Producers spice up BR groups
Adding more variety in function, scale
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, February 24, 2002
HIGH POINT — Manufacturers of master bedroom furniture are putting new spins on piece selections to add punch to a mature category.
More variety in terms of function and scale allows retailers to add variety to their showroom floors, and it helps attract the next generation of furniture shoppers with pieces that better fit their homes and lifestyles.
Starting with beds, the island beds and upholstered beds that appeared in droves at High Point last year appear to be filling a need at retail.
"I think the platform beds are working," said Kevin O'Connor, president and chief executive officer of Legacy Classic. "Unlike a sleigh bed, which takes up more room, the platform also provides a dealer with a headboard-only option so they can price it down."
Upholstered beds offer a touch of luxury and sexiness that allows the consumer to customize the look through a choice of fabrics.
Jeffco, for example, had great success with a dramatic Art Deco upholstered king-size bed in October but has also used upholstery in what may seem a surprising but increasingly important piece at the high-end — the twin bed.
"The guest room has become more important, so our customers have asked us for more twin beds," said Jeff Gaynor, president of Jeffco. "We sell the bedding too, so they retain the value of the showroom presentation they see at market."
Century introduced its first twin bed in years last October as part of the Casa collection.
"If you have a bedroom with a couple of twins you get more utility," said Bill Faber, vice president of design for Century's wood products division. "If two boys are visiting, they're more likely to use the room together than if you had a double bed."
Twins offer particular opportunities for special order, since high-end retailers prefer to use their showrooms for statement pieces.
"The retailer might not floor twins, but when a consumer is looking through the catalog, or a designer with a couple, that's when it really sells," Faber said.
A new approach
Some suppliers are gearing product toward more youthful consumers, hoping to lock them in for the long term.
Palliser's EQ3 collection is a case in point, with piece selection more typical of showrooms in Cologne than High Point. Palliser is taking a European attitude to furniture, with its emphasis on flexibility and function, and adapting it for North American consumers, said Christina Petersson, product development manager for EQ3.
The B2C bed, for example, adapts to three different bedding options, which offer varying degrees of price point and comfort. The headboard can be slotted anywhere on the bed. If space considerations demand that the side of the bed lie against a wall, the headboard can be on that side.
"The accompanying nightstands also can be positioned anywhere around the bed," Petersson said. "The B2C configuration is quite new in North America but has done very well in Europe."
Wall beds, while not a new item, are showing up in atypical showrooms. Stanley retained the wall bed for Meridean, a reintroduction of a collection dating back to the '80s.
Besides being a good fit for the style category, contemporary lifestyle, Stanley threw in computer hookups along with extra storage in the headboard for more function.
"We had the wall bed in the original group and talked with retailers about whether we should include it in the introduction," said Kelly Cain, senior vice president. "We found that even as bad as business was last summer, the wall bed kept selling."
Cain said the wall bed targets emerging consumers in the market for furniture.
"The last time those were popular, most people buying furniture today weren't in the marketplace," he said. "There are three segments in our line. The one we call contemporary living, our lifestyle looks, are geared toward that late 20s to early 30s consumer that's making her first major furniture purchase. To this point they may have used hand-me-downs or RTA."
Moving on up
Higher case pieces are getting a lot of attention from manufacturers, who are reacting to retailer requests for adding variety to their floors and solutions for consumers' space considerations.
Oakwood Interiors is using piece variety as one way to maintain an edge as a domestic manufacturer. Its new Alder Rose bedroom offers an example.
"We like to have enough diversity in the collection to give retailers flooring options, so we came out with a taller bachelor's chest," said Larry Parnell, president. "And we always add something extra in terms of hidden storage or other function. We have to do something different to set ourselves apart."
For their part, importers with the right manufacturing capability are tailoring cases move beyond a carving story and react to market demands.
"High dressers are selling 50% more than standard dressers," said O'Connor at Legacy Classic. "If you get into some of the traditional Northeastern markets, you still find the dresser/mirror the desired way the retailer puts it on the floor. I'm not sure that's not more the retailer's flooring choice versus what the consumer wants."
Legacy Classic's American Arts & Crafts collection from October includes a high dressing chest that offers an option to the traditional dresser/mirror combination.
"We've got it cut in the center to hold a 19-inch television and a lot of drawers," O'Connor said. "You could buy this piece, a bed and a nightstand, and you're done. Most people don't dress in front of a dresser and mirror anyway. They're in front of a bathroom mirror."
Taller chests are a trend at the high end as well, said Century's Faber.
"In visiting model homes around the country, there's such a limited amount of wall space," he said. "You have huge beautiful windows, and wide access for the bathroom or entrances to the room. We still have the furniture for the consumer with the eight-foot ceiling, but to stay ahead of the curve, you have to have product to fit these larger model homes."
Unusual nightstand options, such as a round open table, are livening up bedroom selections, Faber noted. He said more consumers are choosing a typical nightstand for one side of the bed and something different for the other.
"We're also having success for with pieces for nightstand use that go very high that might have book storage and a place to put your coffee cup or wine glass," he said. "We design to that idea, and we present it that way in the showroom."
| TALL, DARK AND HANDSOME Oakwood Interiors likes to offer piece variety in all its collections — the Alder Rose collection features this taller bachelor's chest. |
| WELL FRAMED Retailers asked Stanley to retain the wall bed in the manufacturer's reissue of Meridian because of the piece's functionality and appeal to new consumers. |
| EURO STYLING Palliser's EQ3 takes a European approach to furniture items, with a focus on function. This platform bed allows consumers to position the attached nightstand anywhere of the frame. |
| STEP-UP DRESS UP Legacy Classic finds that dressing chests such as this piece from the American Arts & Crafts collection are a substitute for traditional dresser/mirror setups. |
| SOFT SELECTION Upholstered beds like this lavish example from Jeffco add a touch of luxury and offer consumers more options through fabric selection. |
| IDENTICAL TWINS The Case Collection included Century's first twin bed in years in response to a demand for utility and customization |
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