As part of a marketing and design project, I conceptualized Bjorn, a fictional international furniture company specializing in Scandinavian designs inspired by Danish culture. The company offers over 1,000 customizable pieces in various traditional and Danish-inspired colors, embodying principles of contemporary modernism. Bjorn aims to be a versatile, multi-regional furniture brand with a wide price range, suitable for any space. Drawing inspiration from competitors like IKEA, West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Restoration Hardware, Bjorn aligns with these brands in style, pricing, and cultural influence.
Concept Art
Bjorn will offer trendy pieces of furniture with unique styles, customizable options, and trendy contemporary designs.
The Vision
To provide simplistic furnishings that invites warmth, color, culture, and modernism into the homes of individuals and families all over the world.
Where Style Meets Comfort.
The motives of Bjorn will place a strong focus on four factors:
Durability, Lightweight, Versatility, and Customer Service.
Store-Front Design
The Mission:
To provide the best quality, versatile, and unique Scandinavian furnishings for customers that have a strong desire to add style to their space.
Project Analysis
Marketing Analysis
Developing a marketing analysis for Bjorn began with an in-depth understanding of the furniture industry. Through comprehensive research, I identified key factors contributing to the commercial success of furnishing brands, including the establishment of a distinct culture, strategic pricing, signature styles, and unique advertising approaches. Analyzing companies such as IKEA, Pottery Barn, West Elm, and Restoration Hardware provided valuable insights into their operational processes, brand purposes, and the cultures and ideas they have cultivated among both customers and within their organizations. This analysis encompassed various fields to formulate a comprehensive plan for Bjorn furnishings.
Metrics of the Furniture Industry
The following graphics illustrate the annual revenues of U.S. home furniture companies in 2022, along with their growth over the past five years, based on data from IBISWorld.
The current state of the home furniture industry is excelling. Within the past few years, the purchasing of furniture has increased due to the capacity of individuals who were home 50% of the time due to the effects of COVID-19. The purchasing of desks and home office furniture became a trend of 2020, and newer couches and appliances filled homes to create a better atmosphere for those who were dedicated to their set spaces. Currently, it appears that the industry is continuing to grow as it is anticipated to reach well over $30 billion dollars in revenue in the next coming years.
A trend that can be noted is the power of e-commerce and the effects it has on the purchasing of furniture. It comes to no surprise that retail giants like Ikea and William Sonoma are the leading furniture companies in the world when a good portion of consumer interaction is online. With the power of the internet, e-commerce can be a threat to companies that run heavily on in-store practices but an advantage to online ran stores. In fact, the current reported online furniture sales revenue is $50.5 billion. As a substantially large number, it would be reasonable to make an online interactive store for all Bjorn customers.
It is mindful to consider the metrics of the most selling items and categories in the furniture industry. Two observations were done to establish trends in metrics related to the industry. According to IBISWorld, decorative accessories and home furnishings are the leading products sold within the furniture industry.
Decorative accessories are composed of lamps, mirrors, pictures & picture frames, posters, clocks, vases, candles, and decorative items for special occasions and holidays.
This can be considered when determining the product gallery of the company, it can also be used to study trends and determine what should be advertised. As the graph shows, decorative accessories are the main products sold by furniture companies. This was calculated based on the three giant furniture companies: Bed, Bath & Beyond, TJX Companies, and William Sonoma in 2022.
Evidently, the furniture industry is a successful industry, placing the competition at a height for all competitors. While the objective for Bjorn is to be a unique international furniture company, there are many companies that produce competition for the brand. In fact, this competition allows Bjorn to identify itself as a brand, set motives and morals, and become a stand-alone brand that is included in the market of the furniture industry. The next observation focuses on other brands within the industry, comparing the trends and establishing a standard for Bjorn.
Competitive Analysis
The above table shows the most sold pieces or items for each competitor. Analyzing this table, provides a better generalization for the expectations of Bjorn's items, establishing unique products of its own, while still remaining to fit in with the current trends of the furniture industry.
Keeping in mind that the above companies range in price based on product quality, and culture class. While Ikea is placed on the cheaper end, it is much more affordable for most people, thus making it the most popular/selling furniture company. While on the other side of the spectrum is Restoration Hardware, a luxury brand, with higher prices, it is limited to the number of people who are able to afford it, yet the quality is higher.
This analysis is also to show similar companies to Bjorn and where Bjorn can fall into the spectrum of prices. It is also presented to show a pattern of furniture types among all companies. Many consumers desire wood furniture pieces in beds, tables, and storage, while preferencing upholstered finishes in beds and sofas.
With this given data, we can now present a project plan regarding products, price, promotion, and place for Bjorn Furniture Company.
Project Plan
Marketing Plan
Product: Based on research and analysis, the products offered at Bjorn will include, upholstered beds, sofas, chairs, wooden tables, bookshelves, beds, and an assortment of decorations. These items are based on bestseller items at competing companies and popular items currently overall.
Price: According to statistics, it appears that more affordable items are ideal for most consumers, while quality is just as desirable. Therefore, according to the table provided above with the given prices for the most sold products, Bjorn's prices will fall between Ikea and West Elm's products price range.
While the products offered will be in-between lower and higher cost-wise, there will be collections and products offered and advertised based on class, quality, and use. For example, Bjorn could advertise a luxury dining collection for middle to upper-class individuals, while also showcasing an affordable bedroom collection for college students.
examples
Promotion: as shown above, an example, forms of advertisement can be catalogs, websites, commercials, and billboards. There is a created imaginary website below.
Place: A map provided by IBISWorld provides an ideal blueprint for gallery locations of Bjorn stores. Due to the high sales in these areas, production, and manufacturing plants, several galleries can begin opening in these states.
While the remaining sales and production can happen online. In conclusion, Bjorn will be a strong e-commerce store with various galleries spread across the country/world. Stores will initially open in California, Texas, Florida, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio before branching out to more states. There will also be a main store available in Denmark, as the expected origins of the company that provides the largest in-store selection, gallery, products, and areas where customers can place orders for their products. This warehouse giant can also be the headquarters of the company and an option for various employment opportunities in corporate and retail.
Finally, the manufacturing plants will occur in China and Denmark, as production costs and locations are most convenient for the company.
Advertisement
Website Design
As the first means of advertisement, I created a website for consumers to get information on all products offered at Bjorn, as well as the main source for e-commerce interaction.
When designing the website, I wanted to ensure that the look and layout of it would match the culture and design of the company. I utilized multiple references from various furniture company sites and added my own additional preferences and style. As a marketing project, I made sure to incorporate easy and immediate access to all products and sales, keeping in mind that promotions are presented separately in bold.
Below are more in-depth pictures showcasing the website's main page layout.
If customers wish to proceed with an online order, they can access their products within their cart or proceed to the products page and enter the specifications for their particular order.
Sources
Images - Unsplash.com
Graphic Design - Adobe Photoshop, Canva, Adobe Illustrator
Research - IBISWorld.com