One vision' Global competitiveness'

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One vision.Global competitiveness.

• NEW VALUE FOR A
• CHANGING MARKETPLACE

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Consumer perception of mass customized furniture
Torsten Lihra, FPInnovations ForintekUrs
Buehlmann, Virginia Tech
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Presentation outline

• Background
• Mass customization
• Consumer survey on the importance of bedroom
  furniture customization
• Conclusion

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Background
U.S. household furniture imports
Source Strategis 2009
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Background
Canadian household furniture trade balance
Source Strategis 2009
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Background
Can the furniture industry survive in countries
without access to cheap labour?
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Background
There are always surprises!
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Background

• To justify a higher price, furniture has to offer
  higher value
• Product differentiation through mass
  customization may be a profitable strategy

Any difference?
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Mass customization concept

• Mass customization (MC) may be defined as
• Fulfillment of customized orders at an industrial
  scale with competitive prices and lead times.

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Mass customization concept

• Implementation of MC is challenging
• Make-to-order
• Small batch sizes
• Supply chain management
• IT
• Marketing

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Consumer perception of mass customized bedroom
furniture

• A consumer survey has been conducted in the
  North-East U.S. to assess the importance
  consumers assign to bedroom furniture
  customization.
• 349 respondents were randomly drawn from a WEB
  panel.
• Seven types of customization were evaluated on a
  scale 1 not at all important to 7 very
  important

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Consumer perception of mass customized bedroom
furniture
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Consumer perception of mass customized bedroom
furniture
Sample characteristics
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Consumer perception of mass customized bedroom
furniture

• Overall results

On a scale of 1 not at all important to 7
very important
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Consumer perception of mass customized bedroom
furniture

• Colour choice is the most important option to
  customize bedroom furniture
• Pre purchase customization is preferred to post
  purchase customization
• Gender had a significant impact on the importance
  of bedroom furniture customization
• Women consider customization more important than
  men
• The Rent Exchange option did raise weak
  interest

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Consumer perception of mass customized bedroom
furniture

• Cluster analysis

On a scale of 1 not at all important to 7
very important
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Consumer perception of mass customized bedroom
furniture

• Socio demographics does not characterize the
  clusters except for gender
• 65 of the Customization fans are women

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Consumer perception of mass customized bedroom
furniture

• Conclusion
• Bedroom furniture customization is important to
  certain consumer segments
• Women appreciate bedroom furniture customization
  more than men
• The study does not consider price or delay
  constrains and is limited to the North-Eastern
  U.S.

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Consumer perception of mass customized bedroom
furniture

• Conclusion
• Mass customization of bedroom furniture may be
  benefic for North American furniture
  manufacturers
• Costs and benefices of mass customization have to
  be carefully assessed

Thank you for your attention!
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www.forintek.ca