Buyers look to keep momentum going
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, April 14, 2002
HIGH POINT — With sales on the upswing, many furniture retailers are here shopping for the usual best values as well as unusual new looks to keep the momentum going.
Their shopping lists are long and detailed, but certain categories are emerging as among the hottest, including home office, leather and microfiber upholstery. Many are looking for values in case goods, driven by the continuing battle between imports and domestic goods.
Asked about their plans, several retailers said they want looks that clearly set them apart from the competition.
With business "pretty good" in the first quarter and fair so far for April, R.C. Willey Home Furnishings is focusing on key categories including home office, said Jeff Child, president.
"Style-wise we're looking for things other than what we've got," he said, noting that the Salt Lake City-based retailer's showrooms are dominated by oak product in the category. R.C. Willey wants to add "a little higher styles and more complete office settings," he said.
"We want to really work on our office chair assortment," he added. By showing more complete and varied configurations, it's hoping to push up the average ticket. R.C. Willey also plans to fine-tune its bedroom and dining room categories.
"With what's going on out there with imports and what the domestic guys are trying to do to combat that, the values are very, very good," Child said.
Business has been steadily increasing this year for 45-store Raymour & Flanigan of Liverpool, N.Y. But ups and downs in the economy never affect the company's market strategy anyway, said Neil Goldberg, president and chief executive officer.
"We're always looking for new product, better values and partners who understand the needs of a growing regional retailer," he said.
Leather and microfiber suedes are strong and growing, "so we're looking to enhance our merchandise assortment is those areas," he said.
In case goods, Raymour will continue to look at imports suppliers who can offer both reliable delivery and good value, Goldberg said. Delivery, he said, has become a dilemma both with direct imports and with domestic producers who are sourcing goods offshore.
At upscale Robb & Stucky, the design business is strong but overall traffic has softened, said Fred Berk, president.
"We're approaching this market exactly the same way," he said. "We're very keen on looking at all the new product and adjusting the assortment where applicable."
One of his aims is to strengthen the Fort Myers, Fla.-based company's offering of contemporary styles — and for "things that are just plain different than what you see up and down the street."
Home office and home entertainment will get special attention from South Dakota Furniture Mart, which, like R.C. Willey, wants to diversify from its mostly oak offering. President Bill Hinks said he is covered well at the lower end, but wants more in the $899 to $1,299 retail price range.
In upholstery, South Dakota Furniture Mart is looking to upgrade — strengthening its assortment in the $799 to $999 range — and find some smaller-scale sofas ideal for apartment living. In dining rooms, "We need a little something different to wave off the sea of brown we have on the floor," Hinks said.
As it usually does, 22-store McMahan's on the West Coast will focus on case goods in April, said Taylor Ganz, vice president of the Los Angeles-based chain.
"We're looking for four bedroom sets where we can retail the queen bed between $799 and $999," he said. "These will most likely be imports." The company's buyers also will be looking for fall traffic items.
Wolf Furniture of Bellwood, Pa., is looking to diversify.
"We've added a couple of stores on the Eastern side of the state that require merchandising that's a little different than the rest of the chain," said Gene Stoltz, vice president of merchandising. "We're looking to add to the core lineup some things that may be a little higher style."
These could included what Stoltz called "a little more Ethan Allen-type" goods, perhaps some Euro-contemporary, and cases goods with merlot finishes. In upholstery, the retailer wants high-style looks including loose-pillow-back sofas.
Wolf also will shop aggressively here to accommodate its growth. It is nearing completion of project to more than double the capacity of its distribution center, has recently opened a store in York, Pa., and will open one in Lancaster, Pa., later this year. Buyers in High Point will look for unusual items specifically for the Lancaster store.
"When we open that store we want (consumers) to see something they don't see in other furniture stores in the market," Stoltz said. "Even if it's not a huge seller, it starts consumers talking. It shows that you're different from your competition."
Since Rooms To Go buys product all year long, markets are less significant than they use to be for the Seffner, Fla.-based retailer, said Jeff Seaman, president. Still, he will be here searching for a few new looks.
"You never know when a factory is going to come out with something new and exciting," Seaman said.
With Room To Go's growth — it's now the largest furniture store company in the United States with sales last year of $1.26 billion — Seaman is on the hunt here for something else, too.
"Were actually looking for buyers," he said. "We're looking to add a little to our team."
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