Smaller is beautiful in SOHO showrooms
By Gary James -- Furniture Today, October 28, 2001
HIGH POINT — HIGH POINT — Small office/home office producers enjoyed an active market here, despite a falloff in attendance among the ranks of smaller furniture stores and international buyers.
"We had a solid market," said John Hendrix, vice president of sales for Office Star. "Those dealers who came were looking for ways to freshen up their floors and create new excitement. We wrote a good number of new orders here even though the traffic was down."
Hendrix said his company, an office chair specialist, did well with new task, manager's and executive chairs featuring animal print, leather and mesh covers.
Also enjoying a good market was Studio RTA. In addition to a variety of workstations, including the ultra-sleek IQ 1000, the company expanded into futon frames as part of a "whole room" approach that ties together office, entertainment and occasional items.
"We're positioning ourselves as a more complete resource," said President Paul Reitzin.
Recognizing that space is a major concern for many consumers, SOHO producers showed a variety of creative pieces designed to fit in smaller footprints.
These pieces run the gamut from tower carts to laptop cabinets to stackable cubes. The goal in each case is similar: provide consumers with stylish, highly functional furniture without taking up a lot of space.
At Bassett, two space-savvy pieces were introduced for laptop users. The first, a laptop desk, features a lift top that retracts to hide computer equipment or projects to create a larger work surface when open. The other, a laptop tower unit, features a drop-down front for computer use and drawer space for storing files, a printer and media. A docking station allows for easy Internet access.
Both are available in three styles and four finishes to coordinate with existing Bassett bedroom and occasional groups.
"Our research shows that people are using their laptops more than their CPUs," said Matt Johnson, vice president of merchandising and product design at Bassett. "These new pieces offer a space-efficient way to work and then hide your gear when you're not working."
At O'Sullivan, a new patent-pending system called the Digital Dock offers computer users an easy way to access all the new devices being installed on today's CPUs, such as DVD drives.
The "dock" takes the form of a cavity at the back of the desktop that hides the bulk of the CPU while still keeping its vital drives and connections within easy reach.
"We've always been focused on hiding the CPU, but users' needs are changing," said Mike Franks, director of strategic planning and communication at O'Sullivan. "Our dock puts the CPU front and center without taking up valuable workspace."
O'Sullivan featured the dock on four different desks.
Hooker Furniture also was thinking compact this market. Its SOHO introductions included a downsized version of its popular Ultimate computer cabinet.
"This format offers most of the function of the Ultimate cabinet but is about 10 inches narrower," said Kim Shaver, director of communications. "We think this new unit will open up a new market for us, particularly in new homes with slightly smaller room sizes."
Hooker also showed two new mid-height cabinets for smaller homes, apartments and resort homes.
Believing that retailers need eye-catching items to generate traffic in today's tough environment, Altra Inds. featured a line of home office "taborets," mobile storage cabinets designed to hold files, papers and collections. Part of the Art Works series, the line features a painted finish on sculpted medium-density fiberboard in tones such as terra cotta, espresso, indigo, wheat, silver, ebony and cinnamon.
In two sizes, the taborets are priced at $69 and $99 retail.
"Our strategy is to give retailers an impulse item that adds excitement to their floors," said President Steve Wahrhaftig.
Z-Line had nearly 100 new home office items this market, including space-saving desks, towers and storage units. They included a $79 tower cart, a $99 slide-out desk and a $99 file stand. Inspired by kitchen utility carts, the file stand is loaded with function, including a work surface, file storage and drawer and hanging space.
"Those dealers who are staying aggressive — keeping their floors fresh and advertising regularly — are still doing good business," said Jim Sexton, president. "We're doing all we can to support them by offering the latest styles and functions at laser-beam-sharp price points."
Palliser's major SOHO thrust this market was a new line called my.site. A tightly edited, modular collection in maple and metal, it's available in four accent colors, including wine/berry and tangerine tones.
"This was a huge success," said Don Loewen, Palliser's product manager for home office. "Dealers liked the color choices and the fact that there aren't a lot of items but still great variety."
Some space-saving features also drew interest. For example, my.site's storage cabinets are scaled 20-inches wide for small spaces as well as easy bunching, and castered file units are scaled so they slide under desktops.
"People like being able to tuck away their files when they're not using them," Loewen said.
At Sauder, home office introductions included QBits, a licensed line of modular furniture designed in cooperation with TV celebrity Lynette Jennings.
The line features seven cube, shelf and feet components that can be arranged to create desks, cabinets and towers, as well as entertainment and bath storage units.
| O'Sullivan's Digital Dock provides an easy-to-reach home for the CPU at the back of the desktop. |
| An addition to Bassett's Northwoods collection, this laptop tower is designed for a bedroom or corner nook. |
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