Office chair sales spin on price, style
By Gary James -- Furniture Today, March 24, 2002
HIGH POINT — HIGH POINT — The retail action in office seating falls into two distinct categories right now — red-hot deals in fabric and leather being promoted heavily by the office superstores and other mass merchants, and step-up models featuring better mechanisms and styling being sold through furniture retailers and a range of other stores.
At True Seating, the hot sellers among the company's mass merchant customers are high-back executive leather chairs at $79 and $99, said Dan Tacheny, vice president of sales. "These are a very sharp value, and consumers recognize that," he said. "They like the leather and the fit."
At warehouse clubs, another key channel of distribution for True Seating, the best-selling chairs run $149 to $199 and sport enhanced ergonomic mechanisms. Furniture stores also are seeing good business in that range, he said, with chairs that pair leather with wood or metal bases and arms.
"Colors also are playing a little more of a role," he said. "We're moving beyond black into grays and brown charcoals. Metal bases are still the most popular, but wood is coming on a bit."
True Seating's business has been solid during the first quarter, Tacheny added. Its new licensing venture — in which it is producing a line of Lane-brand office seating — "is opening up some new doors for us," he said.
Benchmaster, a new source of imported leather office chairs that made its formal debut at January's San Francisco market, has won good placements with chairs priced in the $159 to $199 range, said Gene Trobaugh, president. The company offers six styles and six colors, all available on a quick-ship basis.
"There are two markets in office chairs," he said. "The first market is concerned with price, price and price. The other is looking more for style and comfort."
Margins count
The office superstores and other major discounters account for the bulk of the price-driven market, he said. "They're geared to go as low as they can, with as many features as they can."
Independent furniture stores — which Benchmaster is targeting — are looking for chairs carrying a slightly better margin that can't be shopped at a mass merchant. "They want products that are going to fit in with their other home office merchandise — something with wood trim or a little more flair."
According to Trobaugh, many furniture stores have shied away from the office chair category, seeing no way to compete against the fierce pricing of the superstores. "They haven't seen a way to establish their own identity," he said.
Mark Hearsh, executive vice president of HealthStyle, said a number of furniture stores treat office chairs simply as a "loss leader" for generating traffic. "They're focusing on cheap leather chairs that they can give away, but they're sacrificing a lot of other potential business."
But in Hearsh's opinion, the consumer who is spending $2,000 for a wood desk system "doesn't want a $59 chair. They want something of better quality that looks good with everything else they've bought."
HealthStyle's strategy has been to offer retailers a complete program that runs from sharply priced promotional leather chairs on up to stylish, highly comfortable models at $599. "We give them something they can promote in the paper, but we encourage them to show a range of other step-up models that they can merchandise with their desks."
Style matters, too
As desk finishes diversify beyond casual oak into new tones such as medium oak, dark Mission oak and dark, natural cherry, chair styling also is evolving.
"We wait to see how the latest styles do at retail, and if something's hot, we'll come up with chairs to match it," Hearsh said. "But we're not trying to be too trendy. We follow the lead of the desk companies and upholstery guys."
Popular trends right now, said Hearsh, include wood-leather combinations and brown leather tones. Top-grain leather chairs at $299 and $349 also have been hot.
At the April market, HealthStyle's introductions will include a traditional, button-tufted chair in oak at $599. This is an addition to the company's No. 1100 series, "to meet demand for quality chairs in the middle or 'better' segment of the market."
In addition, the company plans to show three new chairs in faux ultrasuede, "to add an element of fun," said Hearsh.
At ChairWorks, April introductions will include a variety of new fabric-covered chairs priced from $99 to $149 retail.
"We're coming in with all of our guns blazing," said Nancy Doboga, senior vice president of international sales and marketing. "But we're also being very focused — showing some great covers that should work very well in the home."
Key colors to look for will be gray, blue, wine and black, Doboga said. "We've worked with our dealers to develop a program that should have broad appeal."
Right now, Doboga said, ChairWorks' most popular residential chair is No. 9166, a mid-back leather model with clean lines. "Its mid-back size makes it perfect for a home. High backs sometimes are too much for that environment."
Another strong point, Doboga added, is the fact that the 9166 doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles. "It's not a busy, technologically confusing chair," she said. "Sometimes you can offer too many options for the typical user."
A matter of education
Home office chairs need to be easy for a variety of users to sit down and use, Doboga said. "In a home, there are going to be multiple users sitting in the chair for different purposes. People don't want to have to think too much; they just want to be able to sit down and go."
At the same time, however, the average consumer has grown more knowledgeable about what he or she looks for in an office chair, said Ron McDiarmid, president of Gruga/Novimex.
"They want stylish, classic chairs that will fit in with their existing décor and that will still look beautiful 10 years from now," he said. "And they want a comfortable fit — something they can sit in all day if they need to and not get tired."
But they want this sophistication to come without any complications, he added. "If it becomes to difficult to understand, they'll walk away before making a purchase."
To help its retailers reach these customers, Gruga/Novimex produces a variety of point-of-sale materials that explain key product features and benefits. These materials include four-color hangtags and packaging.
"If the consumer understands what sets one chair apart from another, they don't mind stepping up to a higher price point," said McDiarmid. "It's up to us as manufacturers and retailers to educate our customers so they don't just settle for the bare minimum."
At Gruga/Novimex, leather chairs in a range of colors continue to be hot sellers, said McDiarmid. And mesh is still playing a role, particularly at the more promotional price points.
Best Chairs, whose executive office chair line runs from $199 to $799, is seeing good action with tapestry covers that depict golf and fishing scenes.
"This segment is really growing for us," said Greg Sicard, sales and marketing assistant. "We've carved out a nice niche with traditional furniture stores, who are looking for something different to offer their home office customers."
The company's No. 1 selling office chair right now, he said, is a double pillow-back model filled with DuPont fiber, said Sicard. "This has a great, soft fit that is perfect for a home setting."
| COLOR-IFIC Benchmaster is seeing good results with its new line of imported leather chairs priced from $149 to $299 retail, in six styles and six colors. |
| BOMBER BROWN Priced at $349 to $399, this HealthStyle chair combines a bomber-jacket style brown leather with a dark oak base and arms. |
| HI-TECH STYLING Mesh continues to be an important element in today's office seating. This chair, with leather accents and scooter wheels, is a new addition to the Gruga/Novimex line. |
| SMOOTH SAILING Clean lines and simple function have made ChairWorks' model No. 9166 a winner. |
| BACK TO THE FUTURE Office Star's Oak 930 model, to be introduced at the April market, combines the sculpted look of turn-of-the-century office chairs with today's technology — pneumatic seat height control and a locking tilt mechanism. |
| EASY DOES IT The No. 1 chair for Best Chairs right now is this double pillow-back model filled with DuPont fiber, which offers recliner-like comfort. |
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