Australian lifestyle retailer, Freedom, has overhauled its visual merchandising program to help shoppers feel more at home.

The homewares, furniture, and bedding chain has been merchandising product around the notion of rooms, says MD Tim Schaafsma.

“We’ve aligned our product more functionally, such as around the bedroom, living room, and kitchen, and are aligning upholstery and homewares with furniture.

“We’ve focused on bringing together our merchandise in a way that makes it very clear to customers on how it can look in their home.”

Freedom, which launched in 1981 and dominated local lifestyle retail in the 1990s, had seen its market hampered by internationals in the last decade.

One of its major competitors, the Swedish-owned Ikea, is often credited with starting the ‘home away from home’ merchandising trend.

“[Ikea] has tapped into the Australian consumer being well researched, and so we’ve had to make sure our product is different in terms of design and value,” says Schaafsma.

This means Freedom is continuing its value position, but is now also pushing its Australian-designed credentials and ability to respond to local design trends.

“One overall trend is that consumers are better researched and education. They love colourful and design-led products.”

Freedom, which is owned by Steinhoff International, is reporting double digit sales growth in the last year for the months April to September.

Schaafsma says the chain’s 18 month turnaround is partly due to the new merchandising program, and well as the overhaul of its customer service strategies.