Furniture Village to emphasise quality

by James Quilter, Marketing 29-Jun-05, 11:01

Furniture Village is gearing up to go head to head with market leader DFS as it seeks to increase its share of the troubled furniture sector.

A campaign running in July is designed to establish quality, rather than just price, as its point of difference over rivals such as DFS and Courts.

The ads, by Golley Slater, will mark the brand's first change of strategy in two years.

The activity is running on satellite and terrestrial TV as part of the summer sale season. Ads will also run in the national press. The sale encompasses all of Furniture Village's 34 stores.

The campaign comes as furniture and carpet sales are suffering from low-consumer confidence and falling house prices, according to British Retail Consortium.

The sector remains fiercely competitive and last year DFS spent about £70m on marketing. Furniture Village spent just £7m.

Earlier this year, DFS was investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after an ad attracted about 70 complaints.

The execution, which showed sofas abandoned in roads, parks, under bridges and in a canal, was accompanied by the Edith Piaf song Je ne regrette rien.

Viewers believed the ads condoned fly-tipping, but the ASA ruled that DFS, which produces its own advertising, was not in breach of regulations.