Furniture Brands
Furniture brands are simply the names of the furniture manufacturers. For example, Right Price Furniture is a retailer that supplies furniture from a number of manufacturers including Devonshire, Kettle Containers and Country Pine Warehouse or CPW.
Each of these brands (manufacturers) produces several ranges so, for example, Devonshire produces the
Devonshire New Solid Oak range, the
Devonshire Square Solid Oak range, the
Devonshire Pine Old Mill range and so on. (This could be likened to car manufacturers producing different car ranges, such as Ford Focus and Ford Mondeo, or Renault Clio and Renault Megane).
Changing names
On occasion, retailers may want to sell a range of furniture that fits in well with the other products they sell but, for various reasons, it may be difficult to use the existing brand name. This could occur, for example, where a major high street retailer wishes to retain their own brand for the furniture even though they do not own the factory where it is made. In these instances the brand (or manufacturer) name is dropped and the range is given a new name in keeping with the retailer’s requirements.
Conversely, there may be times when a retailer may choose a name that is deliberately intended to be mistaken for the name of furniture of much higher quality. Fortunately this is relatively rare and is not a practice in which Right Price Furniture indulges.
Implications for the customer
If the furniture in which you are interested appears to be on sale under different names with different retailers, it might be worth asking the retailers if it is the same furniture. If they are coy about giving a definitive answer, the only recourse is to study the following:
Style; does it look exactly the same, or are there small differences to tops or legs? Is the wood the same? Is it the same thickness? Do the furniture dimensions match?
Fittings; are the door knobs, handles and hinges the same?
Method of construction; are they both fully assembled or both self-assembly?
Finish; are both pieces lacquered, oiled or waxed?
If they appear the same, it is likely that they are same (!) and the only choice then will depend on which retailer is offering the best deal.