Better than expected
Market traffic off, but some do well
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, October 28, 2001
HIGH POINT — So ... what if they held a market and a lot of people didn't show up? Well, they just did, and it wasn't so bad.
Most manufacturers said business was well above expectations — which admittedly were low — even though attendance was down as much as 35% in some showrooms. Those who didn't come were mostly small- to medium-sized merchants and international buyers who decided to stay home after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Reflecting the industry's diversity, even that wasn't written in stone. Ashley, for instance, said it opened new accounts with small to midsized dealers.
The market was strong enough that some producers speculated it might have been a great market had times been "normal."
By the official opening on Thursday, many showrooms already had seen representatives from Top 100 companies, and had received commitments. The speculation was the market essentially would be over after Saturday, with more people at the airport on Sunday than at the market.
But as late as Tuesday there were still people on the streets and in the showrooms, although that had become a trickle on Wednesday.
Executives said several factors kept the market from being worse:
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Manufacturers did a good job in bringing fresh product, sharply priced.
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Dealers seemed to expect that, in light of ongoing uncertainty and anxiety, consumers would seek the comfort of home — and buy furniture.
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Low inventories also gave retailers an incentive to buy.
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Despite a lull in business immediately after Sept. 11, many retailers have been experiencing good business lately.
"I think we're seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel," said Clyde Hooker, chairman of Hooker Furniture. To which the company's president, Paul Toms, added, "I hope there's not a freight train coming."
Traffic in the Hooker showroom was down 30% the first four days, the executives said, suffering from the falloff of small dealers and the decorator trade. Nonetheless, with business buoyed by commitments from big hitters, "It was better than we expected," said Hooker.
"For the last two markets, I think retailers have been more upbeat than manufacturers," said Toms.
Bob Ireland, executive vice president at Powell, said, "We had a great market. The quantity wasn't there, but the quality of buyers was definitely very high." Powell President Jerry Ruff said, "I think we saw people shopping more carefully, looking for items that are highly salable. We had some people here trying to 'steal' stuff, but that was not the thrust of it."
The major dealers visited the Hjellegjerde showroom, said President Jim Dobry. "Everyone expected the big players to come … and they did," he said. "We were all apprehensive about how many of the small and midsized dealers would show up. In our case, we actually expanded our programs with many of our smaller dealers."
Dobry added, "We feel good about what we got done at this market and really appreciate the retailers who came through these tough times and came to market."
Some other comments:
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"I was really pleased with our retailers' outlooks and attitudes," said Dan Grow, president of Drexel Heritage. "They came looking ahead to next year, and in many cases buying for next year. I think they are looking beyond what is happening today."
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Vasso Unks, marketing director for P.J. Kids, said business was non-stop from opening day on. "I would have to say that this was the best market we ever had. The buyers were serious and looking to replenish inventory. Many of our customers are looking to maintain customer loyalty, in part, by remerchandising their stores, so they were here to write orders."
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n "We found dealers to be more optimistic and positive than I thought they would be," said John Case, president of La-Z-Boy upholstery. "For the most part, they had good business in September and that is continuing in October."
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Bruce Birnbach, president of Rowe, said domestic business was up 20% but international traffic "was pretty much non-existent." Averaged out, Rowe had a 10% increase in business. Had it been a market without the threat of terrorists, "it would have been awesome," he said.
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"It wasn't a good market for us or a bad market, just sort of in the norm," said Lewis Norman, Bernhardt president. "We're very happy with that."
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John Feizy, chairman of rug resource Feizy, said, "People want to get back to normal and that means they want to spend. Americans love to shop and nothing will stop that."
Contributing to this story were Ray Allegrezza, editor in chief; David Perry, executive editor; Jay McIntosh, news editor; Clint Engel, senior retail editor; Larry Thomas, bedding editor; Powell Slaughter, case goods editor; Jeff Linville, staff writer; and Lisa Wyman, rug editor.
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