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November 22, 2024
CEO
In 2007, Nathan Cohen and his two co-founding partners, all from European backgrounds, were moving into new homes and looking for modern furniture. All they could find to buy were some very classical-looking furniture. Otherwise, they had the option to go into Miami’s Design District and order high-end pieces that were extremely expensive and for which one had to wait 3 to 6 months to get delivered. Thanks to their complementary skill sets, they decided to create a modern furniture concept that would make a collection following the most popular design trends in Europe and retail it through a network of stores at the best value for your money in the industry. This is how Modani was born with their first showroom opening in Miami in July 2007, not too far from the Miami’s Design District they were setting out to disrupt.
Modani is a modern concept catering to a broad clientele. Their customer appeal is very far-reaching. At the entry level, they attract customers looking for modern furniture at a reasonable price point. Typically, they would get an upgrade by buying from Modani and benefiting from their de-signer consultations and white glove delivery and assembly services. At the top-end are numerous customers who typically buy from very high-end stores, like DWR, Roche Bobois, or Restoration Hardware, but who would be attracted to similarly de-signed collections at a third to a fifth of the price point. “This is why our customers range from young professionals in their 20s and 30s, to Millennials and gen Xers, all the way to the youngest baby boomers. We can say that Modani is truly about making modern furniture accessible to everyone,” says Nathan. “People like to say that Modani is the “Warby Parker” of the furniture industry.”
Modani collections follow all the latest trends within the modern segment yet are sufficiently curated to only carry the most relevant styles. Through a ‘design-to-cost’ sourcing approach, their price points are extremely competitive, and they make no compromise on quality.
Their showrooms feature the furniture in ‘home-like’ environments and coordinated sets that are easy to shop and look luxurious without the sticker shock. “We have become a preferred destination for new movers or dwellers looking to remodel an entire home as we carry most of our products in stock and offer white glove delivery,” adds Nathan. “We also offer design consultations, 2d and 3d renderings at our showrooms and online. Today, Modani is part of the top 100 furniture retailers in our country, and we are still gaining significant market share.”
Since day one, Nathan’s focus has been to make Modani an integrated omnichannel model. Brick-and-mortar retailers have been losing steam because of the growing internet competition, and in 2007, people started to initiate their furniture browsing online. On the other hand, pure online players faced high customer acquisition costs while promoting their offering to the entire US territory and were inherently bound to stay unprofitable for long periods. “It appeared to me that combining the power of an online presence to the existence of physical showrooms in the consumer’s proximity could be a winning proposition,” explains the steadfast leader. “So, I led our teams to launch geo-specific marketing campaigns only in the cities where we were opening a showroom. We therefore allowed customers to find us online and be led to visit a nearby Modani showroom that would spark their imaginations and where they could check out the quality of the furniture and benefit from a full-fledged retail experience.” The result is a more efficient customer acquisition and, most importantly, a happier consumer who benefits from a local and personalized experience.”
For a value player in the furniture industry, Nathan and his team are very proud of having had numerous celebrities choose Modani as the furniture supplier for their modern homes and even mansions! From the Kardashians who featured their Miami showroom as part of one of their TV shows to Flo Rida, the list goes on and on. “It’s pretty amazing how lots of high-end furniture buyers like to buy an edgy piece here and there from Italian brand names and then turn to Modani to get a cohesive look for the rest of their living rooms, dining rooms or bedrooms. Definitely something that makes us all proud!”
Modani is currently experiencing a tremendous boom and is supporting this new chapter by deploying several tools to reinforce its omnichannel positioning and further help the customer in its decision-making process. These tools include our online Room Planner (https://www.modani.com/roomplanner) that allows customers to drag-and-drop Modani furniture into their house floor-plans in the matter of a few clicks and generate 2D or 3D renderings from the comfort of their homes. Online design consultations and remotely assisted checkouts are now offered through their revamped chatting platform. Augmented Reality is also coming to their website and will be a part of the new showroom experience.
“I believe in the compelling white space laying ahead of Modani as it pertains to online growth and reaching into various markets where the brand is still under the radar. We are therefore working toward growing our collections’ reach and the size of our catalog to support growth into these markets and new consumer segments. We are currently adding collections of home décor items that will complement our designs and offering sets,” says Nathan. “We are also working on partaking in an environmentally friendly mission and to embed ESG considerations into our brand. We are setting a target of reaching 0 percent of our returns going to trash, as part of an effort to re-cycle or donate our returned goods to charity.” But most importantly, their mission is to continue offering resilient products with broad customer appeal. “The consumer is at the center of everything we do: our design philosophy, our sourcing approach, our logistical and retail operations. We make headway every day in order to stay true to our motto: ‘the Smarter Way to buy furniture’.”
"Today, Modani is part of the top 100 furniture retailers in our country, and we are still gaining significant market share. "
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