From the beginning, TOV Furniture wanted to be different. Its furniture is distinctive, with pops of color, modern designs and an array of fabrics.
Co-founders Bruce and Chaya Krinsky created TOV Furniture (opens in new tab) in 2013 with a mission to build furniture that is both stylish and affordable, something they felt was missing in the industry. Many shoppers are not looking for a pricey leather couch or oak coffee table that they plan to hold on to for a decade, as they were in the past. Customers, especially younger ones, seek more contemporary pieces that don’t put such a big dent in their wallets.
“Looking at our brand, there’s a unique element to it, something fresh,” said Baila Bree, director of operations at TOV. “Great price point, great design and that’s what Bruce wanted to offer. He wanted to bring a different element to the industry.”
TOV’s furniture, which includes chairs, ottomans, sectionals, dining tables, lighting and rugs, is not sold in sets. Instead, the brand encourages customers to mix and match pieces. It’s another difference that separates the company from older, more traditional furniture manufacturers.
To stay current, TOV regularly introduces new products and phases out older ones.
“Right now the consumer is not looking to purchase something that’s long-term,” Bree said. “They’re constantly redoing their homes. It’s a very different generation than what a lot of the furniture manufacturers are used to dealing with.”
An in-house designer dreams up new pieces and TOV manufactures them overseas. It sells through local brick-and-mortar furniture stores as well as leading online retailers like Amazon, Wayfair and Houzz. The company only sells B2B today but plans to break into the direct-to-consumer market soon.
Designing a solution for rapid growth
The furniture brand took off quickly and continues to grow 60 percent year-over-year. With that growth have come operational challenges that forced the company to replace some of its business systems. On its busiest days, TOV receives 300 orders that customers previously placed via phone or email. Employees then processed those orders manually, calculated the shipping cost and relayed that to the buyer.
The manufacturer also lacked visibility into outgoing and incoming inventory with its old business system. Adding or changing processes within the solution required coding, a roadblock for a fast-paced, expanding business.
Today, all of TOV’s inventory, order and item information is in one place and updated in real-time so employees can make more informed decisions. Much of the manual work is now automated, in part because TOV launched an online store where B2B buyers can place orders.
All of this data is stored in the furniture company’s new business management platform, NetSuite, and its website runs on NetSuite’s SuiteCommerce Advanced ecommerce solution. Since the ecommerce platform is natively integrated with the ERP, there’s a unified source of data, and it’s updated automatically.
“Our ecommerce site is delivering a better, faster service for our customer because it putsall this information at the tip of the buyer’s finger,” she said. “That information is pulling directly from NetSuite: all the pricing, specs, inventory availability, order tracking and whatnot. That’s helping us service our customers a lot better.”
Once TOV decided to sell online, it couldn’t afford to wait as order volume kept climbing. The business launched its ecommerce site in just 27 days with a SuiteSuccess implementation designed for wholesale distributors.
Much of the brand’s growth is now coming through online orders as more interior designers and smaller retailers take advantage of the channel (larger sellers submit purchase orders through EDI). Customers enjoy the convenience of the online store—the extensive product data and photo galleries online answer many of the questions they once called or emailed about.
Rethinking an old-school industry
The fast success of TOV Furniture proves that sometimes different is better. By blazing its own path and not following in the footsteps of furniture industry predecessors, TOV tapped into an influential group of consumers who want uniquely stunning pieces that add personality to their living spaces.
That ethos is responsible for both TOV’s immediate success and its promising future as it continues to grow while straying from convention.
“Customers love our product,” Bree said. “It’s amazing to see all the new faces that come in our door at shows. The furniture industry is almost endless. There’s so many people out there and we can really keep attracting new customers.”
Learn more about furniture brands using NetSuite and how the platform has helped them excel in a crowded industry.
