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By: Diane Sampson
Web site: http://www.lamps-n-lighting.com
Lamps and lighting have become a bigger decorative
category over the past year and may represent
a transition. If those pundits who hold that the
home category is emerging from the cocooning phase
are right, then lamps may be a big splash for
the home accents segment, at least for a while,
with lighting representative of a growing preference
for more esoteric decoration.
Cocooning isn't quite dead. Cocooners are out
there still, but they are fewer in number and
represent a shrinking base of potential revenues,
according to Pam Danziger, president of Unity
Marketing. In studies the firm conducted, consumers,
particularly affluent ones, had begun to shift
away from a home-as-haven lifestyle to one that
focuses more on embracing spiritual and forward-looking
themes. So lamps may be an appropriate transitional
segment.
They certainly were a significant segment during
back-to-school. Take Target, for example. The
retailer promoted several lamps, particularly
its medusa lamp, with heavy emphasis on decorative
design. Certainly, Target wasn't the only mass
marketer to promote a multiheaded lamp, but it
was among the most aggressive.
Lamps have decided advantages as home decor items.
For one thing, they can be updated easily. "We
have found that customers are opting to purchase
decorative lamp shades to change and acquire a
new, fresh look in a room," said Michelle
Jasukaitis, a Kmart spokeswoman.
New products came from two separate directions.
One was an overflow from the candle category.
In developing oil and liquid wax candles, vendors
have blurred the distinction between electric
lamps with decorative elements and those with
the Stone Age pedigree. Oil lamps aren't always
attractive to candle consumers, who worry about
smell and oily smoke. Clear wax candles that function
like lamps, but without the oil-related problems,
have transparent advantages for some consumers.
This past autumn, Lamplight, which has focused
on odorless, smokeless lamps for 40 years, introduced
Ultra-Pure clear liquid candle cartridges. Available
in 1-, 3- and 8.75-ounce sizes, the products burn
from 10 to 80 hours--with MSRPs ranging from $1.99
to $3.99--and feature a wick that extinguishes
itself if turned over.
Lamplight has produced liquid wax for some time.
The improvement with the new product is the cartridge,
which is a no-mess solution for folks who don't
want to fuss with pouring and wiping up when they
charge their lamps. The product works with a variety
of the company's products.
To back up its rationale of making liquid-wax
lamps more generally appealing, the company conducted
a survey that also gives support to the idea that
a significant group of consumers is seeking out
more esoteric experiences in the home. According
the Lamplight study, nine-out-of-10 candle users
say they strike a match to make a room feel cozier,
with half say they use candles all year long.
Women ages 25 to 34 are most likely to use candles
and related products for relaxation. In fact,
about 75% do so.
Perhaps more important for retailers, the study
indicates that users of liquid lamps and scented
candles are more likely than average to indulge
in baths, massages and aromatherapy products,
indicating that cross-merchandising opportunities
between lighting and other relaxation products
continue to exist.
Atmosphere and making light more natural is another
consideration that is impacting the market for
lamps and lighting. Ott-Lite Technology has introduced
a Reading Room series of lamps using a source
that reduces glare, which can cause eye strain.
Formulated to generate illumination that mimics
natural daylight, Ott-Lites also show many details
better than conventional lamps, the company contends.
Products in the Ott-Lite line range in retail
price from $70 to $270.
Providing consumers with lighting options clearly
has physiological and psychological effects. A
wider range of lighting is becoming available
to address that, but consumers have to be able
to find what they want.
To that end, GE has developed new product lines,
packaging and planograms to create a retail selection
that takes a wide variety of concerns, from price
to safety, into consideration.
The impetus for GE's efforts is the introduction
of its new halogen light that is being launched
under the brand name Edison. The Edison offers
crisp, white light in a long-life format stretching
to 6,000 hours and four years guaranteed.
The Edison product will be the top-of-the-line
element in what GE terms its new "retail
system." As part of the system, packaging
will include enlarged, clean print, simple information
that is more detailed as price increases from
line to line and a consistent basic organization.
Critically, higher-end light bulbs will include
graphics designed to give consumers a better representation
of the various products' qualities. The planogram,
which can produce a 36-foot set, is designed to
divide products into sections that reflect the
way consumers look to buy light bulbs.
Overall, the GE effort is designed to make purchasing
lighting products more consistent with consumer
preferences. "We'll make it more relevant
for them," said Bob Short, GE's gm of consumer
marketing.
Osram Sylvania also has been thinking about how
consumers look at lighting products in the store
and decided to make packaging changes. The company
has developed what it calls a "lifestyle
packaging and merchandising program" that
features color photography and product benefit
icons. Marie Luce, corporate identity and design
manager, said, "By making the application
the focus, we have simplified the light bulb shopping
process and made it easier for customers to discover
alternatives."
So the ins and outs of lamps and lighting have
grown more complicated. Lava has reacted by developing,
among other things, an outdoor citronella lamp
in two sizes--20 ounce for MSRP $8.99 and 8 ounce
for $5.99--using its trademark shape and a rechargeable
accent lamp to liven up both indoor and outdoor
gatherings. Novelty lighting began to gain strength
and retail space some time ago, but Lava is looking
to take it to the next level--and size. It introduced
the 27-inch Lava Grande this past Christmas season.
But new product launches aren't the only outlets
for Lava's creative energy. The company has developed
a combination desk and novelty lamp using a glazed
plastic shade that packs in two sections. Thus,
the box saves retailers shelf space.
Tom Spain, vp of sales at Lava, said that providing
more sizes, applications and even decorative elements
is just part and parcel of keeping up with developments
in the larger lighting world today. "We're
getting more sophisticated," he said.
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