Powell Vegas Market Giveaways Include Top Innovative Products

Furniture World Magazine

Powell Co. is expanding their successful incentive program to allow customers placing qualifying orders during the Las Vegas Furniture Market a choice of some of the top new innovative consumer electronic products, including the iPod Touch, the ultra-compact ASUS personal microcomputer, and the Olevia 37-inch high-definition television. Retailers can qualify for these giveaways with orders starting at just $6,000. The case goods, accent and occasional furniture importer had a record-breaking High Point Market in October, which it attributes to new product introductions, including their top-selling LittleMissMatched™ licensed youth collection, which will make its Las Vegas Market debut this month. “Powell continues to put out some of the most innovative and exciting products in the furniture market,” said Tom Liddell, senior vice president of national sales for Powell, “so it makes sense to reward our dealers with incentives that are on the cutting edge of technology.” The iPod Touch is one of the hottest consumer electronics products on the market today, combining the popular iPod with WiFi web browsing capabilities, digital photo storage and theatrical widescreen capabilities. The impressive 3.5-inch screen automatically re-orients itself however you hold the iPod, and the multi-touch screen makes it easy to navigate through videos, photos or audio books. This revolutionary design takes the iPod to a whole new level, and made it one of the best-selling gifts this holiday season. The ASUS EeePC is one of the most portable, lightweight personal computers on the market, weighing in at only two pounds, making it the perfect computer for the furniture buyer on the run. The EeePC features a compact seven-inch display and comes with 40 applications included, as well as with a webcam, high-speed Internet capabilities and high-quality sound. The Olevia 37-inch LCD flat-screen HDTV features high-contrast ratios, precision colors, distortion-free images and fast response times, perfect for watching sports or movies with incredible clarity. And with a built-in surround sound audio processor, the sound will be as impressive as the picture on this HDTV. Customers who claim the iPod or ASUS computer can take their incredibly portable devices with them from market; the HDTV will be shipped to customers’ homes. Powell’s incentive program was introduced to dealers at the Las Vegas Furniture Market in July, and continued in Tupelo and High Point this fall. In keeping with the cutting-edge design of its furniture groups, Powell consistently introduces some of the hottest products on the market as buyer incentives. LittleMissMatched Youth Collection to Make Vegas Debut New Licensed Youth Collection Most Successful in Company’s History: Powell Company’s hit licensed youth collection, LittleMissMatched™, will make its Vegas debut on the heels of its unveiling in High Point in October, where it generated considerable buzz and excitement among dealers. Powell will show both the SKETCHoRAMA and SWITCHaroo collections in Vegas, each of which allows multiple choices of colors and patterns with switchable, flipable panel “KomboNations” that allow today’s tween girl to make a statement that’s all her own. “The excitement around our LittleMissMatched collection has been unbelievable,” said Tom Liddell, senior vice president of national sales for Powell. “LittleMissMatched is by far our most successful licensed program in Powell’s 40-year history.” A compelling merchandising story was presented to dealers for the launch, earning Powell recognition for excellence in October’s High Point Market Authority Showroom Design and Merchandising Ideas Competition. Consumers and LittleMissMatched™ fans are gearing up for the collections to hit retail, particularly after a spread in the February issue of Family Circle magazine featuring Powell’s collection. “Each of the LittleMissMatched groups emphasizes a whimsical and playful approach to life, for a whole new level of youth bedroom furniture,” said Anne Russell, vice president of merchandising for Powell Co. “This is a wonderful collection that encourages creativity and self-expression, and dealers have recognized that it will be a hit with moms and girls alike.” LittleMissMatched SKETCHoRAMA is finished in Pure White and features reversible panels that peek through circular motifs to show a splash of color or pattern. It’s up to each girl whether to go for polka dots, stripes or solids — or a “KomboNation” thereof — and she can change her mind as often as she likes. Clear panels are also included so girls can place drawings, photos of their friends, or favorite idols in the spaces if they wish. To further encourage creativity, SKETCHoRAMA is surfaced in dry erase material, so girls can decorate their furniture with their own artwork, poetry or doodles — and change it all up the next day! Powell Co. is adding an innovative new clothes rack, designed so tween fashion-divas can simply throw their things on the rack and they will stick. LittleMissMatched SWITCHaroo is a white metal collection, featuring removable panels of LittleMissMatched’s trademark polka dots, stripes and solid colors, also designed to be mixed and matched in different “KomboNations.” The group contains several different bed and loft options, including a whimsical new Rotating Twin Headboard. Powell has also addressed tween girls’ ever-changing need for workspace with several innovative pieces, including a Rolling Work Station, which folds a chair and storage drawer neatly into a desk for maximum use of space, and a Storage with Pull-Out Desk, which folds the entire workspace away behind doors when not in use. Miss Matched Inc., creators of LittleMissMatched™ products, is a ground-breaking company that began with the wacky but fun idea to sell colorful mismatched socks in odd numbers, and has since expanded to become a true evergreen lifestyle property with licensed lines of sleepwear, swimwear, bedding, gloves, toys and books. “We’re excited to bring this fresh, fun collection to our West Coast dealers during the Vegas market,” said Liddell. “LittleMissMatched is like nothing you’ve seen before in youth.” ABOUT POWELL COMPANY Founded in 1968, Powell Company has been a leading importer of design-driven, high-quality furnishings. Powell has long been regarded for its service-oriented culture, broad product offerings, multiple sourcing and delivery options and enjoys a reputation for reliability, integrity and honesty among its customers and peers in the home furnishings industry. Powell was acquired by Sun Capital Partners in 2007.