Super Bowl Giveaway Serves as a Warning for Furniture Stores, Says Kontenta
Kontenta warns furniture stores against taking unnecessary risks to promote their products
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Mar 8, 2013) - Kontenta online furniture store has warned other furniture stores to avoid the kind of risky marketing technique that saw one American company make a huge loss recently.
Ahead of the Super Bowl showdown, Baltimore-based retailer Gardiners Furniture made a bet with fans of its hometown team, the Baltimore Ravens.
Store co-owner Gary Mullaney pledged that if the Ravens returned the opening kick-off for a touchdown at the start of either half of the game against the San Francisco 49ers, all furniture purchased by customers between January 31st and 3pm on the day of the game (February 4th) would be free of charge.
Super Bowl experts say that the odds of a player returning a kick for a touchdown are about 300-1 - and before this game, no player had achieved the feat on this particular occasion in almost 50 years.
Mullaney hadn''t banked on Ravens'' star player Jacoby Jones however, who returned the second-half kick-off 108 yards for a touchdown - costing the store a reported $600,000 in free furniture.
In the current economic climate some furniture companies may be tempted to take such unnecessary risks to promote their products, but Kontenta cautioned against a similar gimmick in the future.
A spokesperson said: "Our policy has always been to concentrate on a more genuine proposition such as good value for money or short delivery times, and we find that works for our customers.
"We''ve always avoided risky marketing strategies but at least Gardiners had the good sense to put an insurance policy in place, which effectively protected them against their substantial losses."
Beginning as a small retail outlet in 2001, the company has since made a real success story out of selling Kontenta designer furniture online.
It now supplies furniture from leading brands including Kartell, the Italian company synonymous with the use of modern materials to push the boundaries of furniture design in a visually stunning way.
Kartell''s memorable range for Kontenta includes the Philippe Starck-designed Mademoiselle chairs, a must-have piece upholstered in Moschino black and white hearts fabric.
Another standout Kartell product is the Tokujin Yoshioka-designed Invisible Side, a multi-functional piece that can be used as either a side table or bench.
To see the full range of affordable designer furniture sold by Kontenta, visit http://www.kontenta.co.uk.
