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SAN FRANCISCO — The first major U.S. market of the new year left case goods exhibitors pleased with order-writing activity that they hope sets the tone for the rest of 2002.
Many introductions in San Francisco, a longtime must-see for retailers carrying oak furniture, featured alder.
And as case goods importers continue their efforts to simplify the logistics of getting product to retailers, domestic manufacturers looked to sharp pricing on key pieces to drive business as well as production.
Alder, a stylishly good fit
West Coast producers are looking to alder, an increasingly popular wood in High Point intros, as a style alternative that fits well with their production. Oakwood Interiors, for example, expanded into alder with its Alder Rose collection.
"Our suppliers in the Northwest have a glut of it," said Larry Parnell, Oakwood president. "With respect to price and quality, it can accommodate the specifications we're looking for."
Alder also provides an alternative for Oakwood's retailers, as the popularity of oak seems to be subsiding a bit.
"We listen to our customer, and if they tell us there's a need for something different, we aren't going to sit still," Parnell said.
Richter Furniture Mfg., a longtime maker of upholstered furniture, used alder for its new case goods collection from designer Eric Brand.
"We utilized a material Richter had in abundance, since all their upholstery frames are alder," said Brand. The wood works well with the Brand collection's finishes, which range from dark urban contemporary to natural.
Richter recently purchased a case goods plant and will expand the collection for High Point, adding bedroom to a group that now includes dining, occasional and entertainment pieces.
"This is more of a preliminary round, and the major introduction will be in High Point," said Brand.
At Highland Design, the Provence collection combines alder and poplar, and takes advantage of the manufacturing capabilities of the former Wexford plant that Highland purchased last year.
"The bed and cases have heavily turned posts that we produced on the equipment we acquired with Wexford," said David Lamons, president.
With product from the Far East more and more common in market showrooms, case goods importers are looking for ways to help retailers simplify the process of overseas sourcing.
Homelegance, for example, is looking to broaden container shipments beyond Top 100 accounts to smaller retailers through mixed container programs. Retailers can order mixed containers from Homelegance's main source plant in China or from plants in Malaysia, said Joe Elmore, director of sales and marketing.
Export laws in China restrict warehouses to supporting one plant, but Homelegance overcame that by working with a factory providing a broad range of product.
"Our main factory there offers 350 SKUs — we mix any product out of that factory," Elmore said. "In Malaysia, though, three factories support our warehouse. Dealers can get a straight container from the factory, or mixed from the warehouse for a 5% cross-docking fee."
Elmore said Homelegance is landing mixed containers out of China and Malaysia in 30 days.
Meanwhile, domestic case goods manufacturers aren't lying down in the face of import competition.
Beyond expanding into alder, Oakwood Interiors' ongoing investment in plant equipment is helping it offer some surprisingly deep carvings without the labor intensity of handwork. Alder Rose features intricate renditions of eight types of rose, all machine carved.
"We like to have enough diversity in the collection to give retailers flooring options, so we came out with a taller bachelor's chest for this group," Parnell said.
Diversity, variety and options
Blackhawk, too, offers variety such as different nightstands to allow price and style options in its Vineyards collection, a domestic California country bedroom in red oak with two finishes. The collection offers bed options retailing from $199 to $599. A panel platform bed hits a $399 price point.
"We couldn't survive on that bed alone because of the margin, but it will pull business in," said Mike Genrich, Blackhawk's vice president of sales and marketing.
Sandberg Furniture finds that building to stock gives it a service advantage, and keeps the company on top of conditions at retail.
"We ship orders when we get them," said John Sandberg, president. "We know our merchandise sells, but more importantly we know our merchandise turns. We're never out of stock, so that's what makes the line profitable for dealers."
| Oakwood Interiors expanded into alder with Alder Rose, a bedroom featuring intricate machine-carved rose details. |
| Highland Design used the production capabilities acquired when it purchased the former Wexford plant to create the turnings that highlight the Provence collection. |
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