341 om| Cabinet Maker|27 December 2002 Travelling distance an cera) Research conduced by NOP for Cabinet Maker asked consumers the followit you were thinking of buying new furniture, how far would you be prepared to traveltoa shop or store to find ‘what you want? 1M Up tofive miles Upto 10miles Up to20miles Upto5O miles ‘More than 50 miles mDon'tknow ‘Thesurveyis partof Cabinet Maker's ‘ongoing consumer research initiative. Persuading shoppers to go the extra mile Ikea has convinced its customers that travel distance is not a problem; now town centre shops are having to do the same Jor most people furniture isa majorinvestment, and soit should fllow that they willbe prepared to invest in the effort they put into choosing it too. “Much ofitcomes down to legwork taking the time to find that perfect sofa or the best deal. But precisely how far are furniture shoppers willing to travel? ‘The latest NOP research commissioned by Cabinet Maker set out todiscover just that The most popular distance band, voted for by 279% oF participants, was 10 to 20 miles, while 22% were prepared to travel just ive toro miles, Slightly fewer, 21%, would go 20t0 50 miles, andat the other end ofthe scale 1996 were willing to goonly up to five miles. Some 0% said they ‘would even travel over 50 miles to find what they wanted. When you think of so-mile-plus trips, Ikea inevitably comes to mind. And people going onl five miles will most likely be aiming for their old established high street furniture store. Yetin the context ofthe research question, these two types of retailer have more in common than ‘A traditional furniture shop may be close by, but difficult parking can make itas inaccessible as distant Ikea. And, like Ikea, the high street store may be the only eal furniture interest in the neighbourhood. Iftown centre stores are to attract more than afew local customers, then they, lke Ikea, have to offer something really special NH Chapman operates two shops, one just off Newcastle's main street, the otherin the centre of Carlisle, Newcastle is big enough to draw furniture customers, Carlisle less so. But both stores work hard to ensure they make shoppers' visiting lists. ‘According to Newcastle sales manager Phil Thompson, distances no deterrent; people think nothing of travelling roomiles. We sell mid totop range products, We've been NH Chapman hastwocty and sales manager Phil Thompson says 100 milesisno seterrenttoyou were thinking of buying new furniture, how far do you think you would be prepared to travel toa shop or store totry to find what you want? Tables and graphs donot necessarily al up 10100% asa result ofrounding eee ‘Male Female Up tofve miles 20 9 Up to 10 miles 2 2 Upto 20 miles 30 25 Upto Somes 20 2 MorethanS0rmiles 7 10 Would not travel tobuy furniture 1 2 Don't know i - Patents) a8 Upto fivariles B Upto 1Omiles| 2 Upto 207iles 2 ‘Up to 50 milas 2 ‘More than 50 miles 72 Would nottravelte buy/furiture 1 Don't know 1 eer anos ‘Owned Buying outright ona ‘mortgage Up to five niles 18) 15, Up to 10 miles 2 18 Upto20miles B 3 Upto.SOrmiles 22 B ‘More than 50 miles 8 2 Would not travelto buy furniture 1 Don't know 4 erro) 1834 Upto five miles 15 Upto 10 miles 20 Upto 20miles 30 Upto SOmiles 2B ‘More than SO miles uw Would not travel to buy furniture = Don'tknow’ = em |Cabinet Maker 27 December 2002135, Would not travel to buy furniture \ Don't know 1% \ 1% Cet Peete eee Par Rees Senn} Pood ae oe W 2 A Upper middle class: ER; hhigher managerial, rz ‘a B Middle class: Rented Rented = aa a re: Fe: C2 Skilled working dass, blue-collar workers: IU aba uC skilled manual workers ioe 55+ ‘North Midlands South: and unskilled workers 4 Up to five miles: 19 wt 2 eee RE 4 Up to 20 miles B 3029. and non manual fem BS eet ee 3 Would not travel tobuy furniture 2 1 1 {with no other earner) > Ste 7 ot | Giese.36 lom| Cabinet Maker! 27 December 2002 Travelling distance Effective marketing and advertising is crucial to Peter Betteridgein Devon in persuading customersto ‘travel some distance € around for over 150 years and built up good reputation, and good news travels. Wealso doa fairamount of advertising, mainly inthe local press, and we've gota ‘website! The atmospheres importanttoo, he says. ‘We're inalisted building which was the balroom in Newcastle, and i's the rightenvironment for the furniture we sll. People wil also jouimey to ind the right pice, he add. “On Saturday wehad acustomerin who had been to Edinburgh and Harrogate, and he was based in the Newcastle area, He was looking at mabogany furniture froma particular manufacturer and was tying to get the best price. This is much more common than five or si. yearsago, says Thompson. ‘People are prepared to travel and there's alot more wheeling and dealing, Foralotof them it'saday out” Bedworld also finds location isa significant factor for its threestores, one ona retail parkin Aylesbury and the thers in Bletchley and Chesham high streets. Bing part ofthe much larger Milton Keynes, Bletchley has no shortage of furniture shoppers but there's somuch competition in town, explins sales director Steve Silver. In Chesham we're the only bed shopand i’soutof the way forsome people, but we do find customers are prepared to. travel. We havea loyal customerbase Meanwhile, ifany retailer proves thatan unpromising location need have no detrimental effecton sales is Peter Betteridge, who runs Betteridge Furnishers and The Bed Expertin Kingsbridge, Devon. The town has only7,000 residents, and is bordered on one side by sea and on the other by Dartmoor. “But we draw regularly from Lyme Regis and Somerset tothe depths of Cornwall,’ Betteridge says, That's probably go miles and up to two and half hours travelling, bt ifyou give those people 2 good reason to travel they'll travel By way ofillustration he says: ‘If was going to buy a blank stereo cassette tape I'd expect to gotoa sweet shop or garage, but if [aspired toa Bang Olufsen music system 'd contact B&O and say, where's your best man in the ‘West Country? If they said the guy who really knows his stuffs up north of Taunton, 80 miles away, Vd take a day ‘utto vist. I'd goto the shop inthe morning, havelunch and then go back and place my order. “That's precisely what happens with us, says Betteridge. t's an important purchase, and we're the main purpose of| theirtrip Attracting custom from far and wide is something Betteridge has consciously set out to achieve: ‘It was the only way we could grow. he states, explaining that pening halfa dozen new branches would risk losing control of standards. So we had to stay here and drag people in from further afield" ‘Parking is very important. In the retail park you park slap bang outside the door. If the authorities reduced the cost of parking in towns, or even did away with charges, it may encourage more people to come into town centres’ His marketing and advertising - which costs a sizeable ‘9% of turnover ~ covers the whole of Devon and Cornwall plus parts of Somerset and Dorset, using regional press and, soon, regional TV for the first time. Fiealso. periodically takes his whole business on the road, set ‘pin golf cubs and prestigious hotels, which reflectthe overall Betteridge theme. W'sabout quality oflife; it's comfort— we're saying we're trained, skilled, knowledgeable and have expertise, and will give them the best porsible help we can,’ he says ‘AtParker Knoll Upholstery, marketing director Andrew Robinsonalso confirms that people wil travel adistance given good reason, “An analysis ofthe postcodes of visitors to our showroom herein Chipping Norton over the last 12 ‘months shows that 50% came from over 100 miles,"he says, though tourism could account for some of that. etretailers, hesays, is also independent retailer ina central location with car park, créche facilities and a nice refreshment area makes ‘browsing for furniture into a very positive experience. ‘Andif this sounds like playing Tkeaatits own game, Bedworld’ Silver endorses the view that people are not only motivated by cst and choice but are driven by the leisure aspectas wel.‘Tkea stores tend to be centres where there are other things todo, People seeitas a day out’