Restoration Hardware is looking forward to a year of profitability after spending four years repositioning the brand.
The company opened its first store in 1985 in Eureka, CA and by 2000 had 102 locations. In 1998, it went public and mailed its first catalog.
Vice president for marketing Christine Parish told attendees at the DMA’s recent Catalog on the Road Day in Cambridge, MA, that prior to 2001 the company’s merchandise mix had a reputation for being whimsical and nostalgic. The offerings leaned toward individual items that didn’t really work together, rather than collections.
A big problem was that low-ticket items often were on display next to far more expensive products. For example, a jar of plastic chattering-teeth novelties on a $4,000 cherry table made it hard for consumers to believe the furniture was worth the price.
The product mix also had a reputation for being entertaining, and consumers often would spend 45 minutes or so in the stores. But, Parish lamented, they weren’t spending.
The low price-point product mix was edited, and Restoration Hardware set about creating a consistency of product offerings and a
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