Designer furniture from upscale companies can be purchased at reasonable prices. But in order to find such bargains, one must abandon regular stores and search either in dusty warehouses that sell surplus items, or on regular display floors where seconds are available. Seconds usually have sustained some damage during manufacturing or shipping, have spent some time on the display floor, or come from an outdated collection.
Designer companies apparently have discovered the marketing power of surplus outlets that draw a vast clientele. Unaware customers often flock to outlets only to discover that they are full of items from the company's full-priced, current collection.
"Outlets are certainly a marketing gimmick with the potential to attract a larger customer population, says Orit Oz-Ari, director of sales for Tzora Furniture, which opened outlet stores last year. "Customers come in search of surplus, and end up buying new items."
Despite that, one can find many stores across the country that carry a satisfying range of designer items at budget prices.
I.D. Design
The real finds at the I.D. Design Outlet in Or Akiva (1 Shtihei Carmel St.) are immediately apparent. A round, plastic lighting fixture in red with clean, modern lines that normally costs NIS 450 sells for NIS 100. Colorful, plastic stools go for NIS 80 rather than NIS 200. A large bookcase with a cherry wood veneer costs NIS 1,000 instead of NIS 2,650.
A wide variety of items fills the 1,500-square-meter warehouse. Living room furniture, reduced by 50 to 80 percent, is the mainstay. There is also a broad selection of wooden dining room furniture. The tables range from NIS 500 to NIS 2,500, and chairs cost between NIS 100 and NIS 500. The loveliest dining set has a table with metal legs and an oak surface that costs NIS 2,000 rather than NIS 4,770, and cherry-wood chairs that cost NIS 215 rather than NIS 430.
Living room units, which include sofas for two and three people, cost NIS 5,000-7,000. One of the units, which was reduced from NIS 20,000 to NIS 6,000 features upholstered sofas in cream fabric. There are only a few coffee tables in the warehouse. A wooden one sells for NIS 800 rather than its retail price of NIS 1,600.
The selection of accessories is minimal and less exciting. Ceramic picture frames cost NIS 20, brass napkin rings, baskets and curtain ties cost NIS 5. The selection of beds is also very limited - only three were available on the day we visited. There was no visible reason for the unusually low price - NIS 1,300 for a metal-frame bed.
Damage such as scratches and peeling paint is obvious on some items, especially the chairs. Colorful, polyurethane chairs featured on the popular "Laugh Academy" television program now cost NIS 220 instead of NIS 700.
Beitili
Furniture and rugs reduced by 30-80 percent are available at the Beitili chain's outlet in the Ilanot Complex at the Bnei Dror intersection. The 600-square-meter store, opened six months ago, has living room units, dining sets, armchairs and modular shelving units. One Italian living room unit for five (two-seater and three-seater) costs NIS 5,990 instead of NIS 21,000. A teak chair, also from Italy, costs NIS 300 instead of NIS 690. Another Beitili outlet at the Ad Halom intersection, between Ashdod and Ashkelon, is open on Shabbat.
"I frequently refer my friends to the outlet," says Beitili sales director Pini Goldstein, describing the outlet's clientele as, "Mainly young people who can't afford the retail chain, but also smart consumers who ask when items will be sent to the outlet so that they can get a better price."
Tzora Furniture
The chain's surplus departments are located in branches in Tel Aviv (37 Nahal Ayalon St.), on Kibbutz Tzora, in Haifa (at the Check Post mall on 1 Marconi St.), and on the display floor of the Edanim Company in Kfar Sava's industrial zone. The turnover in all these branches is tremendous.
The 50-square-meter surplus department in Tel Aviv contains 200 office chairs upholstered in gray, purple, red, turquoise and black. The chairs and other furniture are reduced by 25 to 45 percent. A trip to Tzora's surplus department is especially recommended when looking for an office chair. The fine quality chairs are sold at reasonable prices, as low as NIS 200, despite the chain's normally high prices. A blue upholstered chair, for example, sells for NIS 300 rather than NIS 600. Finer quality chairs cost more in comparison: A suede orthopedic chair costs NIS 1,200 rather than NIS 2,400.
Tables and work stations occasionally find their way into the store. A formica boardroom table with nickel legs, which seats 20, costs NIS 2,700 rather than NIS 5,400, and a formica work station with metal legs and drawers costs NIS 1,000 rather than NIS 2,000.
IKEA
IKEA's bargain department is well-hidden in a 150-square-meter corner, not far from the cashiers. The department sells items that were on display at prices reduced by 30-40 percent. Sales sometimes take place when the corner becomes too full, and prices during these sales may be reduced by 70 percent.
IKEA's store manager Eyal Sellouk says that the corner is modestly located because management is not interested in directing customers toward these seconds. "Our prices are reasonable, anyway. Our bargain area is a way to sell these seconds, and an opportunity for customers to find our products at even lower prices."
There is no point in going to IKEA just to visit the bargain department. The department is worth a passing glance, however, if one is already there. The items are replaced daily, and any item in the store may eventually find its way there. Items include black and brick-colored plastic chairs for NIS 248 rather than NIS 395, a wheeled office chair upholstered in red for NIS 207 rather than NIS 345, a round, purple, retro-look armchair with metal legs for NIS 406 rather than NIS 625, a teak storage unit with four drawers for NIS 450 rather than NIS 675, a wooden dining table for NIS 998 rather than NIS 1,695, a white, melamine coffee table for NIS 160 rather than NIS 245, and a double-seater sofa in brown leather for NIS 2,397 rather than NIS 3,995.
A tiny collection of accessories includes dishes, lamps, knick knacks, glassware, candles, pictures, storage boxes and textiles. More attractive items include a lighting fixture shaped like an ice cube, which costs NIS 16 rather than NIS 95, and a set of floral vintage-look dishes for six diners that cost NIS 321 instead of NIS 495.
Tabletops and kitchen units are also available in the bargain department for those interested in building their furniture. A wood-veneer, office tabletop is sold for NIS 360 rather than NIS 600.
Tolman's
One of Tolman's outlets is housed in a refurbished 500-square-meter hangar in Herzliya Pituach (9 Hahoshlim St.). Another outlet, the only one containing dishes, is located in the train station complex at Beit Yehoshua, and a third is located in Haifa (44 Bar Yehuda St.).
Most of the items available in the outlets belong to the "Tolman's Basic" collection featured in the chain in the last nine years. Items from the collection are less expensive at the outlet than they are in the chain's regular store, and the outlet was created with the goal of broadening the chain's customer base. In response to falling sales, Tolman's management decided two years ago to market these products in outlets under the name Outlet Collection. "It is true that the word `outlet' is a bit misleading," Tolman's owner Jeff Tolman admits. "But all the marketing experts advised us to label the stores as outlets, because it attracts customers." The Outlet Collection items are designed in clean, modern lines and include two- and three-seat sofas for NIS 5,000-8,000, a red leather armchair with a glossy aluminum finish frame for NIS 2,580, a maple and glass dining table that seats 21 for NIS 8,347, and a cherry-wood Japanese-style bedroom set, including a bed and two nightstands, for NIS 6,112.
A small selection of sales items reduced by 30-50 percent is also available at the stores, but they are quite expensive, like other items from the chain. A sofa for two upholstered in gray fabric designed by Vicki Magistrati for the Cassina company costs NIS 17,048 instead of 21,310. A reproduction of a table designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Cassina costs NIS 20,000 rather than NIS 30,000. A collection of reproductions of furniture designed by Le Courbusier includes a leather armchair with a brilliant aluminum frame for NIS 13,523 rather than NIS 23,456, and a safari chair made from leather straps in an aluminum frame sells for NIS 3,721 rather than NIS 11,220. Several items from Tolman's regular collection include a collection of chairs by designers like Phillip Stark, Jasper Morrison and Karim Rashid, which cost between NIS 387 and NIS 1,000.
Modi
Many do not know that ceramic and tile seconds can be bought from the display floors of companies that produce them. These seconds are sold at lower prices when a company finishes producing a line of ceramics. While the pattern may be the same as the one currently sold, the shading of individual tiles may not be identical to that of the current line. Ceramic seconds are available at the Modi chain's warehouse near the display center in Bnei Brak (13 Halechi St., across the street from Canyon Ayalon). Granite and porcelain sized between 33x33 cm. and 60x60 cm. are available at prices reduced by 50-70 percent. For example, a granite-porcelain tile sized 50x50 cm. is selling for NIS 26 per meter instead of NIS 139.
Most of Modi's products are ceramic, but it is worth looking for non-ceramic products that also are on display. Products sold at a 50-70 percent reduction include sinks, faucets, tubs and toilets. It is all a question of timing. The display floor next to the warehouse contains a selection of ceramic and marble decorative tiles priced between NIS 10-20 rather than NIS 40-80, but they look miserable compared to the new mosaic and glass tile collection that shares the space. The seconds corner for sinks and faucets located on the display floor is also disappointing, and has a poor, outdated collection of marble sinks, porcelain, stainless steel and glass fixtures reduced by 50 percent. A white sink that fits inside a counter costs NIS 220, and a similar sink in stainless steel costs NIS 350.
Aloni
The Aloni chain's outlet has been located at Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region for five years. The 300-square-meter store contains sanitary fixtures, bathroom storage units, ceramics, marble, stone, granite, porcelain and sometimes parquet at price reductions of 50-70 percent. Granite and porcelain tiles from last year's collection costs NIS 45 rather than NIS 115 per meter.
Negev
The Negev chain's veteran outlets have been located for eight years in the Segulah industrial zone of Petah Tikva (1 Harakevet St.). The 250-square-meter display floor is flanked by a 500-square-meter warehouse. Price reductions of 20-30 percent can be found here, including ceramics, sanitary fixtures and bathroom storage units produced by foreign and Israeli companies like Hemet, Hans, Villeroy and Boch, and Novo. A monoblock toilet, including seat and plumbing, sells for NIS 520 instead of NIS 1,243. Ceramic tiles are sold for NIS 30 per meter instead of NIS 85. Granite and porcelain tiles are sold for NIS 57 instead of NIS 145.
Super Ceramic
Super Ceramic's outlet has been operating in the Segulah industrial zone for the past 21 years (37 Nahshon St.). Surplus items, including those made by its daughter company, Via Arkadia, are displayed in the 150-square-meter area outside the store, where the chain's regular items are sold.
Prices are reduced by 60-65 percent for items like sanitary fixtures, bathroom storage units, bath accessories and tiles. A legless toilet, which is mounted on the wall, costs NIS 150 instead of NIS 980. A sink mounted on a counter costs NIS 120 instead of NIS 780. Golden colored granite and porcelain tiles cost NIS 70 per meter instead of NIS 342. Decorative glass and ceramic mosaic tiles cost between NIS 10 and NIS 70 each. Ceramic tiles sized at 10x10 cm. cost NIS 2 each.
Ambin
The chain opened outlet stores last year in Tel Aviv (Beit Panorama, 84 Ben Tzvi St.), Ashkelon (in the company's factory yard in the northern industrial zone), Ashdod (the Universe complex in the industrial zone), and Rehovot (6 Beit Hapoalim St.). Bath storage, sinks, faucets and complementary accessories like soap dishes, shower curtains, hangers and laundry baskets are available at prices reduced by 50-70 percent.
The most attractive items here are the pleasantly designed complementary bath accessories, like colorful, plastic toilet brushes for NIS 20, colorful plastic trash cans with a foot pedal for NIS 20 instead of NIS 40, stainless steel trash cans with a foot pedal for NIS 40 instead of NIS 90, and cotton bath rugs costing between NIS 20-30 instead of NIS 70-120.
Half the items in these outlets, however, belong to the company's regular collection, and are not reduced in price. Only a few of the bath storage units are identified as seconds. One of them, with a wood veneer, is selling for NIS 1,500 instead of NIS 3,000.
Why is an outlet selling the chain's regular line? "The display floor in the outlet is big enough to show the items in the new collection, as well," says Anita Haddad, designer and merchandising director for the chain. However, she also admits that this is the chain's way to expose the public to the new collection.
