During my time at MMNM technology, I was in charge of product design and development. The company manufactured cabinets (for endless applications like kitchens, closets, and vanities to name a few) and sold them through different channels.
When I joined the company, I was asked to develop the complete cabinet line from design to manufacture. Based on the value proposition of the company which was: Offer cabinets that could be mass produced, at low cost and with short lead times. I designed a cabinet line that was very similar to a “Lego” system, where clients could get the different cabinets from the catalogue and make different combinations according to their needs, and since cabinet sizes where standardized, manufacture was fast and cost efficient.
The challenge was that customers were used to either buying furniture in a store where they could see the finish product or go to a carpenter and have it custom made.
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First, I changed our retail space to reflect a more traditional furniture store, rather than a “do it yourself” type of store, where finished furniture and available materials and colors were displayed. The customers would arrive at the store and we could provide the experience they required. They could choose to buy furniture on display, or bring their own idea and the salesperson would help them develop it and even visualize it through a software the company purchased. They could browse our catalogs and adapt and customize any of the models they like. This process was extremely easy from the customer´s point of view because the salesperson would do all the work for them. In order to support this level of personalization I provided the salespersons with many furniture catalogs that contained ideas for customers and provided many of hours of training on different materials, configurations and trends, as well as provided tools to facilitate their
The Company offers a range of products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. The Company offers home improvement products in the categories, including Kitchens & Appliances; Lumber & Building Materials; Tools
The next segment is Commercial Product 's, which is suits of retail store fixtures and point-of-purchase displays for major retailers and specialty shops (Leggett & Platt®, 2011). So really what Leggett and Platt is producing in this segment is displays for other retail stores to use in their store. They do this because it dresses up the product they are trying to sell, if a customer walks into a store with only mattresses on the ground then they might not want to buy it. But if a customer walks into a store with a mattress in a display with a dresser and frame around it then they might be more interested in buying the mattress product. Some of these Commercial Products categories include: gondola and shelving, in-store displays, seat mechanisms and controls, furniture bases,
products was do to the unique design of the kitchen, and the use of carhops.
Home Depot is the brainchild of Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank and came about after both men lost their job in the home improvement industry in 1978 (Parnell, 2014). Home Depot has acquired several smaller home improvement stores in both the U.S. and abroad through the years which enabled it to position itself as the world’s largest home improvement chain (Parnell, 2014). Home Depot focuses on the do-it-yourself segment of the market and sells sells tools, construction products and services. Marketing is a strong point for the company. They are able to maintain a competitive advantage by keeping themselves available to their customers at all times. Home Depot has been using both online and offline marketing efforts. The internet has become a very useful tool for the company and part of the reason that they are leading the market in DIY stores. Home Depot currently provides DIY videos on YouTube and Vine that cover current topics that consumers are likely to be interested in. They also have social media pages on Facebook and Twitter, where they have a huge following. They provide online communities where actual employees answer consumer’s questions and provide assistance on
The Home Depot began changing consumer’s perspectives about how they could care for and improve their homes, by creating a “do-it-yourself’ concept. According to the founders, the customer has a bill of rights at the Home Depot. The bill of rights entitles the customer to the right assortment, quantities and price (of tools and home improvement supplies) along with trained associates on the sales floor. Home Depot describes their business strategy as a three legged stool, which stands for customer service, product knowledge and availability and disciplined capital allocation. (Moskowitz,
Christensen, C. M. (2000). Discovering What Has Already Been Discovered: Why Did Your Customers Hire Your Product? Case Study, 2.
Masco Cabinetry’s mission has always been to “Be the market leader in providing kitchen and bath solutions with meaningful innovation for customers, designers and consumers” (Employee Handbook, 2012). The company has been achieving success in one or more of those areas for the past 68 years. Each year Masco Cabinetry has developed new door styles, finishes, and products to meet the demands of homeowners and home builders.
Although the retail market for home furnishings and decorations is quite large and technically growing, its projected growth rate for the industry as a whole in the coming year is still a meager 1%. Big Box retailers like Costco and Sam’s Club have tried unsuccessfully to capture market share. Likewise, department stores, like Macy’s and JC Penney, who once thrived on furniture sales, are no longer seeing furniture as profitable. High-end suppliers of premium products have mostly disappeared, but interior designers still drive sales of the carriage trade (ABTV Industry Watch Report, 2013).
Ashley Furniture is the largest furniture manufacturer in the world. Once the CEO, Todd Wanek, informed himself of the benefits of sustainability in furniture design, he chose to alter their manufacturing process by using engineered wood opposed to lumber. For over 60 years Ashley Furniture has specialized in furniture design which has won them the title of "World-Class Furniture Manufacturer". With all of the innovation and experience in the furniture industry, they have come to be known as the "largest manufacturer of quality home furnishings". Ashley strives to achieve the best quality possible for their furniture and they are also continuously looking for ways to refine their products. After rea...
2, mass personalization is different from personalization which can be dated back to craft production. Contrast to the products at that time with an excessively high price tag, mass personalization provides personalized products with affordable fulfillment cost for both customers and producers. Mass personalization brings more values to both customers and producers. For customers, they can be provided with products with less lead time and high quality. Additionally, customers feel they are treated distinctively by the firm. For producers, they can gain differentiation by providing personalized products[19]. Though craft production can enable personalization to the extent of market of one, the cost of production is relatively high. In the paradigm of mass production, there is no involvement of customers because products are standardized by designers. For mass customization, it exhibits a process of customers’ making choices passively from standard offerings, where customers are led by designers with limited participation. Based on these choices, firms can then gear up supply chains and production process to fulfill the orders with little or even no customer participation. However, in the paradigm of mass personalization, customers are intensively integrated into the production process. It is obvious that active customer participation is a crucial factor to satisfy user experience related requirements, since experience is influenced by a chain of human cognitive activities. Thus, active customer participation is an important driving force for the whole production process, which affects the final product offering directly in personalization.
“When it comes to interior design styles, give yourself the permission to think outside the box. There are so many wonderful ways to define who you are by creating a magnificent living space. Allow yourself to be creative. Be stylish. And when I say outside the box, I don’t necessarily mean go crazy, I simply suggest you take some steps to create the type of home that you really want or that your client is asking you to create” (Yule 1). Looking into interior design there are many elements that contribute to the way people view the room or area, such as the color, flooring, furniture, fabrics, and accessories in every room. Within the following research paper, interior design will be discussed by the interior design styles, the effects of color, and the trends of bathrooms.
Meanwhile, due to the fact that the space is being designed specifically for the individuals needs therefore, it conveys personality and energy of the person. Evoke harmonized feelings, perspective and state of the client’s needs play major role in the final design. For instance, if a client wants to keep some of their existing sentimental valuables (such as a piece of art work), designers must work around that need. The designer can create do-it-yourself projects where they can satisfy the customer’s needs while being on budget. Harmony and balance are also important, so designers must keep in mind functionality ( feng
To conclude, this paper represents the success of the IKEA group when they apply the appropriate organizational structure to its firm. The firm has no doubt that gains advantages by using decentralized structure, include increase the speed of making decision and form a simple layers of management arrangement. Nonetheless, the business can also expand their centralized control by using modern technology devices in order to get maximum outputs. Despite the current problems for them, IKEA has brought a lot of great design that suitable for many families.
IKEA is more than a furniture store they are a company driven by values (IKEA, 2014). The company seeks to make their consumers lives easier by providing them with modern, innovative, inexpensive products which they use to tackle daily home activities. IKEA Group has 298 stores in 26 different countries (IKEA, 2014). The company’s vision is “to create a better everyday life for the many people” (IKEA, 2014, para 1). Using innovative techniques for creating, producing, and marketing their products IKEA can provide consumers with durable products for reason...
In a simple way, the retailer needs to create a warm, friendly and an approachable retail space to attract consumers.The visual displays is an imperative element of branding of any store. If the stock is presentable, it is bound to appeal to the shoppers. If the shoppers appreciate the store layout and product, they are likely to spend more time in the store, and in return reward the store with sales. Along with the products for sales, the staff, the décor, the store interiors, the trial rooms arrangement, the lightings and music also form an inclusive elements boosting store sales. (fibre2fashion, 2008)