FurnitureChannel.com Raises Money, Hires CEO, and Changes Business Model

Furniture World Magazine

It has been a busy three months for venture-backed FurnitureChannel.com. During that time frame, Zero Stage Capital and a handful of angel investors backed new CEO Mitchell Russo to implement major changes to turn FurnitureChannel.com from an Internet furniture e-tailer to a marketing services company for furniture stores. "The concept is simple," explains Mr. Russo. "Stores don't necessarily have the time, money, or expertise to develop an Internet presence yet we can deliver a complete turn-key directory of products and have it live in 24 hours for under $600 a year, and with no set-up fees." The store site Mr. Russo speaks of is a template driven, catalog backed web site, which operates as part of FurnitureChannel.com's extensive network of store listings and manufacturer product lines. The company's new site, http://www.FurnitureChannel.com, is live today and is generating 500,000 page views per month with the average visitor spending 15 minutes on the site. Now, with over 1,100 existing catalog-driven store directories and 55 manufacturers listed, FurnitureChannel.com is assisting brick and mortar stores with customer acquisition and retention. And, as of July 28th, the company added an additional 10,000 stores as line listings. This addition of new stores is a significant step toward allowing FurnitureChannel.com to become a comprehensive furniture referral site on the Internet. "Once a customer comes to FurnitureChannel.com and enters their home zip code, the site is designed to let them see products only in the area they live in. We then move them along the online shopping experience directly to a local furniture store's site through a series of coupons, special offers, and communication tools that the company is in the process of releasing for store use," explains Mr. Russo. "As they shop for furniture, a customer creates their own "Wish List", a tool that allows for personalized book marking of their shopping experience. This tool may be sent to family and friends for feedback on their selections. With the customer's permission, we will send their Wish List to the local furniture store where the retailer and customer will complete the transaction. Our goal is to drive an educated customer to a local store." Product pricing is straightforward explains Mr. Russo. "All pricing on our site is the manufacturers suggested retail price. We are not a shopping bot. We provide pricing for comparison purposes only between product lines. It is not in the store's best interest to drive prices down." "We bring a complete package of store marketing services via the Internet which does not exist today," states Gary Chase, FurnitureChannel.com founder and President. "Stores need to get a better return from their ad and marketing dollars and we believe we can enhance their returns by sending them these qualified leads at a fraction of the price of what they are currently spending." Mr. Chase, a fifteen-year furniture veteran, is co-founder of GPS Furniture, one of the Northeast's largest wholesaler and importer of fine home furniture. To support this new business direction, FurnitureChannel.com, in the last six weeks, has added Vice Presidents of Marketing and Business Development, an Internet Marketing Manager, and a TeleSales Director. "Hiring activities have been brisk as we build a team and internal systems to support our plans," according to Mr. Russo. "We hope to add a lot of value in the way stores attract, communicate, and build their customer base." FurnitureChannel.com can be reached by contacting them at 1-800-826-8868 or at info@FurnitureChannel.com.