Do you sell these or can you provide me with the brand/resource?
Rebecca Ray - 2009-07-16 18:11:00 EDT
