Quality, detail credited for case goods action
Strong Toronto market gives manufacturers boost
By Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, January 20, 2002
TORONTO — Canadian case goods manufacturers touted quality construction and attention to detail as factors that led to good traffic and sales at last month's Canadian Home Furnishings Market here.
Palliser, for one, saw retailers filling its expansive showroom here.
"This is always a buying show," said Werner Disselkamp, the company's youth merchandising manager. He said traffic and orders were up in his category, and theorized that the strong market might have been a delayed result of the Sept. 11 tragedies in the United States.
Many Canadian buyers, as well as international retailers, were afraid to travel to U.S. shows immediately after the terrorist attacks, he said. As a result, manufacturers here had products introduced months ago that had never been seen by many customers.
Sales were down in 2001 for the furniture industry as a whole, but Durham Furniture continued to grow, according to Gary Fleischauer, Canadian sales manager. He said the century-old solid-wood bedroom manufacturer has increased its sales drastically over the last six years.
Before 2001, Durham averaged 40% growth for five years, Fleischauer said. With 80% of its business going to U.S. retailers, the company could have been hurt by the recession, but sales still grew 15% last year. He said the growth shows that consumers still want quality furniture despite the influx of less expensive imports.
Traffic also was strong at Gibbard Furniture Shoppes, another company that manufactures all of its product in Canada. Bruce McPherson Sr., president of the family-owned company, said Gibbard uses cherry and mahogany and holds what items it does import to high quality standards.
The more that people understand about furniture construction, the more they will want to buy the better product, McPherson believes. In the showroom were furniture components that sales representatives used to demonstrate mortise and tenon joints and a unique dovetail design.
At Durham, attention to details helped the company win a Trillium Award for its transitional Echelon bedroom collection. Features include cedar drawer bottoms in case pieces, and two-drawer nightstand with a false bottom with hidden storage underneath.
Trilliums go to manufacturers displaying excellence in construction, design and marketing. Le Meuble Villageois won two awards after revamping its line and improving marketing. It was the first time Villageois had competed for the award, said Paul Veilleux, Canadian sales manager, who added the company upgraded designs and quality to rise above the "me too" copycat manufacturers.
Villageois entered three lines in solid northern cherry into the competition, winning the multi-piece wall system and the transitional dining room awards with pieces from the Cherry Classics 9100 collection.
| Le Meuble Villageois won two Trillium awards for its Cherry Classics bedroom. The dresser also can serve as a writing desk, with a pullout surface and storage for writing instruments. |
| Brassex drew strong interest with its new Pumpkin Tops collection, which includes this occasional table group. Named after the orange tint in the glass tops, the collection includes these tables, a small wine rack and a dining table. The three-table group retails for about US$280. |
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