Know-How Exchange : Strategy

I think you are being penny wise and pount foolish. Take the loss on the deposit and move to a better location. You'll spend more than that enticing the right people to come to your poor location.

Can you connect with people who stage houses for sale?
Can you connect with people who do high-end photo shoots?
Can you connect with interior home designers?
Can you connect with people producing Decorator Showcases in the area (like: https://www.hamptondesignershowhouse.com/)?

You don't say what country you are based it or in what country you set up your new showroom. These answers could have some bearing on the correct response.

You say you sell high end furniture. Could you bring in a line of furniture that would be more appealing to middle class buyers? This would allow you to get the middle class buyer in the door and give you an opportunity to point out the quality of the higher priced furniture. In addition, unless your showroom is in a slum, if your offering good value for your furniture, I would think the high end buy would be willing to travel to a middle class neighborhood to come to your showroom. But again, this idea based on a USA mindset, so knowing where you are based and what country you setup the new showroom could change my advice.

I hope this helps,

Andy Fracica

Your first good decision was to move to a more affluent locale...Definitely network with stagers, interior designers and even realtors who serve this market.  

You might even consider hiring a public relations firm to get you coverage in local and/or national media.  The NY Times periodically  has an incredible supplement to their Sunday edition. Having your line featured in an editiorial piece in a top consumer or even a fashion magazine is an excellent way to get exposure to your intended demographic without (gasp!) advertising (herein known as the "A" word...lol).

Offer to work with some high end realtors and stagers, volunteering use of the furniture to use in listings for sale.  It's the kind of soft sell people are more receptive to, since we're all so over-marketed to these days....

One final thought, and this relates to the first hiccup you had with your original location: study your target customer THOROUGHLY.  Know what they read, where they live and shop, what they watch on TV, what websites they frequent, etc.

What you're undertaking is tremendous, even in a healthy economy, fortunately for you, though, it seems your target market seems to be surviving these difficult times with little financial "injury." It is going to take time, patience and money to make your brand a household name.