Occasional sources accent the positive
By Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, February 9, 2009
LAS VEGAS — While listening to hours of talk radio commentary while driving home from a recent furniture market, industry veteran Ray Steele was inspired by a simple comment.
It's wasn't the usual gloom and doom, but rather a car dealer talking about the need to get customers excited about the benefits of buying a new car.
“That's our whole thing in Las Vegas,” said Steele, vice president of sales for Ultimate Accents. “It's not the end of the world, and you can sell furniture if you've got the right product.”
That's the type of positive attitude producers plan to project as they introduce another round of product in the middle of this unprecedented business downturn.
There's a range of new occasional furniture to choose from this week. Sterling Inds. and Bramble Co. are among those offering French-inspired looks. Metallic looks continue to be popular, and natural looks are offered at a variety of price points from sources such as Jofran and David Francis.
At Ultimate Accents, more than 60 new items are being featured, including additions to the decorative Bling collection, introduced at the October High Point Market.
The Bling line includes end tables with tassels and a trunk with a glossy black finish with cut glass and silver accents. The collection's approach captures the spirit of the sparkling jewelry accents that became popular in women's apparel last year.
“Customers are tired of the same old, same old,” said Steele. “They don't need another brown leather sofa or a cheap bedroom. If you're only going to get ten customers on a Saturday, you better get those customers excited.”
Jofran is showing seven new occasional groups this market, including a contemporary split bamboo group with double-faced anagree veneer.
The company aims to give retailers strong value with cocktail tables priced at $199 to $249 retail, said CEO Bob Roy.
“We're doing the same thing we normally do, which is to bring as much value to the marketplace as possible and concentrate on their need for strong items that drive customers in making a decision to buy,” Roy said.
This market, Buhler Furniture has lined up more appointments than at any of its previous Las Vegas markets. The company showed in permanent space for the first time last year and in temporary space at previous markets.
The company continues to put the spotlight on maple. All of its occasional introductions are being offered in maple finishes, including such tones as chocolate maple, merlot maple and autumn maple.
“Four years ago, we were probably 70% oak and 30% maple. Now it's probably over 80% maple and 20% oak. There're more soft contemporary and transitional sets now and we're seeing a real decline in traditional cabinet styles,” said Guy Hodgins, vice president of sales and marketing.
Hodgins is optimistic about Buhler's business prospects. In 2008, the company saw a gain of about 5%, he said, traffic was good at last month's Toronto market.
“We're focusing on the people with the buying power — middle age, middle income and middle price point,” Hodgins said. “Those are the people I think are driving the economy right now. They have the spending power.”
These consumers aren't always just looking for the lowest prices from stores, but rather the greatest value, Hodgins said.
Elite Mfg. will use this market to showcase eight new occasional offerings from its imported Studio line, said Peder Sorensen, vice president of sales and marketing. The line is produced in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Introductions include occasional tables in metal and wood finishes, some with a more urban design.
The Studio line targets retailers and consumers looking for value with pieces priced at $299 to $499 retail — not rock-bottom promotional, but solid values, Sorensen said.
“Retailers are looking for good price points to get people in the store, but they also like good values in advertising and we're try to explore that a little this market,” Sorensen said. “We have the ability to talk to a different segment of customers that way.”
Sterling Inds.' introductions include several hand-painted pieces, such as its sculpted Blue Chevron chest with a natural, distressed wood finish and its Variegated Parlor Chest, featuring hand-painted stripes and a ruby red top and legs.
The painted pieces represent a return to Sterling's roots, said John Scott, president.
“Our customers have asked us for these pieces over the last six to eight months,” Scott said. “While many have moved on from the trend of painted pieces, we are reintroducing these at the Vegas market. Retailers are asking for pieces that make a statement and provide a bang for the buck.”
Wood tones are not as popular as they were in past, Scott said, and the company has had success with a combination of stained or washed wood tops and painted cases.
Sterling typically does well at the winter Las Vegas Market with small accent tables retailing at under $149.
“Our price point has been attractive in this down economy due to the fact that our products can carry a good margin at retail and can dress up a gallery or vignetted sales floor (with) a unique product and novel look,” he said.
Scott said while the company is offering several promotions, just offering free freight or discounts on discontinued items is not enough to motivate retailers to a showroom in today's market.
Buyers, he said, are looking for “safe” products — items that are proven and that they know they can sell in their stores.
Items that are more niche-oriented or ones made for a smaller segment of the audience will not sell as well, he said. Today's retail buyers want broad appeal.
“Buyers are shopping cautiously,” he said. “They are only window shopping on the first day and buying the second day.”
But retailers, in general, “are optimistic,” he said. “They realize they have to buy in order to keep their customer base coming back in. They have to freshen their stock with something new on the floor.”
Las Vegas has been a good market for David Francis Furniture, which caters to high-end design clients, said Wendy Shafranski, director of marketing. This market, the company features several items with modern style themes.
“Every time, we come back with lots of leads and lots of new customers,” Shafranski said. “We're steady. We're seeing people want to invest in their current home instead of trying to invest in more homes.”
One of the David Francis' introductions this market is the Molokai nightstand in mahogany solids, which combines a rattan outer frame and legs with figured sycamore veneer and pencil rattan accents.
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