your brand experience then… a more elaborate channel of brand expression.”
affordability and a natural product. They are conscious of environmental choices. For instance, with our solid wood furniture, they want a product that is on trend and a good value, yet, they are concerned about sustainability and being environmentally conscious. Reclaimed wood is big. Live edge furniture, which still features the organic, unique wood feel, is big.” He notes that this environmental emphasis isn’t just a mar- keting tactic, it’s important to the company. “The sustain- ability of our products matters. We are looking at investing in a reforestation program in India and Indonesia to ensure the long term viability of wood products and our climate.” “We got through. We have the right management team in place now, and there is lots of harmony.” He also mentions, “More and more, millennials are gravi- tating toward urban environments. Lofts with exposed brick and beam are a hot trend right now, and Wicker Emporium also stocks a number of products with the industrial design aesthetic to work with that look.” This move to urban areas coupled with the millennials tendency to use e-commerce more regularly than other market segments, is fuelling another aspect of Wicker Emporium’s business strategy. “Today we are not so much looking to build more stores. It’s not the growth in square footage that matters now, it’s more predominance in the digital space,” Raj explains. “It doesn’t mean there will be no brick-and- mortar stores in the future. Now it’s repositioning them to align with the demographics in our strategy. I can see a time when our primary sales channel is one store – the virtual. But the physical stores become an extension of
The company launched its e-commerce site, with in-store pick-up, in 2013, and added delivery to its services in late 2014. Raj is animated in describing the potentials of the digital marketing space.
“You’re no longer limited to a store’s area. Anyone can find and buy our products.”
The company has developed a comprehensive digital strategy employing tactics including SEO, affiliate market- ing, social media and remarketing. With no anchoring store presence, the challenge to develop the Wicker Emporium brand in a new geograph- ic area is steep. The internet is a big place, packed with distractions and competitors. Wicker Emporium employs search engine optimization techniques to ensure its market is finding its products at the right time in their awareness and purchase cycle. However, a brand is not built on SEO alone. Raj talks about the benefits of affiliate marketing. “We engage with affiliate websites like BargainMoose, StyleDemocracy and Shop.com. They publish relevant content for our potential customers and mention our brand in blog posts, reviews, things like that. If the mention results in a sale, which we track through analyt- ics, the site gets a commission. It opens a wider customer base for us.”
“We are also wooing celebrity designers, bloggers and columnists to mention or feature our products.”
The company, again in alignment with its strategy of tar- geting millennials, is active on social media like Insta- gram, YouTube and the more traditional Facebook, where
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • AUGUST 2016
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