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World Of Bob Timberlake" Comes Off MRP
Hurrah! It shouldn't take long for any regular Furniture Magazine reader to figure out that I'm not a fan of Minimum Retail Pricing. It is counter-productive, oppressive to the industry and a rip-off of consumers. So, it should be no surprise that when I found out one of my all-time favorite furniture collections ever produced, the Bob Timberlake line, was dropping the MRP, I was ecstatic.
Since its introduction the Timberlake collection has set the standard for lifestyle furniture. It isn't just a piece of upholstery you set in a corner, it's a room you create around the whole Timberlake mentality about life. It isn't just a bed in your bedroom it's a piece of art that encapsulates your worldview. And Bob Timberlake isn't just another designer who tries to make a fortune off their name. He is a real person who still goes down to the local coffee shop and has breakfast with the guys. He is the driving businessman who brought Lexington to its knees and forced them to keep hundreds of North Carolina factory worker employed rather than lower the product standards and take the Timberlake collection overseas.
I don't know what makes people wake up one morning and think, "Man... we have got to drop the MRP or we're going to lose this company." But I'm glad they did. Visit the Lexington web site and browse the Timberlake line. It's inspiring just for the pictures. As far as I know, the entire line is not off MRP yet, but hopefully it will get there. One of my favorite furniture "stories" happened during the premier opening of the Timberlake collection. At the time, Bob Timberlake was virtually unknown outside North Carolina so he was wandering around the showroom observing people's reactions to the furniture and generally blending in with the crowd. I caught him in a hallway and asked him to sign a Timberlake promotional poster (they look like movie theater posters.) I consider it one of my treasured collections. Thanks Bob. |
I remember the first time I went to the Lexington showroom
and saw the new Timberlake collection being introduced. I knew it was going
to be a hit. It was so incredibly powerful in its presentation and so different
from anything in the furniture industry. I spent an entire day wandering around
the showroom thinking "this is going to revolutionize the furniture industry."
And revolutionize it did!
That said, Timberlake had a problem with pricing. Furniture
made in the US is better quality, but it is also more expensive. And despite
the quality, lifestyle, image and mystique, the Lexington collection
was just
getting too expensive for the average consumer. Compounding the issue was that for reasons
known only to the rocket-scientists at Lexington, not only was the collection
more expensive to produce, but Lexington was forcing
their dealers to elevate the price of the furniture through Minimum Retail Pricing
(MRP).