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Leather arena brimming with better values

By Joan Gunin -- Furniture Today, October 28, 2001

HIGH POINT — Pricing, although a major consideration, was overshadowed by value at the October market, according to leather upholstery manufacturers.

The swirl of trepidation as buyers and sellers headed to market largely evaporated during the show. Dealers were king — if only because they showed up.

Manufacturers were prepared for lower attendance, and worked to pick up the slack by mailing catalogs (Nicoletti), e-mailing photos and schematics (American Leather) or arming sales representatives with CD presentations to take on the road to absent buyers (Natuzzi).

As for pricing wars, Don Ozmar, president of James River Furniture Group, said, "There is no bottom when it comes to pricing."

Canadian-based Rodi presented stationary leather frames at retails as low as $599, Campbell Sales Group hit the $799 price point, and DeCoro offered a series of new frames at retails of $999.

Michael El Khatib, marketing director for Niroflex U.S.A., said the Brazilian producer's strength was tied to retails of $899 to $1,299.

Leatherline, in its official rollout of Italian frames, offered three-piece groups at $1,299.

"Pricing has not been an issue at all," said Tom Leon, president of Ashley's Millennium division. "We came out very strong with some good values."

Mauro Bracciale, U.S. sales manager for Nicoletti, also dismissed the pricing issue. Rather, he said, buyers were shopping for "something unusual, out of the ordinary."

But Harry Cierler, director of sales and marketing for Chateau d'Ax, observed, "Pricing is an issue every market."

As with Cierler and most other executives interviewed, both Jeff Baron and Fred Starr, presidents of DeCoro USA and Natuzzi USA, respectively, said value is the buyers' bottom line.

"It isn't about price. Retailers want value," Baron said. "In that respect, this market was no different than any other, nor were retailers' reactions to our prices."

Natuzzi's Starr said, "We offered very good value and consistency across the board. We wrote a lot of business."

Johne Albanese, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Natuzzi, said there was a smattering of noise about promotional prices. He noted that Natuzzi's everyday pricing includes retails as low as $699 for the Italsofa line or $1,799 for three-piece groups.

"But we're not purely promotional," he said. "We have much broader offerings. Style, comfort and design are our greatest strengths."

American Leather remained unscathed by the pricing debate. "We are not a cash-and-carry business," said Glenn Paluch, director of sales. "We are custom order. We don't sell container loads so we don't have to compete on price."

Upping the ante on design, Canadian-based Legacy Leather revived its contemporary line with Collezione Divani. The new five-frame, special-order assortment, designed by Product Manager Giuliano Ianniciello, offers retails starting at $2,495.

In addition to nine new sofas, Contempo presented a chair program encompassing four pull-up accent chairs with retails between $599 and $699.

Broyhill added this classic Chesterfield-style sofa to its leather collection. The traditional entry rounds out the line, which previously leaned toward contemporary and transitional looks. In Italian leather, it retails for about $1,699.

New from Campbell Sales Group is Brooke from Gold Comfort, a three-over-three transitional frame with nailhead accents. Dressed in an upgraded leather cover, it retails at $1,195.

Leather market directions

PRICE VS. VALUE: Pricing wars? No. Better value? Yes.
MIXING METAPHORS: The layered look was illustrated by El Ran's doubling up of pillowtops on roll arms, and by Elite Leather's application of metal crown accents to wood legs.
LOW AND HIGH: William Alan turned in another good idea with low-slung fireside chairs for high-flung fireside chats.

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