Troy James of Manna and Eric Shupack, president and CEO of FurniTech

That gap between purchase and waiting should be filled with communication and valuable information to the end user. Manna advocates status updates on shipments and even a call ahead of time from the driver on delivery day. These are the kinds of best practices we have seen work across the country. They go a long way to instill customer loyalty.

Here are some examples of comments by customers that have purchased big ticket items online

By KG in Michigan, July 10, 2010

“The entire process was outstanding! From the moment I made initial contact with the Company, to the time the mattress was delivered, ALL involved were thorough and professional. Nothing needs improvement! The delivery company was GREAT!! Thank You!”

By JRS, June 26, 2010

“The entire delivery process, from beginning to end, was a great experience. From the efficient use of e-mail and internet to schedule the delivery, to access to shipping status, to the actual delivery by a courteous, professional and helpful driver/delivery man, the entire process was outstanding. This is the first time I’ve purchased major appliances (convection wall oven, microwave/convection and trim kit) over the internet, but the entire process was so pleasant I won’t hesitate to do so again…at least involving the same on-line retailer and shipping service. Great experience!”

l to r - Dave Berghuis, Manna, and Bruce Tucker & Peter Goldstein of Interiormark

The Las Vegas Market was the place to be in the middle of the trends around digital and furniture. The home theater is where all of it comes together. State-of-the-art electronics and furniture to relax and even stimulate the senses. Manna representatives were at the Vegas Market meeting with leaders in the industry. A topic of discussion was White-Glove, High-Speed delivery, along with installation. While consumers will save for high-end

Beautiful Seating for Home Theaters from Theater Seat Store

Logistics is an area of growing interest in the furniture industry. It’s part of the efficiencies that the electronics industry has implemented in the last decade. Home theaters are a mix of large ticket items and a degree of sophistication required for installation. This is an environment where consumers benefit from the added value of delivery options that include product expertise, speed, and labor to get the products from box to being ready to enjoy.

In addition to being on the ground in Vegas, we’ll be watching comments online, there are more than a thousand followers of the World Market Center profile on Twitter also the topic #LVMkt is a collection of Tweets about the Las Vegas Market.



At the High Point market in April furniture makers were raising prices for the first time since the recession. Higher prices from Asian manufacturers and trans-pacific shipping costs were the reasons they gave for the price hike.

Meanwhile, Manufacturing.net reported furniture retailers are looking for ways to better serve the customer with added value and remain competitive. That is the ideal retailer to speak with Manna as they are looking to reduce lost sales due to remorse returns and painfully slow transit times domestically to the consumer. Manna’s high speed, white glove delivery can keep furniture retailers competitive while helping to reduce back room costs. 

To schedule an appointment and discuss better transportation options for furniture manufacturers and retailers email info AT Manna DOT com 

 


This holiday season will be critical for 3D HDTV sales. Author of the article on the LG announcement, Matthew DeCarlo, and commenters to his post believe the industry is getting behind a big push for 3D HDTV. They do express some concern about the Catch-22 relationship with hardware and content for 3D to catch on. Will there be programming to make it worthwhile? Meanwhile programmers want to see if there is a market to invest in making the programming. What it comes down to at this early stage of the game are those early adopters of technology and whether there are enough big players to make 3D viable.

An impressive list of manufacturers and programmers are willing to try. Content providers are starting to push programming, first with movies, Avatar, Up, Alice in Wonderland and several others. Television programming is also getting a boost with ESPN and Discovery. You can just imagine how some shows and events will be enhanced by 3D. Golf for example, is such a game of depth and detail. Whether it’s the camera angle from behind the golfer looking into a 170 yard approach slightly up hill, or the side view of a 25 foot putt on an undulating green, 3D in HD would be a clearly better viewing experience. HDGuru.com has more examples of 3D HDTV content.

On the manufacturing side in addition to LG, Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung are pushing new products into the last half of 2010. Most manufacturers will include 3D glasses that work with their sets, but likely those glasses will not work with sets from other manufacturers. Fear not, there are plenty of options for universal 3D glasses. Just like the universal remote gives you power throughout your house and beyond, so too will you be able to purchase 3D glasses that work in your house and when you crash your neighbor’s Super Bowl Party.

Take a Look at some sets here:

You can pre-order the Sony Bravia 60” 3D from JR.com

This Samsung 46″ LED 3D with glasses and player you can get delivered right now from B&H Photo:

Nick Mansilla and Dave Tomaschko speaking with IRCE attendees

The ATG reported earlier this year that 30% of consumers use more than three channels of information to research and then purchase products.  For example, they get a catalog, use the company’s website, and consider product reviews. Other channels of information are news articles, Word of Mouth, and advertising.

This statistic also reflects the overwhelming concern among retailers which is integration of the customer experience, from online, catalogs and in-store experiences.  That experience we believe is continued until the product is in its final destination.  Manna representatives Nick Mansilla and David Tomaschko listened to these concerns from retailers.  The options are limited with parcel carriers who don’t handle big ticket items, and with electronics, there are other issues such as fragility and installation that typical delivery providers don’t offer.

Internet Retailer Shows Attendees Up 40% from last year

Another sign the economy is coming back was the 40% increase in IRCE attendee traffic. According to Mansilla and Tomaschko the show floor was busy with considerable interest in Manna Distribution’s high-speed, white-glove service options.  Manna’s national coverage and expertise in a variety of product lines, including electronics, appliances, and furniture gives retailers a one stop (pardon the pun) transportation option.  Email info@Manna.com.

Social network users follow retail brands

Manna works with online retailers at IRCE

Manna sales rep David Tomaschko reported the show attendees were mostly upbeat about the future, with many taking an aggressive marketing approach to social media usage. Online retailers today are increasing their participation with pages on the major sites, many have a presence on Facebook with others creatively using sites such as flickr.

Retailers with Social Network Pages

For more on how retailers are using social networks, here is an interview with eMarketer retail analyst Jeffrey Grau and Albert Maruggi host of the Marketing Edge Podcast.

Manna participates with online retailers who are trying innovative ways to market their products. The Roominations website and @Bigscreendeals on Twitter are a couple of examples of how Manna is supporting its customers online presence.

online retail annual sales up slightly

Manna Distribution Services has seen similar growth in its annual sales over the last five years as it builds a national delivery network of high-speed, white-glove services. The Internet Retail Conference and Exhibition is the largest event of its kind drawing retailers from around the country.  They are looking for solutions to these and other retail issues.   Manna account managers working with leading retail customers have devised delivery solutions that positively impact customer satisfaction and loyalty. National Account Manager Adam Trenberth met with retailers on the IRCE show floor at the Manna booth talking about the added value Manna offers customers including the ScheduleMyDelivery.com website. ScheduleMyDelivery. com allows consignees the convenience of scheduling the delivery time that fits their daily routine while keeping Manna retail customers and delivery personnel in a closed communications loop process.

 

Manna Reps meet with IRCE attendees

Learn about this and other issues retailers are raising with Manna representatives on the IRCE show floor by emailing Manna at info@manna.com.  Or place a request for info at the Manna Distribution Services website

Two of the industry leaders Temper-pedic and Select Comfort, who makes the sleep number bed, reported growth in unit sales. This was echoed by some of the other industry leaders, so if a better night’s sleep is in your future here are a couple of major decision points.

Inner Spring vs Foam –

If you are a inner spring (traditional) person there are a few different kinds. These are my two favorite choices if you have a budget for the higher end mattresses. The blog My Foam Mattress provides these descriptions of the Open-ended and Pocket spring models.

Open-ended springs – all joined together by a wire network set up in the middle of each spring, thus leaving the top and bottom of each spring to move freely in order to independently adjust to the specific weight placed on it
Pocket springs – each spring is placed in its own separate fabric pocket and not connected in any way with the other springs, which allows independent compression of the springs, even if the mattress covering does limit some of the springs’ freedom of movement (these are the most expensive models and are said to be the most comfortable)

Springs do give a familiar feel with ample support in these models above. Many experts say a mattress should last at least 10 years, so divide that out by the number of nights used and you have a pretty sound, reasonable investment.

The Foam Memory mattress is a completely different feel than an inner-spring mattress. it is comprised of billions of cells of air which respond to the body weight. Many say to look for closed cells which provide slightly more support than open cells. This is called Visco-Elastic Memory Foam. Another type of mattress is made of Talalay Latex, this is a closed cell process and produces a different feel from an open cell process.

A popular type of bed for certain segments of the population are adjustable beds. Sleep Comfort is a leading manufacturer of adjustable beds with a variety of mattress types. You can put any mattress style on the frame. Adjustable beds can be positioned to accommodate comfort or sleeping maladies like excessive snoring (guilty). It’s interesting that some of physical symptoms such as lethargy, lack of focus, or chronic pain may have their cause in a poor mattress. At medical sleep centers around the country such as the Health East Sleep facilities in Minnesota, they examine mechanical devices to prevent sleeping on your back where appropriate

So if fatigue is a symptom then a mattress may well be the solution.

Samsung is making those adjustment and building on its core strength of great picture quality and screen size.  Well, size is just a function of the space you have in your home and the money in your bank account (or credit limit, speaking to Americans here ) Taking those two data points, content that is no longer distributed through the traditional television channels and the unique quality and size of picture, Samsung has been a pioneer in  funneling the content people are using online through its dynamic, high definition and clear screens, which include plasma, LED, LCD and now some with 3D.

In this video from Samsung you’ll see how they are incorporating social networking, and other content available through your PC that can be channeled to your big, beautiful screen.  
 

In addition, Samsung created a community on its website. They are taking social media seriously in their products and their interaction with customers.

This is a terrific site with a discussion on types of technology and videos.  Then there is this brand new section on Samsung apps It’s so new they don’t have the FAQ section up, but do have a navigation link to it with a Coming Soon description.   “Life moves pretty fast, as Ferris Beuller says, “if you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.”   These sites will keep you plugged in to a world of social networks and on-demand content that loves to be connected.  



Here are some great deals from online retailers: 
B&H Photo Samsung 3D HDTV
Beech Camera - Samsung with Internet@TV technology
J & R  A huge 60″ state of the art Samsung at an unbelievable price  







Modular furniture that saves space while looking marvelous

Climb on the CaseChair

Here’s another piece that incorporates thoughtful design while saving space. A book case and reading chair combination. You have to love the Chaircase piece by Gail Peter Borden. It comes in walnut, birch and CDX ply. There is a shelf on the back for a, what else, reading lamp. Around the perimeter is designed shelving as part of the chair that can hold up to 400 paperbacks. This will be a collector’s item for sure. I may be the last Chaircase made. If iPad sales continue the way they are, you’ll use those shelves for out-of-print books or nicknacks, power plug ins for your ear buds, wireless printers, keyboard, mouse, speakers. You get the idea. Where there is a shelf there is an item for it.