FurnitureSite.com Establishes E-Commerce Leadership Re-Launches As Furniture.com With $13 Million in Venture Capital Backing

Furniture World Magazine

FurnitureSite.com has established itself as the clear leader in furniture and home furnishing e-commerce, announcing today its closing of more than $13 million in venture capital financing, the acquisition of the "category killer" domain name and the launch of its new state-of-the-art website. "FurnitureSite.com, Inc. has changed its name to Furniture.com, Inc. and will operate its business and website (at http://www.furniture.com) under the new name," Furniture.com, Inc. President and CEO Andrew L. Brooks announced today. "Placing 'dot com' after the word furniture brings the industry to a whole new level," said Brooks. "Furniture.com is all about creating the best furniture shopping experience for consumers. To do so, we are working collaboratively with manufacturers to leverage the power of the Internet and revolutionize the way furniture is marketed and sold." Furniture.com is backed by a 'Who's Who' of Internet/e-commerce venture capital firms, including @Ventures, the affiliated venture capital arm of CMGI; Bessemer Venture Partners; Brand Equity Ventures; Shad Run Investments; and Comdisco Ventures. Furniture.com Revolutionizes Furniture Shopping The new Furniture.com website revolutionizes furniture shopping by allowing consumers to create their own shopping experience. "Where else can you find a broader selection of furniture online, coupled with the ability to shop from the comfort of your home? By identifying your style preference, you can create a virtual showroom filled entirely with your favorite pieces," Brooks said. Furniture.com gives consumers access to the broadest selection online -- 50,000 furniture items and home furnishing accessories from leading manufacturers and specialty artisans from around the world. Design Consultant help is available to consumers by e-mail or telephone. Monthly e-mail newsletters and online articles deliver the latest information on specials, as well as furniture and design trends. Consumers have their choice in ordering as well and can buy furniture safely and securely online, or place their orders by e-mail, fax or phone. Furniture.com Creates Opportunities For Manufacturers "Furniture.com breaks the world wide open for manufacturers," said Peter Halunen, VP Merchandising. "This is a great opportunity for them to generate incremental revenue by going global selling far beyond their traditional markets. There's also tremendous value in sharing in our proprietary consumer preference data." "More than 100 manufacturers are online or soon to be added to Furniture.com," said Halunen. "Recognized names like American Drew, Lea, Hickory White, Natuzzi, Carson's, Artistica, Kimball, Swaim, Vaughan-Bassett, Brown Street and Casa Stratavari to name a few, and we're adding new lines daily." Halunen added, "Some manufacturers are jumping right in with their entire catalog. Others value our ability to move their factory close-outs. And with others, we're creating exclusive private label collections." "Plus, there's the market data we aggregate on consumer preferences and online shopping patterns," Brooks said. "We've already been called 'the ACNielsen of the furniture industry.' We will reinforce our mission of improving everyone's furniture shopping experience by sharing market trends with manufacturers to help them enhance their product design and merchandising." Furniture.com Expects to Grow the Market "Fully leveraging the Internet will expand the pie for the entire furniture industry," Brooks said. "Imagine the impact of millions of Internet users viewing thousands of furniture products and accessories. We're investing heavily in advertising to promote furniture shopping. Furthermore, moving to the Internet creates a halo effect for the whole furniture industry. We fully expect to help grow the category overall."