Assessing a play-it-safe market
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, October 28, 2001
It was a market with low expectations, perhaps the lowest expectations ever for a High Point home furnishings event.
As a result of those limited expectations, neither manufacturers nor retailers were disappointed.
Retailers reported the tenor of the October event was essentially one of playing it safe, although there were some minor glimmers of newness.
The buyers who went to market early — meaning before the official opening day — tended to leave earlier than usual. But there were reports of some retailers arriving on Monday of the second week, which just shows how diverse and unpredictable this industry remains.
Fabric suppliers were less than enthusiastic about cover choices, which in a down economy typically are where upholstery resources create at least an aura of newness and freshness with little investment. This time around, many fabric suppliers said, it didn't work out that way.
One buzz heard among retailers, especially those in the mainstream or middle price ranges, was about the growing ranks of upholstery manufacturers who are doing cut-and-sew operations offshore, particularly in leather.
It's one way producers are keeping a tight rein on costs and prices, and it's apparently working. In leather, one major player reported, it could mean selling a sofa at $100 or even $200 less at retail.
One result of this, another retailer observed, is that leather is likely to continue to grow in popularity as an upholstery cover.
As it does, the American fabric community will be faced with ever-greater challenges. Those challenges obviously include the growth of cut-and-sew operations in Asia, which undoubtedly will continue, but also encompass the growth of leather as a cover favorite in many countries, and the growth of competition from Asian fabric producers now selling in this country.
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