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HIGH POINT — As Big Box retailers go, so goes flat-pack furniture.
That explains why the past 12 months have been a struggle for ready-to-assemble furniture, with the events of Sept. 11 providing a series of tragic exclamation marks.
As damaging as the terrorist attacks and the ensuing buildup to war have been to consumer confidence and retail sales, RTA manufacturing executives are choosing to look at the glass as half full rather than empty.
Preparing for the October market, with little or no precedent for the current circumstances to guide their planning, flat-pack makers are noting that retail traffic and sales both seem to be recovering.
"What we're seeing is a gain in momentum," said Susan Dountas, vice president of merchandising for Sauder Woodworking. "Our orders are not at the levels they were, but we're still not that far behind. Orders are coming in at a good solid rate, and traffic is coming back into the stores."
An unconventional gauge of renewed interest in consumption can be seen in the traffic statistics for the Sauder Web site, which dropped to about 33% of normal for the first 10 days after Sept. 11. However, traffic at the Sauder site is recovering and stood at about 75% of normal as of Oct. 2, Dountas said.
"That might sound like an odd indicator, but it tells us how many are out there thinking about our furniture," she said.
Majors plan to show
Given the concerns over the safety of air travel, RTA manufacturers, most of whom are dependent on a handful rather than a slew of accounts, have been checking whether Big Box retailers intend to visit the High Point furniture show. Almost without exception, they say, the major merchants — discounters, mass merchants, home-improvement chains and superstores for office products and electronics — plan to make their fall pilgrimage to the Furniture Capital.
"Right now, we're seeing a positive in terms of people responding to our sales managers asking for appointments," said Jeff Sternklar, director of marketing for Dorel's Ameriwood Inds. "You hear about a lot of people not coming, but most of the mass merchants are going to make the trip."
Stephen Wahrhaftig, president of Altra Furniture, reported similar results: "We've been sending information out on our new products. We've been getting very good response. Better than the last show. We've only spoken to one account that is not coming to the show."
In the silver-lining spirit of the times, a couple of flat-pack manufacturers noted that the months leading up to Sept. 11 had been soft. This served to lessen the shock when the consumer-demand spigot shut off following the terrorist attacks.
"Before the disasters, everybody's expectations had already been lowered," Wahrhaftig said. "People had already taken a very conservative posture toward business."
And while consumer spending may be slow to get back to previous levels, furniture would seem to be one of the categories that might recover first, said Mike Franks, director of marketing services for O'Sullivan Furniture.
"As people cut back on travel and other sets of discretionary spending, a portion of that money is usually invested in the home," said Franks. "Also, an awful lot of people are paying an awful lot of attention to their televisions, and that's usually good for our category."
| The Manor Hill collection of home entertainment, home office and storage pieces from O'Sullivan Furniture features traditional styling with framed doors, period accents and sporting a Brianna Oak finish. |
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