Fluent Essays

Using a market-product analysis, what approach would best serve Dunlop Livery Antiques at this juncture of their business? Why do you say this? due Mar 27, 11:59AM ESTtimeTrends have evolved from antique to vintage (but what’s the difference?) DN By Debra Norton Special to the Star 7 min. read Article was updated May. 23, 2019 In 2015, the future of the Christie Antique Show was up in the air. Traditional antiques had lost their luster, dealers were retiring and sellers were no longer lining up for a spot at the popular show. It all seemed to happen very quickly, says show coordinator Brittany Berlinghoff. “There was a big drop off in vendors and there wasn’t the same number of people applying to be in the show or able to meet the strict requirements,” which included permitting dealers to only sell items that were more than 50 years old, Berlinghoff says. The market was changing. As the desire for ornate furniture and china dried up, the demand for the clean lines of mid-century modern was booming. Vintage furniture and decor was on trend. “We were at a crossroads of keeping things the same and having a much smaller show or adapting with the times and celebrating vintage to keep the show sustainable for years to come,” says Berlinghoff. The show’s diversity became one of its greatest strengths, she says. Canada’s largest outdoor show changed its name to  The Christie Antique & Vintage Show , to recognize the growing prevalence of vintage goods. In 2018, it attracted about 10,000 shoppers and 250 booths to its spring market in Dundas, Ont., one of two annual shows. This year’s spring show is May 25. But just what is the difference between antique and vintage? The Oxford Dictionary defines antique as “having a high value because of its age and quality.” In antiquing circles an antique is an object that is more than 100 years old but even that is flexible. “Most people know that an antique should be really old, like 100 years old,” says dealer Marlene Cook, who owns the Sunday Antique Market in Toronto. But there is no set standard or definition of what makes something vintage,” she adds. With vintage “people just naturally go to the place in their mind, like the 1950s. They have a vague idea about it but there’s nothing set in stone,” says Cook, who sees it as kind of arbitrary. “There is no one dictating what the rules are about what is or isn’t vintage.” The general consensus about what is vintage depends on the show or dealer but most markets and shows classify items 25 to 30 years and older as vintage. “A vintage item should speak to the era from which it came, says Berlinghoff. “This could be anything from a teak mid-century credenza to vinyl records or an ’80s leather jacket. Vintage covers a plethora of subcategories.” In general, anything less than 25 years old is not considered to be vintage. The Christie show allows dealers to sell anything 30 years or older. “Although the heart of the show remains Canadiana and we still have many dealers who strictly deal in this, vintage is definitely a large and growing part of the show,” Berlinghoff adds. Dave Smythe, who started the Ontario Vintage Market at the Ev1stDibs Reveals 2021 Trends from its Annual Designer Survey: Whats In, Whats Out and the Impact of COVID-19 on the Design Industry Emerald and Cobalt Blue/Navy predicted to be the top colors of 2021 1970s Styles, Nature-Inspired Patterns, More Outdoor Spaces and a Huge Shift to Online Shopping Will Lead Design Next Year   NEWS PROVIDED BY 1stDibs  Dec 10, 2020, 10:43 ET   NEW YORK, Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 1stDibs, the leading marketplace for extraordinary design and those passionate about it, has announced the results of its fourth annual Interior Designer Trends Survey, completed by hundreds of interior designers around the world. The data reflect the tastes of design experts, informing the industry and consumers of the interiors trends we will likely see in 2021. Designed by Bella Mancini Design; Photography by Brittany Ambridge Highlights from this years survey include color trends, with jewel tones like Emerald and Cobalt Blue/Navy coming in on top for 2021 and a significant shift toward warm earth tones like Burnt Orange and Mustard Yellow. Additional findings include a return of 1970s-era styles, a focus on bringing the outdoors in through nature and organic-inspired patterns, more outdoor spaces and a major uptick in the amount of online shopping for home furnishings. In the past year, our relationships with our homes have evolved dramatically. Were spending so much more time thinking about the spaces we love — and would love to update — and also about how design helps us meet the needs of everyday life, said Anthony Barzilay Freund, Editorial Director and Director of Fine Art for 1stDibs. The designer survey provides us with insight into interior trends that represent our shifting decorative preferences and our new attitudes toward pursuing work and leisure activities at home. Its been a year of big changes, to say the least, and the survey results reflect that.  Heres what the interior designers had to say. Part 1: Whats In Color Trends: Warm & Earthy Are on the Rise While jewel tones came out on top for the second year in a row — with Emerald picked by 24\% and Cobalt Blue/Navy by 23\% — warm, earth tones saw a dramatic rise, indicating that cozier hues are gaining in popularity. Burnt Orange and Mustard Yellow tied with 22\% of the vote, showing the biggest increase from last year: In fact Yellow and Orange hues as a whole were up 13\% and 15\%, respectively. The use of color in design is often a sign of the times as much as of the inhabitants. Jewel tones such as Cobalt Blue and Emerald Green are gaining favor in 2021 and definitely add luxury and maturity to a palette, said designer Gil Melott. What I find telling is how as people have spent more time indoors, the desire to embrace the outdoors by using more grounded colors to evoke a sense of calm and comfort is, just that, comforting. There seems to be a subtle shift toward the humbler earth tones and we believe richer hues will redefine how the whi1v2e5y5pubs W20125 DUNLOP LIVERY ANTIQUES: MODERNIZING THE VINTAGE INDUSTRY Robert Colquhoun wrote this case under the supervision of Julie Gosse solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. This publication may not be transmitted, photocopied, digitized, or otherwise reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the copyright holder. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Business School, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6G 0N1; (t) 519.661.3208; (e) [email protected]; www.iveycases.com. Our goal is to publish materials of the highest quality; submit any errata to [email protected] Copyright © 2020, Ivey Business School Foundation Version: 2020-02-28 Bob Colquhoun, president and owner of Dunlop Livery Antiques (DLA) knew that he needed to make some important decisions regarding the future of his business. Colquhoun had owned the antique store in Dunlop, Ontario, since September 2001. During that time, he witnessed the antique industry change around him, wavering in popularity and shifting in channels of distribution. DLA’s sales were falling, and Colquhoun knew that he had to consider catching up with the competition in terms of promotion and distribution. He was tentative toward new mediums, but he was considering promoting and selling his products online. The heavy wooden antiques were becoming more difficult for Colquhoun to carry, so he also had retirement on his mind, aiming to pass on or sell the business in several years. To do so, his goal was to increase the revenue, profitability, and brand awareness of DLA to bolster its potential selling price. Colquhoun required a comprehensive marketing plan to grow his business in the shrinking industry. LOCATION DLA was located in a 460 square-metre (4,950 square-foot) barn built in the 1890s. The barn was located on a busy intersection in Southwestern Ontario near Kincardine, Goderich, and the small village of Blyth. These small rural communities had low population levels, with 7,536 in Goderich and 8,315 in Kincardine.1 With a large salt mine in Goderich and a nuclear power plant in Kincardine, many of these residents had a wage that was above the provincial average. These industries were leading to positive economic trends and a consistently expanding population. 1 “Census Profile, 2016 Census: Goderich, Ontario,” Statistics Canada, updated August 9, 2019, accessed June 1, 2019, www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=POPC&Code1=0324&Geo2= PR&Code2=35&SearchText=Goderich&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&BHow Low Will Market for Antiques Actually Go? Todd Merrill Studio in New York City changed its name from Todd Merrill Antiques. Credit...Stefania Curto for The New York Times New York Times, By  Tim McKeough March 3, 2018 When Todd Merrill opened his self-named antiques store on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 2000, it was filled with pieces made before the Titanic: neoclassical French chairs that were contemporaries of Napoleon, an American sideboard from the time of James Madison’s administration and a Japanese shrine that could have been owned by Queen Victoria (though it wasn’t). Today, at Mr. Merrill’s new Lafayette Street location, not a single object predates World War I. The white-walled space is dominated by contemporary creations: monstrous bronze LED chandeliers by Niamh Barry, an Irish designer; sinewy wood console tables by Marc Fish of East Sussex, England; and animal-inspired stools by Erin Sullivan, a New Yorker. Sharing the room are blue-chip examples of 20th century modernism. The name has changed, too. Todd Merrill Antiques is now  Todd Merrill Studio . Custom-made pieces by living designer-artisans have “become 70 to 80 percent of our business,” said Mr. Merrill. “It’s a big behavioral change for the trade, for collectors, and for dealers. We’re not buying things on the secondary market for resale. We’re presenting artists and representing them like an agent.” He is not alone in turning away from antiques. Since the turn of the 21st century, the value of much 18th and 19th century furniture has plummeted. Shelter magazines, once look books for rooms bursting with lyre back chairs and giltwood credenzas, more often show pared-down interiors with just a few older pieces – or none at all. Top-tier antiques dealers who once occupied prime Manhattan storefronts, such as Mallett, Florian Papp, Kentshire Galleries, Yale R. Burge Antiques and Cove Landing have either closed or scaled back. Other antiques and vintage goods galleries, including  Maison Gerard ,  Jason Jacques Gallery ,  Patrick Parrish ,  Bernd Goeckler ,  R & Company ,  Donzella , and  DeLorenzo Gallery , have pushed into contemporary design, where newly made furniture with the appeal of sculpture can run to six figures. Image “Sun and Moon,” a bronze and horse hair sculpture by the artist Erin Sullivan hangs above John Procario’s “Freeform Luminaire II” and next to Amy Cushing’s “Incandescent” at the Todd Merrill Studio.Credit...Stefania Curto for The New York Times Even New York’s prestigious  Winter Antiques Show  has changed its rules. Founded in 1955, the show once required that exhibited pieces be at least 100 years old. In 2009, the organizers and dealer committee changed the cutoff date to 1969 to include midcentury objects. In 2016, they removed the date restriction entirely, paving the way for contemporary design. “By expanding the datelines we were registering changes in the antiques world,” said Michael Diaz-Griffith, the fair’s associate executiThe Antiques Market Bids Heavy On eCommerce By PYMNTS Posted on March 31, 2020 If there’s any industry that has been slow to transition online, it’s antiques. It’s the nature of the business that before someone spends a fair amount of discretionary income on a painting, jewelry box or grandfather clock, they typically want to see and touch it first. But a confluence of factors, including the shelter-in-place measure of the  COVID-19 crisis , is changing that. Two recent moves from leading arts and antique dealers are leading a trend toward online arts and antique buying. “I’d say at the beginning of the year, a third of our business was online, with the rest coming through our storefront,” says Dwight Steffenson, proprietor of  Solvang Antiques  near Santa Barbara, California. “Now we’re going to take a smaller storefront and concentrate more online. Part of that is due to the lack of foot traffic. But it’s also a function of the improvements in photography that let people get a better look at what they’re buying. We’re finally knocking down the barriers online.” Solvang has had a big storefront for 43 years. Its business has included a wide variety of antiques, including Victrolas, clocks, music boxes and jewelry. The advent of digital photography has helped Steffenson’s cause, along with shipping policies and the ability to hold purchases in escrow. All sales are now online, although appointments can be made to see bigger and more expensive items. At one level, the online transition has removed one of the West Coast’s premiere antiques locations and a stop from many tourists’ itineraries. On the other hand, Solvang’s inventory can now reach a global audience. In fact, many of the company’s best customers are from  China . “We do print ads locally, and we have a newsletter that goes to about 2,000 customers, but now we have a chance to be more national and even international,” Steffenson noted. “Will this change the way people buy antiques? Well, I don’t think it’s fair that we’ve had this crisis to cause it. But in the long term, this could be the tipping point that gets people to be more comfortable buying online.” A more high-end site has also debuted in the online space. The newly launched  e-Tiquities  features pieces from the Mediterranean basin. Its inventory includes a wide range of art, including jewelry, figurines, amulets, sculptures and vases from areas such as Greece, Rome, Egypt and Byzantium. For example, one item currently on the site is an ancient Egyptian necklace with a pendant of the Goddess Sekhmet, which was once exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1920. You can also buy a Greek limestone sculpture of Aphrodite for $20,000. How do you know it’s real? One word:  blockchain . In launching e-Tiquities, we hope to both introduce a new audience to the cultures of the ancient world, and to give our existing clients an easy way to expand their collections, said Hicham Aboutaam, president of ElectPandemic Sickens Antique Business Uncertainty rules Antiques and Collectibles market as traditional business model shudders under weight of coronavirus cancellations. Antiques Trader, by PAUL KENNEDY UPDATED:APR 8, 2020 Featuring 5,000 dealers, Brimfield Antique Flea Markets is believed to be the most popular and largest such event in the U.S. Brimfield has cancelled its May event, leaving the summer and fall events in question. Image courtesy of Brimfield Antique Flea Markets The coronavirus pandemic is running roughshod over the entire antiques and collectibles business landscape, indiscriminately impacting operations big and small that depend on face-to-face interaction, leaving an uncertain fate in its wake. Brimfield Antique Flea Markets recently announced the cancelation of its May 12-17 event. While hardly unexpected, the news still sent a shudder throughout the industry. With 5,000 dealers stretched over 21 fields along one mile of Route 20 in Brimfield, Mass., the event is believed to be the largest outdoor antiques show in the country. Brimfield also hosts events in July and September. The May and September shows are the largest of the season. “We will post updates for the future events as they become available,” Brimfield Antique Flea Markets organizers stated on their website. “Please stay safe and healthy! We look forward to seeing you later this year.” Previously, The Round Top Antique Fair, Round Top, Texas, canceled its spring event. A huge gathering site for antiques and collectibles enthusiasts, the Round Top show has been held twice annually since 1968. Round Top’s next event is scheduled for the fall, September 28-October 3. Brimfield had earlier hoped to wait until mid-April to make a final decision on the event. In light of developments not only in Massachusetts but nationwide, there was little doubt the Brimfield spring event would be canceled. The same is true for almost all events, big or small, throughout the country. There simply is no telling when “normal” will return or what it will look like when it does. The same can be said for antiques shops as well. Jim Palmer publishes Old Times out of Glenwood, Minn. Old Times covers, among other things, the antiques shop business throughout much of Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin. Palmer sees the business in flux. “Some shops are going to be OK and others will struggle to survive,” Palmer said. “It all depends how long (the pandemic) lasts. In this area, many just got through the slowest time of the year and we’re reporting increased traffic. But now this… “If the virus extends beyond the peak season, there will be some shops that will be gone. They won’t survive. Others that combine selling online with a traditional shop will make it through,” Palmer said. Nicholas Lowery, president and principal auctioneer of Swann Auction Galleries. Swann Auction Galleries The country’s largest auction houses share the same uncertainty facing mom-and-pop shops and events of aWHAT IS A GOOD CONVERSION RATE FOR E-COMMERCE? Digital Marketing Institute, 2019 A website’s conversion rate illustrates how successfully a brand is able to use its online presence to transform traffic into revenue. When a  conversion rate  is low, it means that a business may be losing out on lucrative leads and prospective customers. This is a nightmare situation for marketers, as it means that an e-commerce site simply isn’t performing as well as it should. However, a low conversion rate can be corrected, and the solution may actually be relatively simple. In this article, we’ll delve deeper into what a good conversion rate is and how a site can be optimized to encourage visitors to stick around. Conversion Actions on an E-commerce Site Let’s start with a brief refresher. A conversion is any desired action taken by a visitor on a website. Examples include signing up for a newsletter, downloading a guide, or making a purchase. The conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who perform one of these predefined actions. For e-commerce sites, the most relevant conversions are usually signing up for a new account, adding items to a cart, saving products on a wishlist, and completing a purchase transaction. The conversion rate is useful because it tells you how successful your website is at guiding visitors into and through the sales funnel. A high conversion rate demonstrates that your website is successfully convincing visitors to become leads or customers, while a low rate indicates that there is room for improvement. The practice of  crafting and finessing a website  to bring about the highest possible number of leads or purchase transactions is known as  conversion rate optimization . There are several techniques to try, which we’ll look at later. Conversion Rates Across Sectors Conversion rates on e-commerce sites can vary widely across different sectors. This is due to the nature of the industry, the immediacy of purchase requirements, and the value of transactions. Using Littledata’s information combined with Econsultancy’s Performance Benchmarks tool’s results on e-commerce conversion, we can start to see some of the lowest performing sectors: Low conversion rates: Home Furnishings (0.4\%) and Home & Garden (0.6\%) When making decisions about products for the home, consumers tend to spend a substantial amount of time researching and comparing their options, particularly when purchasing a  high-ticket item . People shopping for home and garden products are also more likely to make a purchase in a  bricks-and-mortar  store. While they’re likely to perform initial research online, they often like to see it in person before making a commitment. Think about the last time you purchased a sofa, for example. It might look perfect online, but you’ll only know for certain whether it’s the right investment once you’ve sat on it. The majority of people are unlikely to take a risk on such a high-value purchase, which explains the extremely low coINTERIORS THE TOP INTERIOR DESIGN TRENDS OF 2021, ACCORDING TO DESIGNERS After analyzing the results of our annual survey of designers and architects, we delve into the colors, decor, furniture and room configurations to keep an eye on in the year ahead along with examples for each. BY 1STDIBS EDITORS, DECEMBER 11, 2020       This Paris living room by  Fabrizio Casiraghi  features furniture in burnt orange and mustard yellow, two colors predicted by designers to be on the rise next year. Photo © Romain Laprade This past year has been transformative for almost every industry, and interior design was no exception. To shed light on the changing ways we’re thinking about the rooms we inhabit, 1stDibs conducted its annual survey of  interior designers . We’ve not only gauged how COVID-19 has affected the design community, but we’ve also uncovered emerging buyer tendencies leading into the new year. Including a drastic shift toward remote consulting and online buying, skyrocketing demand for home offices and a return to nostalgic colors, below are the 2021 interior design trends you’ll want to keep an eye on in the coming months. Click on the links to quickly jump to a section that piques your interest. Top Findings: 1. 1970s Colors Are Back:  The expected hottest colors for 2021 include emerald, cobalt blue, burnt orange and mustard. 2. Flexible Living Spaces Are in Demand:  Expect an increase in demand for kitchen, home office and home gym revamps. 3. Nature Comes Indoors:  Floral, organic and large-scale patterns are expected to be increasingly popular, along with natural materials like wood and stone. 4. Designing for Health and Wellness:  Prioritizing social distancing measures is a must, as is a focus on wellness and comfort. 1. 1970s Colors Are Back Following the popularity of deep blue palettes in 2020, this year’s designers expect to see a similar interest in 2021 in robust jewel tones, with 24 percent reporting emerald green as their top color choice and 23 percent choosing dark blue. Burnt orange and mustard yellow have made significant gains, with 22 percent of designers selecting each of them as the top color for 2021. These nostalgia-inducing colors may make you wistful for the era of  Star Wars ,  shag carpeting  and dancing to “YMCA.” “The use of color in design is often a sign of the times as much as of the inhabitants. Jewel tones such as cobalt blue and emerald green are gaining favor in 2021 and definitely add luxury and maturity to a palette,” says Gil Melott, principal of the firm  Studio 6F . “What I find telling is how, as people have spent more time indoors, they desire to embrace the outdoors by using more grounded colors, which evoke a sense of comfort and calm. There seems to be a subtle shift toward the humbler earth tones, and we believe richer hues will redefine how the whole home feels: comforting, safe and inviting. If I had to pick a favorite decade, the 1970s might be it.” “From the fashion, to the ea