Meridian Social Media Influencers Attract Younger Buyers

dfalvey — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 14:30:02 +0000

Meridian Social Media Influencers Attract Younger Buyers dfalvey Thu, 06/27/2024 - 09:30

Meridian Furniture, a fast-growing furniture brand serving retailers and designers with a vast, ever-changing product line of reasonably priced, high-style designs sourced globally, is helping traditional brick-and-mortar furniture retailers attract a new audience of millennial and Gen Z consumers. Best Buy Furniture is among them.

“Independent furniture stores selling Meridian have seen increased traffic with younger customers coming in to furnish their living space with more contemporary pieces,” said Michael Rosilio, president of Meridian Furniture. “Social media has made it possible to reach customers that otherwise might not have known about us.”

Best Buy Furniture, located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is a three-store traditional brick-and-mortar chain that features the brand, promoted through leading influencers and a strong social media presence. According to Best Buy Furniture Chief Executive Jordan Lulu, Meridian Furniture, which offers top quality, trendy furniture with unique designs, has been a go-to partner, especially when targeting celebrity influencers.

“Not only were the product styles what they wanted, but the price points were unbelievable,” said Lulu. “Meridian gives us the designer looks influencers and celebrities want for half the price. We've done a lot of work on influencing. We had never seen such a big increase in sales before posting on social media and running ads on Instagram, Facebook and Google, and we do all that in-house. And it helps that Meridian has the overall aesthetic, appeal, and packaging that young consumers love.”

Influencers well-known to the TikTok generation such as “Food God,” formerly known as Jonathan Cheban, who made appearances on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” and YouTube star Jake Paul have taken to Instagram and TikTok to share their homes being furnished by Best Buy Furniture, and Lulu has furnished homes for free in exchange for social media posts. Part of why the 26-year-old’s marketing approach is successful is because he’s connecting with influencers that millennials and Gen Z are interested in. So far, Best Buy Furniture has garnered over 174,000 followers across all social media platforms, with at least one social media influencer—Ed Bassmaster—who pranked salespeople on the floor garnering more than a million views.

“We’re shifting a lot of our attention online, to our e-commerce website. Customers can purchase Meridian Furniture at any of the three Best Buy Furniture suburban locations, two in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and we can place an order and ship something directly to California or Missouri or Boston or any other city in the U.S. for really competitive pricing. It’s rare for manufacturers to give us that backend system and support to be able to cater to all these customers,” said Lulu.

Meridian Furniture supplies a growing roster of leading retailers and designers with upholstered furniture designs and case goods for nearly every room in the home. With a constant flow of new products in multiple categories, in stock and ready for delivery, the company is leading the way in trend-right goods that appeal to how consumers want to live and shop today. Visit Meridian Furniture’s website, www.meridianfurniture.com for more.

Garden City Furniture Rolls Out New Logo Design

amcintosh — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 20:51:02 +0000

Garden City Furniture Rolls Out New Logo Design amcintosh Tue, 07/23/2019 - 15:51

As part of a multi-year refresh and renovation, retail strategist Connie Post has created a new logo package for Garden City Furniture that is rolling out across the marketplace thanks to eye-catching new skins on the retailer’s delivery trucks.

Garden City Furniture has been providing furniture to customers in the Myrtle Beach marketplace since the 1950s and the family-owned and -operated company has enjoyed a decades-long relationship with Post and her Affordable Design Solutions team. The firm — responsible for the look of more than 25 million square feet of retail and wholesale space around the globe — first led a major transformation of the store in 2003. Another multi-phase renovation began four years ago in the store’s 3,800-square-foot mattress department with a revamp that resulted in a spa-like presentation.

Soon after, the bedroom furniture department was updated and moved adjacent to the mattresses to make the shopping experience seamless. That has since been followed by a new entry, service counter and operations area, fresh paint on the store’s exterior, and now, the latest move: an updated logo and visual brand identity. The fresh, new look extends from the sales-peoples’ name badges and tags on the furniture to new skins on the company’s fleet of delivery trucks.

The final step in Garden City’s rebranding process — a change to the store’s exterior pylon signage — is scheduled to take place early next year, according to Garden City Furniture Vice President Joey Ray.

“When you’re in a fashion-oriented business, it’s important that you keep your image fresh,” Ray says, noting that the retailer is currently transitioning executive leadership from one generation to the next. “As such, it’s vital to make sure our brand remains current, relevant and poised for the future.” Additionally, he points out, the surrounding marketplace is changing. Long known as a purveyor of coastal home furnishings catering to second-home owners, Garden City has been steadily broadening its offerings to reflect the area’s growth and influx of year-round residents. “This area is very much a destination for retirees now and the number of primary residences is increasing. We want to be able to furnish those homes as well,” he says.

Looking the Part

Garden City's former truck design

“Appearing modern and up-to-date is essential in the very competitive retail environment in which we are all operating today,” Post relates. “People simply don’t want to shop in old stores, no matter the category or their demographic. Consumers want to spend their money with merchants they feel are fashionable and on trend. This means it’s critical for retailers to review the exterior of their stores every five to seven years and update as necessary. It also means that delivery trucks are incredibly important because they function as traveling billboards that are moving around your market representing your brand.”

Indeed, Post says, “at a time when budgets are tight, it doesn’t take much to update your marketing, from your website to your delivery trucks, with a fresh, new logo. Every consumer-facing touch point is important for a brick-and-mortar store now and it’s essential to look new and inviting because everything around us is changing so fast. It’s so easy to say, ‘It’s just a truck,’ but in my view, updating the look of your delivery trucks is the first thing you do if you don’t have a lot of money, because that’s what consumers in your marketplace will see. They might not be looking for furniture online, and they may not see your ad on TV, but they will no doubt notice your trucks on the road on the way home from work, or while out for a delivery in their neighborhood. A new look makes you top-of-mind visually, and if you’ve been around for a long time, it may even change their entire perception of your store.”

“Our logo was going on 16 years old, so it was definitely time for us to take a look at our total image,” Ray admits, adding that Post updated the brand’s colors, font and the store’s signature palm tree motif, indicative of its location in South Carolina. “We have a lot of history with the Connie Post team because they are on the pulse of what’s happening in furniture retail; they touch a lot of people and are always on-trend with what’s current in color and design, even fonts. And, working with such a team of professionals really helps with the decision-making process. In the end, our new logo is clean and easy to read and references our two biggest categories of product. It really encompasses everything we do. And now that it’s been translated onto skins, our trucks really look great on the highway!”