Furniture's in season at warehouse clubs
BJ's, Sam's and Costco present beefed-up product assortments during winter, summer promotions
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, February 16, 2004
Consumers seeking bulk-buy bargains at membership warehouse clubs may not be hunting for furniture, but their purchase reflex frequently is triggered during January and July by attractive deals on case goods, upholstery and accent furniture.
BJ's, Sam's and Costco have a year-round assortment of furniture, primarily casual and small office/home office, but they beef up the category each winter and summer, dedicating one or two extra aisles to the category. Precise sales numbers aren't available, but anecdotal reports from vendors indicate that furniture is a strong seasonal category for all three.
The displays may not win any awards for artistic presentation, but that down-and-disheveled look apparently helps convince many warehouse club members they are getting a good deal.
Each club seems to have a good sense of who their customers are and what they want. None is trying to be all things to all people with its furniture assortments. While they typically display over 100,000 square feet of merchandise, only a small fraction of that is furniture, even during "the season."
The assortment at BJ's appears to be the most promotional, with a Sauder desk-hutch combination from the Lockport collection at $269, and Bush's Eclipse video and audio stands at $169 each.
A few years back, the warehouse clubs were perceived to be a future market for ready-to-assemble furniture, but the clubs now rely heavily on imports, especially for case goods collections and accent furniture. Still, RTA products are certainly in evidence.
In addition to the pieces mentioned previously at BJ's, Sam's offers a couple of Bestar workstations all year, and the Wal-Mart division is also one of the first to offer Sauder's Italian imported Premier collection featuring cross-matched birch veneers.
At the top of BJ's furniture offerings is an assortment of pieces from Kincaid's Cornerstone bedroom, including a queen-size bed, a tri-view mirror and a nightstand with a combined price of just under $700. Other key items include a rocker-recliner massage chair from Lane, in fabric, for $299, and a Linon Home pine entertainment center at $160.
DeCoro's Chinese leather imports were represented at two of the clubs. BJ's had a transitional frame with a top-grain gray-finished cover priced at $599. A similar if not identical frame at Costco was covered with a more supple leather from Elmo, at $899, and was matched with a loveseat, at $879. Costco also has a special-order kiosk for leather operated by Distinctive Designs, a Canadian leather resource.
Sam's and Costco hit comparable price points on multi-piece suites — $1,724.81 for a four-post cherry queen-size bed, nightstand, dresser and mirror at Sam's; $1,399.99 for a formal dining table and eight chairs in ash burl at Costco.
But the looks are distinctively different. Sam's has chosen heavier carvings and bulkier pieces; the two major case goods collections, imports from Southern Art, have dark cherry finishes over traditional designs. Costco's presentation leans toward more transitional styles, lighter colors and current fashions.
All three clubs are heavily stocked with ornate occasional furniture and other eye-catching pieces. Typical would be the accent chest with marble top priced at $278.64 at Sam's. BJ's had two similar pieces from Stein World, priced at $199 and $249.
As spring approaches, the furniture in the central floor displays of the warehouse clubs will retreat to their permanent spaces in the building's racks, replaced by camping equipment or some other seasonal display. But the clubs already are planning their summer furniture "theaters," set to debut in July.
| Wholesale clubs on the grow | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of units | 2003+ | 2002 | 2001 |
| + As of the quarter ended Nov. 1 ++ Excludes membership fees Source: BJ's Wholesale Club |
|||
| BJ's | 147 | 140 | 130 |
| Sam's Club | 533 | 525 | 500 |
| Costco | 312 | 290 | 264 |
| U.S. revenues ($ in millions) ++ | |||
| BJ's | $5,860 | $5,223 | |
| Sam's Clubs | $31,702 | $29,395 | |
| Costco | $32,311 | $28,636 | |
