American Leather debuting all-fabric AU line
By Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, April 21, 2004
AT THE MARKET — AU Furniture is making its debut here this week in a 3,000-square-foot showroom next to its big brother, American Leather, on the fifth floor penthouse level of Showplace.
AU (for American Upholstery), an all-fabric line, features seven frames (sofa, sectional, loveseat, chair, ottoman, recliner and five sizes of sofa-sleepers) available in 25 microfiber suede covers. The line has a standard shipping time of two to three weeks.
At about $1,400 retail for a sofa, the AU price points are significantly lower than a comparable American Leather sofa in Ultrasuede, which is about $2,500, said Matthew Hayward, national sales manager for AU. Hayward, who has been in sales and marketing roles at American Leather for more than 10 years, reports to Cary Benson, vice president of sales and marketing.
AU is stocking the whole line of fabrics "so that dealers who can usually stock just two or three colors, for example, will be able to offer consumers what they want without the wait," Hayward said.
"Everyone else is going to China," he added, "but we see the home front as the only way to fulfill the needs of the consumer in a timely manner."
He said American Leather expanded a manufacturing plant in Texas from 140,000 square feet to 250,000 square feet to support the new line.
AU's lower price points are expected to create a broader market for American Leather's proprietary Comfort Sleeper line, which offers sofa-sleepers in five sizes (king, queen, full, twin and cot) engineered with the comfort standards of regular bedding and traditional mattress dimensions.
"We're very excited to be able to get the innovative (Comfort Sleeper) product into a broader price point range because it has been a huge part of our success," said Bob Duncan, president.
Duncan said the AU line will start shipping in June. He said retailers were presented with the concept at last October's market, "and it has been tweaked and test marketed for six months at Macy's East, so we are ready to go with it and our dealers won't have to wait."
D'Oro Suede from California-based importer Dorell Fabrics is the foundation of the cover program, marketed under the umbrella of Life Fabrics, Hayward said, "because life happens and these are fabrics for life."
The fabrics are woven polyester with the easy-care and durability stories that consumers have some to expect from microfibers.
There are 20 colors of plain microfiber suede called Suede Life and five colors of a herringbone pattern called Vee Life, Hayward said, "in a great color palette with everything from fun colors like hot pink and orange to green, blue and taupe — so we've covered everything from contemporary to the traditional browns."
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