Flexsteel has unveiled a new furniture brand that aims to introduce popular price point stationary upholstered furniture to a growing customer demographic while delivering a quality and comfort story that their factories are known for.
Charisma will be fully launched at October Market with its $999-$1199 retail price point sofas and matching sectionals targeting $2499-$2999 retail. These new products will be made in the company’s Juarez Mexico stationary factory and will be produced with a four-week production lead time starting in late October. A soft launch took place at the summer Las Vegas Market and the just concluded pre-market in High Point, where Retailers previewed the line and booked orders for October and November delivery.
“We have been pleased with the early adoption by established Flexsteel retailers and non-Flexsteel retailers who see the value of the new brand, some of them have ordered sight unseen due to the trust in the company and the timely price value,” said David Crimmins, VP Sales, Flexsteel.
Flexsteel, a long-time manufacturer and importer, is implementing a strategy to go after the largest segment of the upholstered furniture market as they expand its brand portfolio. The company saw significant growth opportunities through addressable market expansion in response to inflation pressure, the need for lower price points, and demographic shifts. With the addition of the new Charisma brand, Flexsteel now goes to market with three distinct brands across product categories, price points, and distribution channels.
The Flexsteel brand, known for its blue steel spring, provides whole home solutions with quality and comfort. There is an extensive breadth of products and very consistent service levels. The company has executed the brand promise since 1893 and continues to evolve to stay relevant and innovative today in seating and case goods.
The homestyles brand has been a long-time furniture supplier to the Ecommerce channel. They expanded the distribution network during covid by opening its portfolio to retail channels nationwide with a turnkey “Brick and Click” program. Homestyles offers value, quality, speed of delivery via small parcel, and eCommerce front-end and digital back-end capabilities.
The Charisma brand is designed to better serve customers seeking good quality, large-scale stylish furniture at an affordable price. Also important, they aim to meet the needs of their channel partners and provide a relevant breadth of offerings and fulfillment that makes selling easy and profitable. They will back that up with the digital assets needed to showcase online and in-store.
Designed with comfort and quality in mind, Charisma features a larger scale, a low frame that sits close to the floor, deeper seat options, and comfortable seat and back cushions that are reversible. The four stationary upholstery groups are offered as sofa, loveseat, chair, ottoman, and sectional. The collection features four mainstream arm styles that cover modern, traditional, and transitional. Each item comes in a curated assortment of two on-trend body fabrics with pre-selected accent pillows for quick shipping. Tim Newlin, VP of Product Management, added, “This consumer is time-strapped and is looking for a great value. We have worked to streamline the process by having our merchandising team put together great fabric marriages on super comfortable designed furniture that helps you fill up a new space.”
The company set up new manufacturing lines within their long-time North American factory, allowing retailers to buy full truckloads, mix with the company’s popular South Haven collection or share truckloads. This ship direct-to-retailer model saves time and reduces the cost of delivery. Additionally, this model ensures hitting target price points and delivers in a 4–6-week lead time depending on the delivery area.
The Charisma product line offers flexible branding for retailers that prefer a private label or white label opportunity. In addition, because it does not include the blue steel spring associated with the Flexsteel brand, the company can offer the flexibility for retailers and buying groups to develop a house brand for this product.
Charisma supports retailers’ brick-and-mortar and e-commerce strategies and provides full POP and digital content to accompany the launch. In addition, a range of training programs, selling tools, and in-store support, such as wayfinders, tearsheets, and seatback signs, are available to assist retailers in guiding customers through the buying process. As part of the digital strategy, the brand assets will be able to show consumers powerful imagery, content, and product reviews to assist them in making informed buying decisions and understanding the products’ unique value compared to the competition.
In addition to product support during the sale, the company responds to customer interactions after the sale, ensuring that the products meet or exceed customer expectations. They provide exceptional service and customer experience from beginning to end. There is also a Charisma portal developed for retailers to manage the brand. Dan Wallace, VP of Customer Experience at Flexsteel, commented, “We really started this program with the end consumer and retailer in mind. We leveraged our knowledge and practices from the Flexsteel and homestyles brands to come out of the gate with all the same level of support as a well-established brand.”
