Motion mfrs. play it safe
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, February 8, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO — SAN FRANCISCO — Encouraged by signs that 2004 could be the year of the rebound, producers of recliners and motion furniture largely stuck with established product as they met with dealers here.
Producers said order trends have been positive in the early weeks of the new year, but having been stung by several previous faux rebounds, no one was ready to say the industry's long retail sales slump is over. Manufacturers generally tweaked existing lines and focused on products introduced in October.
"In the last six months, our motion business is up significantly," said John St. John, product manager at Flexsteel. "We're growing our assortment … and we'll have a lot more new product in April."
The company unveiled a leather motion sofa at $1,699 and a contemporary three-seat home theater group retailing for $2,299 in fabric. The motion sofa features the Dual Flex spring system in the seat, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews when it was unveiled on the company's recliners in October, St. John said.
The still-sizzling home theater category saw new product from Lane and an improved point-of-purchase display system from Berkline.
"Retailers are starting to dedicate more space to home theater," said Cabot Longnecker, Berkline's vice president of merchandising for recliners. "I think you're going to start seeing it as an essential part of a retail sales floor."
Lane's newest entry in the category was a leather/vinyl model at $1,999 featuring two reclining seats. Lane also unveiled a contemporary motion sofa at $999 in leather, while Berkline showed off a $399 recliner program featuring three new large-scale models with semi-attached backs.
Other noteworthy product introductions were in the Catnapper and Palliser showrooms.
Catnapper unveiled a two-seat motion sofa, a design that essentially combined two chair-and-a-half frames.
In addition, the company introduced a leather motion sofa at $999 that could be grouped with a stationary loveseat at $799.
Palliser showed dealers a new line of microfiber fabrics available for its motion sofas and home theater seating. Such products typically are shown in leather, but the new fabrics will enable dealers to hit lower price points and offer consumers a wider array of colors.
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