Original Home Furniture Palliser Blog
There is no substitute for quality. When Jon Macklin decides on suppliers to showcase in Original Home Furniture, he wants companies that make the best products. That’s why Palliser furniture is front and centre in the popular Woodlawn Road store.
Macklin loves many things about Palliser’s pieces, including the unmatched craftsmanship among the broad range of items. If his customers’ reviews of their purchases are any indication, then it’s clear that Palliser is a leader when it comes to high-quality furniture.
“They love the way it looks and how it’s made,” Macklin says about the responses he typically gets from his clientele. “Palliser has also introduced a lot of cutting-edge technologies into the marketplace, and customers really appreciate that about the brand.
“The company offers a more modern style than many suppliers. They have done a lot to grow their marketplace and be engaged with clients.”
Quality? Check. Look? Check. That translates to value when a customer is on the hunt for a special piece to help personalize their home.
But the advantages of Palliser furniture hardly stop there.
Flexibility
One of the many characteristics that Macklin prioritizes is Palliser’s variety when it comes to styles, leathers, fabrics, and colours.
“Palliser furniture is refined and stylish,” Macklin says of his excellent supplier, which makes it a point to think outside of the box. “There are so many different looks and Palliser is very flexible when it comes to making requested changes. Their approach is to say, ‘Here is this great product – do whatever you want with it. A lot of companies have limitations regarding customizing a piece unless the price is astronomically expensive.”
O Canada
Palliser is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. That carries a lot of sway for Macklin’s consumers in Guelph and the surrounding areas. There is a trend to spend a little more on a trusted Canadian brand that will be durable, as opposed to cutting corners and sinking money into inferior pieces cheaply-made abroad.
High-tech
In addition to Canadian-made quality, comfort, and flexibility in style, Palliser is also innovative with the functional aspects of its furniture. Do you need storage space or phone-charging stations? Palliser offers that. Macklin was at a trade show when he saw a unique Palliser sectional that had a particularly eye-popping price tag. But it was for a good reason. The piece was loaded with all sorts of gadgets – and when combined with the superior workmanship, customers absolutely loved it.
“We want to show the latest technology,” Macklin says of the kinds of products he wants available in Original Home Furniture. “And we’re not afraid of the price point if there is value. I could not believe the number of those sectionals we sold. We have found a new customer who wants that. They wanted cutting-edge technology and the ability to customize it how they pleased.
“There are so many neat things you can do with products like that.”
The Studio Concept
Simply offering great products isn’t always enough to meet clients’ needs. The manner in which they are presented inside Original Home Furniture is critical to showing precisely why Palliser furniture can be a special addition to a home.
Macklin had a rare opportunity for his business – to be one of the few stores across Canada that had a full-scale Palliser studio within its walls. Palliser came up with the studio concept for their best partners, a dedicated space of approximately 5,000 square feet to replicate the inside of a home. Macklin is no stranger to showcasing his products in this manner, but Palliser’s vision takes it a step further.
“Palliser provides these assets and accompanying imagery for our area to stand out in exchange for a specific amount of area,” he says. “We were looking to do something different. We want to display items the best we can. The space will feature customized décor, like beautiful millwork that makes it unique to the rest of the store. The idea is to continue to step it up and spend on the accessories and lamps to tailor it so the Palliser products look as good as they can.”
The "new" Palliser 2.0 studio concept was installed in May and was the first of its kind in Ontario! A dedicated team flew in from Winnipeg for the 2 day install to make sure all aspects of this amazing space were perfectly attended to.
“This new concept is the nicest the industry has seen,” says Macklin. “It will feature that stunning millwork, large samples that you can take off of the wall and drape over a chair or couch to see what it would like, and just beautiful styling.
“The Palliser studio comes with a big-screen presentation. It enables us to comfortably sit at a table with stools and design products for our clients digitally. You put a sectional together on the screen piece by piece, with whatever the customer wants, like chargers and consoles. You can literally assemble the piece in about 60 seconds.
“It’s unbelievable. Not every store can do that.”