Color in motion
Red, blue, yellow and gray add life to retail floors
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, March 28, 2004
HIGH POINT — HIGH POINT — Motion furniture is no longer a brown-and-white world. Color is here to stay.
Whether it's a periwinkle reclining sofa or a burgundy recliner or a charcoal blue motion sectional, it's clear that the days of domination by beige and brown are over.
"People want something that really has some pop," said Cabot Longnecker, vice president of merchandising for recliners at Berkline. "As motion furniture gets more stylish, they don't want something that will be dead wood on the (sales) floor."
Aided by microdenier technology that allows for relatively fast color changes at the mill and shorter production runs, colors such as red, blue, gray, yellow — and every possible shade in between — are finding their way into motion furniture fabrics.
Many fabric producers, in fact, now offer more than two dozen colors in each of the newer covers they produce.
Finding the right balance
And just as those early color TVs needed frequent adjustments as they replaced black-and-white models, the color pallets that have invaded motion furniture fabrics in recent months will need to be tweaked. Realistically, just how many red sofas will a retailer want on his floor?
"We tell our dealers they should add a little bit of color to their floor. Don't make everything beige," said Don Hunter, vice president of merchandising at Catnapper. "But they probably don't want to make everything red, either."
But of late, red has been the dominant "alternative" color, showing up in various forms on reclining sofas and chairs. However, executives say various shades of blue are coming on strong, as are colors from the "charcoal" family.
In fact, both Catnapper and Lane have had great success in recent months with motion sectionals that have charcoal blue covers.
"This whole color thing is being driven by microfibers," said Chuck Tidwell, product manager at Franklin. "And as those fabrics become more of a value you'll see even more high-end looks (on promotionally priced goods) that can compete with velvets and chenilles."
Tidwell and other executives, in fact, said that velvet and chenille have enjoyed something of a revival in recent months, thanks to a host of "chunky" fabrics that deliver a soft, textured feel.
"In motion, people always want a little more bulk …and you can achieve that with velvets and chenilles," said Vandy Baker, vice president of merchandising at PeopLoungers. "We're still using a lot of chenilles."
No one was so bold to predict that the color explosion will allow fabric covers to begin taking market share away from leather — a category known for its vibrant colors — but some executives believe leather may have reached a plateau.
A world of possibilities
"Not every single customer wants leather, so we have to offer comfortable chairs at good values with our suedes, chenilles and velvets," said Bob Young, merchandise manager for recliners at Lane.
Microdenier technology is starting to drive the chenille business as well, as several motion producers are scheduled to unveil microdenier chenille covers at next month's High Point market. They say such fabrics produce a textured feel and allow the use of subtle patterns and geometric designs.
"You're not going to be too edgy in motion, but people do want some different looks," said Hunter.
Jay Foscue, vice president of merchandising for motion furniture at Klaussner, said many of the new upholstery colors are heavily influenced by the apparel industry.
And in this day of instant, worldwide communication, it doesn't take long for apparel's influence to be felt.
"It used to take two years (for apparel fabrics to influence furniture design), but now it seems like two months before you see it on furniture," he said. "Everything is happening so much faster."
But while some executives grumble about their inability to keep pace with all this change, others say the wide array of new colors and fabric constructions open up enormous marketing possibilities.
"It gives you a lot of opportunities to do some really neat things," said Longnecker. "It's fun again."
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