DETROIT — The emerging competition for Midwest consumers cast adrift by the liquidation of Art Van is coming into sharper focus with Loves Furniture and Mattress releasing new details of its strategy to create a $200 million to $300 million furniture chain from former Art Van, Wolf and Levin locations.
Matt Damiani
In a recent interview with Furniture Today, Loves CEO Matt Damiani noted that the company has already brought more than 100 corporate and field level associates on board, many of them former Art Van, Levin and Wolf employees and a substantial increase from about 30 as recently as May. That number is expected to rise closer to 1,000 as the company moves toward store openings later this summer.
The company’s merchandise mix and vendor matrix has also taken shape with more than 100 vendor partnerships confirmed at this writing.
“We secured every strategic vendor that we had sought to bring on board, while aligning our product with our customer values and needs,” said Damiani. “We focused heavily on brands that can offer quality, value and innovation in their assortments.”
Among the brands already committed are Tempurpedic, Beautyrest, Serta, Stearns & Foster, Lane, Bassett, Flexsteel and Bernhardt, to name just a few.
“We’ll also have some exclusive brands that we’ll be carrying for our Loves customers that they won’t be able to secure anywhere else in our marketplace,” he added.
Loves continues to explore additional locations, both in Michigan where the company intends to retain a “flagship” presence and in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Virginia and Maryland, where its other recently acquired locations reside.
As of May, Loves Furniture had announced 27 store locations, with another four stores added in more recent days: a former Art Van store in Canton, Mich.; and three former Levin Furniture stores in Niles, Ohio (in the same market as the just-opened Levin Furniture Outlet store), Youngstown, Ohio, and Hermitage, Pa.
“Our store footprint is not a finished picture,” said Damiani. “We are in growth mode and are actively engaged in conversations to expand our store presence across these markets. That will improve operational and marketing efficiencies for us.”
He stressed, however, that the goal is not growth for growth sake or to achieve a pre-determined level of scale but instead to focus on “profitable growth.”
At present, Loves is in the process of liquidating inventory acquired through the bankruptcy process and working to convert the sites to the new Loves format. In line with that, the company is also laying the technological and digital foundation necessary to deliver what Damiani termed a “seamless and customer-centric shopping experience.”
“That starts with the pre-shopping experience, an easy-to-navigate website and buying online if that’s your choice. It’s bringing (consumers) in-store where you can schedule appointments, you can meet personally if you want to o, if you want, you can shop on your own,” Damiani said.
The company is putting its sales focus on “solution selling” vs. what Damiani described as a “high pressure closing” strategy. “And then at that point of purchase, how can we give price transparency and clarity with a model where you build trust along the way,” he explained. “We think if you surround that with service and follow up with a great delivery to the home, you leave the customer with something that is a comprehensive seamless experience,” he said.
In terms of its ad strategy to support the store openings and introducing the Loves brand, details will be released closer to the openings. However, as with its overall communication and merchandising strategy the focus will be multi-platform in its approach.
“Today’s consumers are diverse in how, when and where they want to shop. We want to introduce the Loves brand to consumers across mediums and meet them where they are,” said Damiani. “We will have a multi-channel communications approach that connects with future Loves customers in a way that supports the overall customer journey.”
Loves is not the only player setting its sights on the former Art Van customer base. Earlier this month Levin Furniture and Mattress, now operated in partnership with John and Matt Schultz, opened 17 former Levin locations in Pittsburgh and in nearby Ohio towns.
In an interview with Furniture Today, Robert Levin indicated that the company had sought a larger number of former Levin locations. However, some of those were among the sites purchased by Loves.
In Michigan, Auburn Hills-headquartered Top 100 Gardner White recently brought on Art Van’s former ad agency and has revamped its advertising messaging and merchandise mix with the goal of attracting former Art Van customers.
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July 20, 2020 at 05:48PM
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