Hot entertainment category drives action for RTA makers
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, April 28, 2002
HIGH POINT — Entertainment is the hot category in ready-to-assemble furniture, and retailers at market responded to everything from traditional to futuristic designs.
The latest generation of big televisions and other consumer electronics has given flat-pack furniture producers and retailers a pass to slightly higher price points and improved margins.
Driven by the new sizes and proportions in televisions, high-end entertainment furniture is where the action is in RTA. New entertainment centers and TV stands are shaped and colored to match the newest flat-screen and projection televisions.
"The videophile look is becoming very important," said Mike Franks, director of strategic planning for O'Sullivan. "I think we're going to see it in every major channel of distribution. Of the newest products going into retail, entertainment is about the fastest selling."
For the first time in years, RTA producers came to market with more entertainment than home office, and several said their emphasis was rewarded by buyers.
"For those customers who want to stay near the leading edge in electronics, our new configurations did very well," said Susan Dountas, vice president of merchandising for Sauder.
Combining stands with piers and adjustable bridges, Sauder offered several new entertainment centers that could carry regular retails as high as $799, with promotional prices of about $599. "There's been renewed interest in large entertainment centers, and we put them together in several styles and finishes," Dountas said.
Gusdorf, which identified the changing nature of electronics early, had a new 6-foot entertainment center to fit over projection sets. Part of the Metalworks series, the $299 unit has cherry-finished shelves on a black metal frame.
"It's a smart unit at that price," said Shawn Lieb, president. "It wasn't hard to sell, so we must have done something right."
At Bush, the featured introduction was called Genesis, an open system with free-standing piers and a stand. Available in a cherry or maple finish, the contemporary design blends glass, metal and floating wood frames. The entire set will retail from $499 to $599.
"This is an upscale look for the upscale market," said Greg Bush, president. "We used to be quite dominant in the audio-video category, and we see an opportunity now. There is a need for upscale design at realistic price points."
Many new units had features designed to make them more useful to consumers. For instance, the supports under the glass shelves on the Genesis collection from Bush are dampened to eliminate vibration. And in spite of their open design, the piers include wire management features.
But the market hasn't moved entirely to the new generation of electronics, because 27-, 32- and 35-inch TV sets with black cases still sell quite well. At Ameriwood, the promotional focus remained on TV stands to fit those dimensions.
"There's a couple we made bigger and beefier, but we're still focusing on 27s and 32s at prices that retailers can promote hard, $89 and $99," said Jeff Sternklar, Ameriwood's director of marketing.
| The Genesis collection reflects Bush's increased focus on furniture for high-end electronics. This entertainment center will retail from $499 to $599. |
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