Heimtextil order-writing rated positive
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, January 25, 2004
FRANKFURT, Germany — Attendance down, U.S. exhibitors down, order writing not bad at all.
That was the consensus among fabric exhibitors at this month's Heimtextil fabric show here. And they saw it as a positive.
Mainstream fabric producers, suppliers to the decorator/designer markets, and mills all posted gains in both sample requests and written orders. U.S. companies at the high end said business was stronger than anticipated.
"Our order intake was good to very good," said Duncan Whitehead, vice president of Quaker.
"The Middle East was very good and our Bombay (India) office is starting to pay off with good business," he said.
"It was a good show," said Jack Cobb, president of American Decorative Fabrics. "We saw people we haven't seen before; it was steady, much busier than last year."
Cobb said that while "basic European players were missing, we had some big Saudi orders as well as good placement in Russia. We finished pretty strong."
He said the company attracted more Middle East customers and American companies, including Ashley, Bernhardt and Value City.
At Duralee, Lee Silberman, senior vice president, said, "This year was almost as good as last year for us — which was the best in years." He reported the company's "expensive products were very well received."
Harvey Nudelman, president of Fabricut, said it was the best Heimtex he has seen in the 23 years he's been going.
"We have brand recognition now and more countries have bought into our distribution and book programs — Italy, Dubai, Poland, Ukraine, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, among others," he said.
"It was 10 times better than I expected for cut order," said Arnie Masarsky, director of export for Kravet. He said traffic was down 20% to 25% in piece goods, "but I got my share of business from furniture manufacturers, stocking retailers and jobbers."
Roc-Lon had good business with existing customers but didn't see as many new people as hoped, said Stan Fradin, president. Key areas for repeat customers were the Middle East, South Africa, the Pacific Rim, Poland and the Ukraine. But whether Roc-Lon, a longtime participant in the U.S. Department of Commerce Pavilion, will stay in its current space is undecided, Fradin said.
"While I can say with certainty that we will be back next year, I'm not sure we will be in the Pavilion. The magnetism of the Pavilion as a draw for customers — new and old — has disappeared," he said. He also said the Department of Commerce rule that Pavilion exhibitors' products be at least 51% U.S.-made "is unrealistic in today's world."
Another Pavilion exhibitor, Blumenthal, had a good show and saw new and old customers, said Harry Blumenthal, president. As for showing next year in the Pavilion, he said, "The costs are up, the marketing and the service is shrinking. We haven't made a decision."
Stewart Jervis, vice president of Crestmont, said the strong euro (which made U.S. products cheaper), five years presence at Heimtex and the lack of other American exhibitors helped "make this a good show for us."
As for the outlook for the U.S. Pavilion, he said, "It could be better."
Culp showed offsite during the show in a suite in the Marriott. Rob Culp, president and chief executive officer, said the tactic "worked just fine. We had a lot of appointments. We'll either do this again or maybe go back into the show. We haven't decided."
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