Hurtado Redefining Quality With High Point Media Campaign

Furniture World Magazine

Hurtado will introduce a program here at the April International Home Furnishings Market to help retailers and designers instill integrity into the home furnishings industry’s most maligned, misrepresented and misunderstood word: "Quality." Hurtado has named the campaign "Redefining Quality." It will be introduced at the company’s showroom at 208 English Road. The campaign will be a major emphasis at the April market, featuring descriptive signage in various showroom vignettes, brochures, hangtags and a major push to get the word out to consumers through the news media. "Many companies in our industry talk about quality, but few ever explain it," said Ana Hurtado, vice president of Hurtado USA. "The time has come to be candid about quality. We want to help our American dealers help their customers understand the essential ingredients to ‘quality furniture.’ "We believe that most consumers are confused about quality, that their confusion leads to frustration and that their frustration hurts furniture sales. This is an area where we believe Hurtado can have a positive impact not only on our business but on the industry in general." Hurtado USA is a division of Hurtado Muebles of Valencia, Spain. Founded in 1940, Hurtado is a worldwide leader in high-end case goods with distribution in more than 50 countries worldwide. Hurtado’s "Redefining Quality" campaign will focus on seven elements: Quality lives in marquetry. Hurtado’s marquetry is cut from the world’s finest woods by the hands of artisans. Consumers should look for seamless joints and sophisticated patterns resembling paintings in wood, not simple geometrical shapes. Quality lives in hand carving. Hurtado artisans hand-carve table legs and chair arms. When the emphasis is on quick production, the carvings are rough and lack detail. Consumers should look for smoothness and detail. When carvings are finished by hand, each piece is unique, if only slightly, giving it more value. Quality lives in veneers. Consumers should look for symmetrical patterns in the veneers. Veneers should be free of cuts, knots and other imperfections. Look for depth and transparency and shades in the grain. All Hurtado veneers are chosen from the world’s top 5 percent, rarities veneers. Quality lives in inlays. Consumers should look for inlays, the jewels of the world’s most expensive woods. Inlays add color, texture, dimension and value to fine furniture. At Hurtado, if an inlay looks like ebony, then it is ebony because Hurtado furniture is authentic. There are no exceptions. Quality demands it. Quality lives in the finish. Consumers should determine how well the finish protects fine wood, veneers, marquetry and inlays from damage from sunlight, spills and other possible damaging elements inherent in most homes. Hurtado’s protective patented finish is polyacrylic and invisible with 14 thin layers that penetrate and bond with the wood. Quality lives in precise production techniques. Consumers should be sure each door and drawer fit like a glove. Each piece should be custom and unique. If drawers are interchangeable, that indicates a lack of precision in the production process. In the long-standing tradition of artisans, Hurtado dovetails all drawers and uses few glides because each drawer is made to fit smoothly in one space on one piece. Quality lives in a 100 percent finish. Consumers should look to make sure the piece is finished the same on the inside as it is on the outside. At Hurtado, drawers and cabinets look as good on the inside as they do on the outside; they look as good on the back as on the front. The advantage extends beyond aesthetics: the less the wood is exposed to the elements, the longer it lasts and the less dust it creates. "At Hurtado we understand that it takes a total commitment to ensure that every piece meets the quality standards outlined in this campaign," said Eloy Selles, general manager. "We believe Hurtado’s quality story is unique, not because we do any one of these techniques better than anyone else, but because we do them all." Hurtado, which produces classic-inspired designs of heirloom quality, was the first fine furnishings company in Spain to receive the coveted ISO 9002 certification for meeting and maintaining the highest standards in manufacturing, customer service and distribution.