Good product wins good business
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, October 28, 2001
HIGH POINT — Stationary upholstery producers who brought something special to market got something special in return: Good business.
In a down market, some upholstery producers still managed to do well. They said major retailers attended and made healthy orders and commitments. Many smaller dealers skipped the show, and producers said sales representatives already have hit the road to bring the market to them.
Major new collections, fashionable new lines, revamped gallery programs and sharp prices were some of the keys to success for upholstery producers.
Flexsteel got an "overwhelmingly positive reaction" to its new Christopher Lowell Home collection, said Keith Feuerhaken, vice president of sales. "I don't think I've ever seen this kind of response. We were very fortunate to have the Christopher Lowell collection this market. If we didn't have that, we could have had the situation that some of our competitors had."
Retail attitudes were overwhelmingly positive, producers said, because it was the hard-charging retailers who came to market.
"The retailers who are hiding in foxholes are the ones who didn't come," said Jim Gerken, Norwalk president. "The retailers who understand the need to be aggressive were here."
"We were pleased with the attitudes and the responses of those dealers who came in," said Corey Keifetz, vice president of merchandising at Rowe. "We had a good market. We are pleased."
Kurt Darrow, president of La-Z-Boy Residential, said, "I didn't sense any doom or gloom out there." He noted the majors were in High Point in force. "The quality of attendance is every bit as important as the quantity," he said. "I believe the quality was here."
Other companies with strong upholstery markets included Kincaid, Directional, Preview, Weiman, Fairfield Chair, BenchCraft and Drexel Heritage.
Ready to stock up
Retailers weren't shy about stocking up on merchandise, producers reported.
"We saw our major accounts and our business partners," said Ken Church, president of Clayton Marcus, which got a good response to its revamped Clayton Marcus Home Gallery program. "The ones who were here had a tremendous appetite."
Vanguard Furniture did well with its new Michael Weiss line, Modernism, 40 pieces of wood and upholstered furniture. "We're really pleased," said Birger Rasmussen, president. "It was an overwhelming success — beyond our expectations. We have a 90% batting average on commitments on targeted accounts."
Highland House did well with additions to its Harrods line and with its new Refinements line, which features sofas retailing from $1,299 to $2,199.
"All of our major accounts came in, and we opened new accounts," said Tom Staats, general manager. "I didn't see any retailers who are negative. There is a real optimism that comes from the general spirit of the United States. They believe things are continuing to improve."
"The people that came definitely bought," said Andre Teague, Kroehler president. "I think this was the poorest-attended market by independents that I've seen in a long time. And there was no one here from the Middle East."
But Kroehler did well by offering "better looks and better values," Teague said.
At Schnadig, President Don Belgrad offered this assessment: "This was, on balance, a good market with the people who were here." The company's environmental merchandising strategy continues to work well for Schnadig dealers, he said.
Laura Orsborn did well with expansions to her boutique line for Morgan Stewart. She showed nine new groups in styles ranging from casual country to sophisticated formal.
"The reaction was better than I could have dreamed," Orsborn said. "Most of my current customers came and added placements. National accounts came in and ordered."
California-based Richter Furniture, debuting in a new showroom, was pleased with the East Coast customers it saw.
"Traffic overall was down substantially," said President Braden Richter, "but everyone who came in bought from us. We wrote orders with East Coast customers. Our new showroom building did what we intended it to do."
Some upholstery producers said this market got off to an earlier start than usual. Décor-Rest and Best Chairs were among those who were pleased with strong starts before the official opening day.
And the second half of market showed some surprising strength, several upholstery producers reported.
| Lee Inds. did well with this low-arm sofa, in a chenille by Weave. |
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