High Point, N.C. — Furniture manufacturer Drexel Heritage announced it has formed a partnership with Toshiba America Consumer Products to sell Toshiba electronics products along with its lines of home theater furnishings through Drexel Heritage stores.
The companies said that one of the primary goals of the effort is to provide a “positive shopping experience for women,” who, according to research done by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), are involved in 89 percent of all consumer electronics purchase decisions.
Drexel Heritage will market its “semi-custom” home theater furniture — including new home theater seating products — along with “a variety of Toshiba television and digital home theater systems, including plasma and LCD TVs” and its newest DLP-based rear-projection set. Home theater ensembles will be in retail stores later this summer.
Currently, the products will be available in Drexel Heritage stores and independent furniture outlets that sell the Drexel Heritage line.
“This relationship with Toshiba allows us to be at the forefront of this home theater revolution,” said Jeff Young, Drexel Heritage CEO. “Customers will be able to walk into a Drexel Heritage store and select high end audio/video components for their home theater, from a high-definition plasma television to home theater sound to customized seating.
“In addition to the customization of the seating and electronics, we intend to look at home theater through the eyes of today’s women, bringing them fully into the buying process. It’s quite revolutionary,” he continued.
Toshiba, meanwhile, will enjoy expanded visibility for its products.
“We recognize the enhanced consumer visibility this project will give to our brands and product lines, and together we can help men and women alike achieve a superior home theater solution,” said Yoshihiro Matsumoto, Toshiba America Consumer Products CEO.
Drexel Heritage is unveiling home theater seating in both the dh and Drexel lines. Seating for dh includes reclining leather seating as well as an Entertainment Sofa. A custom ottoman slides in front of the sofa, so people seated in the center have a comfortable place to prop their legs. The dh Entertainment Sofa allows the consumer to have seating that can easily transition from a traditional sofa to a theater seat.
The Drexel seating also offers individual chairs and an Entertainment Sofa. The chairs incline with the shift of an electronic lever, and the sofa inclines at each end with a specially designed ottoman for the center.
For that custom look, the Drexel seating will be available in leather, any of the 1,200 Drexel Heritage fabrics or a customer’s own material. And the Drexel ottoman offers hidden storage inside for DVDs or videos.
