Report of a brief discussion with popular priced new furniture representative

[baileyuph]

In short, manufacturer is having some complaints with their foam, I asked why they don't raise the quality of the foam.

The response was;  we would have to raise the price of the furniture and that would impact sales.  I commented "but they are complaining" but he said a $50 or $100 increase on a sofa would play out in lower sales volume because at the time of purchase the consumer is just that price conscious.

Interesting in it might be saying or meaning more than one thing; that is consumers are operating under very tight budgets and/or just do not understand quality to that degree when looking at the furniture as new.

Marketing analysis is an interesting dynamic of manufacturing cost (furnitue anyway).

Doyle

[bobslost]

It all comes down to cost and profit margin (unfortunately)

[gene]

When I get calls from someone who has a sofa that is only 1 or 2 years old, and they need new foam inserts for the seat cushions, I tell them upfront what the ballpark price would be. The final price depends on the size of the foam.

It's difficult for the price conscious consumer to pay $799 for a new sofa and them pay half that again for new foam inserts a year or two later.

It's also sad to think that my new foam inserts will outlast the sofa.

gene

[west coast]

Exactly Gene, whats real interesting is the reaction to the cost of quality foam replacements. Most people I deal with just about collapse at the mention of cost and then want to negotiate because they spent so much on this piece of crap in the first place.

[kodydog]

The funny thing is the consumer thinks a $799 sofa is an expensive piece of furniture and can't understand why the cushions are flat after only 6 months. And because I'm working for the furniture store I cannot tell them they what they have is a cheap sofa.

When the consumer is in the furniture store looking at two identical sofas and one is $50 more than the other they will buy the cheaper one. Most consumers have no idea what makes a quality piece of furniture and most sales persons are also clueless.

[byhammerandhand]

On the other hand, I probably do one or two service calls a week to check out "cushions that lost resilience."   So
a) they pay me to run out there and submit a report
b) they ship the consumer new cushion cores (at least in some cases), and may pay me to run back and install them
c) the consumer loses a bit of confidence in the store / brand

[baileyuph]

The consumer looses confidence in the store/brand - yes true!

But, the consumer is usually driven by price and every store/brand are vending the same thing with weak foam!  

So, consumer will either try another vendor and find out nothing has changed or?

They aren't likely to go and start searching and be willing to pay for quality.

Maybe furniture with foam will change, it could be a molded piece, you know the idea now seen in resturants where comfort in bench seating is gained by shape instead of padding.

Plus, molded plastic frames isn't that far fetched, they would probably be more durable than the stapled together cheap wood frames.

Things will change, somewhat anyway.  I just heard a news commentator comment that there are more cell phones than "working toilets today.  Talk about culture changes!

Bottom line is; a bad market for plumbers also.  Wink!

Doyle

[sofadoc]

b) they ship the consumer new cushion cores (at least in some cases), and may pay me to run back and install them

a) The store brings me the sofa for evaluation
b) I tell them that the foam cores are flat, and quote them a price for quality foam
c) They opt to just order replacement cores from the manufacturer
d) They pay me to install cores that are no better than the ones that failed
e) 6 months later, they're back again. This time, the customer is willing to pay the difference for quality foam. 

Pay me now.......... AND pay me later............is this a great country or what? ;D 

[baileyuph]

Regarding foam replacements, what are the parameters for good quality foam?

Density?

It has been a while, what are the parameters we usually look for to grade foam?

I did know the parameters that related to quality but I buy from one distributor and just ask for his best quality.

firmness is one of them and how is that measured:  Density?

Then there is the parameter that relates to the ability of foam to go back to shape; it has a specific parameter.

Then, there might one or two more, such as a parameter of resilience, hmmm.....what else, is elasticity one of them?  Weight, there should be one for weight, right?

Oh well, someone will have a list and definitions for each parameter.

Dennis?  Perhaps.

Doyle

[sofadoc]

Gene made a valid point about customers finding it hard to justify paying $400 for new foam cores on an $800 sofa.

Usually, when customers bring their flat cushions into my shop, they want something that is noticeably firmer than what they've been sitting on.
For foam core replacement on low-end furniture, I stock a 2.0 density/34lbs. compression foam.
I can replace foam cores on a 3-cushion sofa for around $225, which doesn't seem so out of proportion to the average customer.
Realistically, this foam will only last about 5 years. But that's about as long as the furniture is designed to last anyway. And it's infinitely better than their original foam.

For higher grades of furniture, I use foams in the 3.0-3.5 density 35-50 lbs, compression range.

[JDUpholstery]

stores pay about 275-350 for a 6-700 dollar sofa, so the factory cost to make has to be around 100 bucks to make....they offer a warranty, but I'd guess 70%+ of consumers dont ever go through the hassle of geting warranty work done...in my area there are no upholstery shops, so warranty work has been hard to get filled before I opened, i have spent the last few months doing repair orders that were over 2+ years old, a portion have already replaced the bad furniture, the rest are so happy to see me, but wont ever buy that product again because of poor response times.

in the mind of corporate greed, they bank on the fact that poor furniture means more sales...why build something that lasts a lifetime, when you can sell a new one every couple years...it is also cheaper to pay a few warranty repairs than to build good furniture.

Recently had a set of 6 month old recliners come in, the stuffing in the back rest was inadequate, the foam in the arms were all but deteriorated. I quoted the job at 4 hours labor each, basically had to take them completely apart, replace several areas of foam and add stuffing...the company opted to donate the chairs, and just credit the customer to get 2 more trash chairs...but not after trying to convince me that I should be able to completely disassemble, and rebuild 2 chairs in 2 hours....I told them good luck finding another upholsterer in the area