Meet&CoATLANTA — Products that foregrounded the look and feel of natural wood were abundant at last week‘s Casual Market. How, then, did a supplier like Jensen Outdoor— for which natural wood is ingrained in its brand history and identity — manage to stand out from the crowd?
Company leaders cited three key pillars of their differentiation strategy in conversation with Furniture Today: an expansion beyond its signature ipe wood to incorporate more teak, a new focus on mixed-material stories and a mix-and-match merchandising approach in the showroom that brings out the potential for its collections on retail floors.
Source: https://www.furnituretoday.com/
That strategy appeared to resonate with buyers at market, where Jensen‘s traffic surpassed the company‘s expectations.
“After spending a year or more developing a collection, market offers the first opportunity to see how those ideas translate outside the company, but we‘ve been very pleased with the attendance,” President Bryan Echols said. “The reception to all the new product has been outstanding.”
An expanded material story
Although Jensen‘s identity remains closely linked to ipe, the supplier has been working to broaden the materials and product categories associated with its brand.
The challenge for Jensen is not simply adding more teak to its assortment. With the material already widely represented across the outdoor category, the company must make sure its teak introductions are identifiable as Jensen products.
The effort has gradually changed how customers view the brand, Echols said.
“Over the past couple of years, as we‘ve broadened that portion of our offering, people have started to see us as an overall source, not just an ipe source and, honestly, not even just a wood source,” he said.
Jensen‘s broader material story extends beyond its wood selection. A series of aluminum-and-wood occasional tables introduced this season can be specified with sand or slate aluminum bases and either ipe or teak tops.
Beyond offering retailers additional design options, the aluminum introductions give Jensen products that can more readily cross into contract applications.
“They allow us to move further into hospitality environments that need performance without a change in color,” director of marketing Phillip Crowe said.
Weaving in newness
The new Umbra collection provides another example of Jensen adding materials and forms without abandoning familiar elements of its assortment.
Umbra combines an aluminum frame and woven components produced in Vietnam with ipe accents sourced from Bolivia. The wood components are shipped to Vietnam, Crowe said, where the furniture is assembled and boxed before being sent to Jensen.
Umbra‘s name refers partly to that U-shaped back, Crowe said, while also evoking the collection‘s weave colorways and the interplay between shadow and light. The dining chair is designed for use with a cushion and incorporates a sling beneath the seat to support it and improve comfort.
Merchandising for momentum
The third piece of Jensen‘s strategy was expressed through the showroom itself, where the company combined materials, collections and product categories rather than presenting outdoor spaces exclusively as matching suites.
“We mix materials and looks within our own collections, but a lot of people want a more organic, eclectic mix,” Echols said. “I think many consumers are trying to do something a little different.”
Jensen‘s expanding range of teak, ipe, aluminum and woven products gives retailers more opportunities to create those layered presentations within one brand.
The approach comes as established retailers take a closer look at what earns space on their floors. Echols said several longtime dealers arrived at market prepared to make meaningful changes in response to shifts in consumer demand.
“They want more unique, significant product, rather than just more of the same,” he said. “That has helped us a lot.”
