Meridian’s New B-T-B Shopping Platform Gains Traction with Interior Designers

Furniture World News Desk on 8/21/2024

Just six months after launching a platform that allows interior designers to shop for product, place orders and choose from several delivery options and carriers at check-out (including white glove and drop shipping), Meridian Furniture has grown its business with the interior design community by 40 percent.

“Every residential project I do now has at least five to ten Meridian pieces in the design,” said Zelda Yudkovsky, owner of Monsey, New York-based boutique design firm, By Design Interiors, LLC. The specialist in designing residential, commercial and Airbnb properties was initially attracted to Meridian because it mirrored her own design aesthetic and work style and could keep up with the fast pace of her design projects.

 A friend in the industry initially pointed her toward the Meridian Furniture website. “From a product standpoint, they not only had everything I needed in fun colors and different textures at affordable prices, but it was also all in stock and available for immediate delivery, from sofas to coffee tables to beds and even bathroom vanities. The site made shopping and ordering easy, but it was Meridian’s responsiveness to me as a designer that really stood out,” she said.

According to Michael Rosilio, president of Meridian Furniture, Yudkovsky “is indicative of the responses that we receive from the interior design community, many of whom are clearly surprised by the level of customer service we offer and how quickly they are able to receive products they order. They appreciate that the site enables them to place orders and provide real-time information to their clients at point of sale, and our business continues to grow quickly, because it’s obvious that we value their business,” he said. 

“It’s not unusual for interior designers to have to wait months for pieces that we’ve specified to be delivered so we can finish a project,” Yudkovsky said. “We have to constantly chase after vendors, asking, ‘Where’s my chair? Where’s my table?’ And that’s if we can actually get somebody from the manufacturer to respond to us in the first place. But I found Meridian was different from day one and the company was there for me. If I had a question, the president himself would respond to emails in under a minute. That’s my kind of speed!”

 In fact, the designer described Meridian as an ideal vendor for interior designers. “The executive team is young, up-and-coming, and quick. They understand the needs of a design business, and the platform gives us access to carriers who offer exceptional white glove services, that we could not necessarily secure on our own due to order volume. And, in cases where I have a serious rush order and can’t wait a week, I have sent my team and my truck to their warehouse in New Jersey, and they’ve helped them load it and I have received the product the same day.”

Indeed, with a vast, ever-changing product line of reasonably priced, high-style designs sourced globally, Yudkovsky said the fast-growing furniture brand is filling a critical gap in the marketplace for interior designers on the hunt for trend-forward product at affordable prices coupled with fast shipping. Most important, she said, is that Meridian’s talent for interpreting high-end looks for less, “ensures I’m able to make a profit on each piece. I learned very quickly that if I sold Meridian furniture on a project, I would make more money on the furniture than on my design fee. Now, I tell other designers, ‘You’ve got to be crazy not to sell Meridian because it’s money in your pocket.’ ”

And, she summed, Meridian really listens. “I told them, ‘I’ve got a client with little kids, so it would be great if I could filter all your dining chairs on the site based on the upholstery material because the client needs cleanability.’ The next thing I knew, they had updated the website with filters that made it even faster and smoother. You want vinyl? Click. Velvet? Here’s 40 options. Boucle? Leather? It really couldn’t be easier for an interior designer to work with them, and my business is doing crazy numbers because of their support.”

About Meridian Furniture
Meridian Furniture supplies a growing roster of leading retailers and designers with upholstered furniture designs and case goods for nearly every room in the home. With a constant flow of new product in multiple categories, in stock and ready for delivery, the company is leading the way in trend-right goods that appeal to how consumers want to live and shop today. Visit Meridian Furniture’s website, www.meridianfurniture.com for more.