Casual dining mfrs. turn spotlight on fashion
By Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, October 14, 2001
High Point — Casual dining resources are coming to market this week determined to prove they're in a fashion category consumers will embrace for its styling, color and attention to detail.
Producers say they usually make their big splash in April, but note that during a downturn, retailers need fresh looks to excite consumers. This makes the October market an important show for casual dining, and resources' wagons are fully loaded.
"April wasn't a good market. … We were experiencing the first of the downturn," said Dan Masters, president of Richardson Bros. "And now inventories and SKU counts are down, so we need new product to get the dealer excited."
"Dealers have been changing the cycle of when we introduce new product," said Dan Angus, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Ligo Products.
"In a downturn, you can't afford to sit back. You have to be aggressive," said Greg Coyle, vice president of merchandising for Chromcraft. "You need to have something new to get the retailer excited. With everything that's coming in from China, the pressure is on to be creative and innovative."
Style statement
"Casual dining has become a style statement," said Dave Shock, national sales manager for Cramco. "The home run of a year ago is now a commodity item, so we have to be showing retailers new things all the time."
Although Canadian powerhouse Canadel is offering 100 new tables, five new chairs and two new case pieces, while adding several numbers to its Color Shop program, perhaps the most interesting introduction is a 160-page, full-color catalog that looks like a coffee-table book.
It's designed to simplify the consumer's decision-making by showing her the best combinations of table sizes, chairs and case pieces to achieve the look she desires.
"Eighty percent of the time, the customer will buy from the page she likes," said Jean Deveault, Canadel's vice president of sales and marketing. "The idea behind the book is to bring the customer's decision time down from 90 minutes to 30. This book will be as important as the Workshop," the company's in-store merchandising display.
Richardson Bros. is adding two groups to its domestically produced line and a Country French group to its imported Earth Woods Design collection.
"We've got a huge effort on," Masters said. "We're showing about 80 new pieces in total this market. We will continue to be a solid-wood resource on both the domestic and import side. And our focus is to return to everyday-value pricing."
The transitional Urban Classics and relaxed traditional Coastal Retreat collections are both in solid cherry and hit retail price points from $999 to $2,500 for a table and four chairs.
"These are made-in-America collections designed to hit the key price points for our retail customers," Masters said.
Also sure to draw a lot of attention is Richardson's new Texas-size reunion table, which can seat from four to 16 when expanded to its full length of 15 feet, six inches. "We're the only company in the world doing this, to the best of my knowledge," he said.
New focus
Rebecca Gould, marketing director for Saloom Furniture, said, "This market will be about repositioning ourselves, so we're going full force."
Saloom's focus is on a new case goods program, which includes 40-inch china cabinets and 60-inch servers in maple, with bird's-eye maple detailing and self-closing hinges. The servers are offered in either wood or stone tops. The starting price point for the china is $1,999.
"Case pieces have been the weakest part of our line," Gould said, noting they've become more important as the line between casual and formal dining continues to blur. "People are getting out of dinettes and into more semiformal dining."
Saloom also is launching its eXurban collection, which Gould described as "urban rustic" in style.
"As the world goes more high tech, people crave warmth in the products they surround themselves with, even in the most contemporary of settings," she said. "This is the inspiration for eXurban. It is targeted to consumers who crave the warmth of worn, rustic furniture in their contemporary homes."
The collection features overscaled tables with natural stone or wood inserts in the top. The chairs feature a wood X back, or "T-shirt" or "napkin" back upholstery. Constructed in ash, the eXurban is offered in three colors with glazed finishes.
Say it with value
While new looks remain critical at Ligo Products, Angus said the company's focus this market is on value. "We believe customers are going to be looking for really sharp values," he said.
In addition to 20 more mainstream introductions, Ligo is introducing casual dining in a box — four full-size chairs with a 36-inch by 48-inch table in a box weighing no more than 145 lbs., to retail for $299. It's offered in two colors.
"This is something retailers can use to generate sales; it's a bona fide value," Angus said. Ligo also is introducing a version with a full-size table at a suggested retail of $399.
Also on tap are two new collections in iron with accompanying baker's racks, with either wood or glass tops and ladder-back chairs. Also offered are pub tables and matching barstools.
"What's also going to be big are four new hand-painted sets that should retail from $499 to $999," Angus said. "We have brought hand-painted goods to a more popular price point."
In all, Ligo is debuting 20 items this market.
Fashionable function
Reflections Furniture, a Canadian specialist in metal casual dining, is focusing on motion — tilt/swivel chairs in 12 different finishes or a selection of faux suede.
Jim Nopper, sales manager, said two new collections also are being offered. The Café Collection is semiformal in appearance and features an oversized table with half-inch-thick, beveled-edge glass top, with rope twist details in the legs. "There's lots of pop and pizzazz in this line," he said.
Also new at Reflections is Farm House, a collection featuring hoop-back chairs and laser-cut twist accents.
Chromcraft is offering what Coyle describes as a modern retro collection featuring both a swivel/tilt and sled-base chair offered in paint and chrome finishes. Many new offerings cover price points from $699 to $1,999.
Cramco is adding two groups to the Michael Aaron Old World collection, which it introduced this past April. The company also is adding counter and barstools to the line.
Shock said Cramco also is introducing 16 sets with accompanying baker's racks.
"We're taking a very conservative approach," he said. "We're paying a lot of attention to the better price points without letting go of the promotional end of the market."
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