Casual dining offers rainbow of options
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, April 28, 2002
HIGH POINT — For the retailer comfortable with custom orders, casual dining remains one of the industry's most creative categories, and buyers here responded to the rainbow of colors, sizes, shapes and materials that resources offered.
Casual dining specialists didn't restrict their menus to any particular style, but did seem to be following a theme that blends casual with elegance.
"We really let the consumer decide exactly what they want," said Patrice Gervais, president of Dinec, which offers hundreds of colors and configurations in a line that is 100% special order.
Noting increased sales of hutches and buffets, Gervais said casual dining furniture appears to be migrating into the dining room rather than staying stuck in the kitchen.
For special-order producers, market is less about finding floor space for new models than about reinforcing relationships and landing new accounts. Producers in this growing niche said they were pleased by the retail enthusiasm for their wares, which rely on a consultative selling approach in stores.
To communicate the breadth of Canadel's options — four edges, nine legs, 64 regular colors and 86 Corian colors — Jean Devault, vice president of marketing, developed a new work center for retailers to use as a sales aid. "Of course, it is complicated to sell a line with so many choices, but you always get the sale when you can give the customer what she really wants," he said.
Canadel drew positive reviews with a new reconstituted stone-top from DuPont called Zodiaq, a step up from Corian. Also new, Canadel reintroduced tilt-swivel chairs on casters. "I think we did it better this time because we did not upholster the back," Devault said.
Single-color sets did better at the market than two-tone, he added. And while there is still a market for funky colors, earth tones are on the rise, he said.
Offering high style at a promotional price, Ligo hit a home run with its expanded metal-and-wood program, with five-piece sets retailing from $299 to $1,699. The company, which manufactures in Thailand, also attracted positive attention with marble-top sets at $599 and synthetic stone impervious tabletops with chairs from $999.
"We got a real nice response," said Dan Angus, senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Pastel continued to expand on its wood-and-iron sets, adding several new castered chairs to complete the look. Lee Honigsfeld, vice president of sales, said casual dining is doing well because it offers style as well as every-day use.
"Our whole idea is to create a look that we call casual formal," he said. "These sets will go into rooms that are still dining rooms, but they are not formal dining rooms. In this setting, we have to be both elegant and casual."
For high-end stores, Johnston Casuals, a longtime style leader specializing in contemporary metal sets, drew the attention of buyers with some more traditional designs, expanding from its contemporary base. For instance, the new Regency collection, designed by New Orleans designer Karyl Pierce Paxton, blends traditional details such as shrunken fabric, scroll arms and a faux gold-leaf accent finish with a smooth and stylish graphite finish.
"We are broadening our appeal with traditional designs like this," said Joseph Johnston, president.
At Dinaire, a European country look blended with contemporary finishes to create a look that a family will be comfortable using regularly, even when guests come calling.
"The category seems to have taken off with the explosion in great rooms," said David Dunn, president. "More and more people are spending more time in their kitchen area, and they are trying to bring the whole kitchen look together in look they enjoy."
| The Regency collection shows how Johnston Casuals has branched out into more traditional looks. Designed by Karyl Pierce Paxton, this set will retail for about $2,200. |
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