Quest for survival can lead to growth
Carole Sloan, Senior contributing editor -- Furniture Today, January 26, 2009
What most everyone has anticipated for the early part of this year apparently has happened — and most likely will continue to happen.
And that is a measurable, often substantial decline in attendance at markets. Already it has happened at the regional markets in Dallas and Atlanta. It also occurred earlier this month at the giant Heimtextil decorative fabric, home textiles, rug and wall coverings show in Frankfurt, Germany.
But the interesting thing is that exhibitors went to each of these shows anticipating the attendance decline. And, in many cases, they were pleasantly surprised at the outcome of their activities.
It probably could best be summed up by one exhibitor at the Atlanta show who said she approached the show as a reinvention, with product to attract a younger audience but also targeted to the company's more mature clientele. And the reinvention worked — not just for the target audience but also for the existing customer base.
Others in various segments of the fabric, furnishings and furniture worlds are looking to open new paths of distribution with different techniques than previously used in conventional supplier-to-retailer relationships.
We're seeing a growing trend towards cut yardage for fabrics to enable retailers to offer more diversity in their assortments. There are more furniture pieces that serve multi-functional needs, and there is a slow but certain move to more options in terms of finish colors, size ranges and multipurpose pieces.
This is the kind of atmosphere that encourages new ways at looking at conventional approaches. It's called survival. And that leads to growth.
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