Showtime buyers like what they see
By Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, January 11, 2004
HIGH POINT — Showtime staged a successful run last week, marked by good attendance by major furniture makers and retailers as well as smaller upholstery producers, home accent manufacturers and retailers.
While the International Textile Market Assn., sponsors of the semiannual fabric market, didn't have official attendance figures at press time, most exhibitors said traffic was off perhaps 10%. But they weren't disturbed, because both the quality of the buyers and their reaction to introductions were excellent. Exhibitors attributed the lighter traffic to timing and high travel costs.
One indication of the importance of Showtime was the number of major players — Rooms To Go, Klaussner, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, May Co., Bloomingdale's and others — still shopping on the third day of business.
The transformation of Showtime beyond its traditional by-appointment-only, behind-closed-doors format, which continues in the Market Square Textile Tower, to the more open, more European-style format represented in the Suites at Market Square, brings a wider variety of buyers to the show.
Strolling the aisles last week, in addition to furniture manufacturers, were buyers representing everything from the recreational vehicle industry to makers of lamp shades, custom purses and dog beds.
Richard Gangi, president of American Trim Mfg., said the show's timing may have kept some buyers away. "I think sometimes people just can't face a trade show so soon after the holidays," he said.
Gary Inoff, vice president of sales and marketing at Bartson Fabrics, suggested some buyers based on the West Coast and in Texas may have stayed home because airfares were particularly high, but will be back for the July show.
"We knew before we got here that attendance would be a bit off," Inoff said, "but we aren't discouraged by it at all. I don't think it was related to the economy."
"Attendance may have been down a bit, but the buyers were upbeat," said Gary Stein, vice president of Chinese mill American Decorative Fabrics. "There seemed to be an aggressiveness on their part to develop their lines for the coming season, and there was no negativity at all."
The crucial visitors for most exhibitors, of course, are major upholstery producers, and they were here, said Tom Notaro, vice president of sales and marketing at Wearbest Sil-Tex. "The important buyers we wanted to see were here and their spirits were good," he said. "They've had good reorder months and their outlook was positive."
Several exhibitors reported that opening day was especially lively, even record-breaking in some cases. Exhibitors focused on doing whatever they do best, whether global sourcing, quick delivery, flexible custom ordering or maintaining a design-driven niche.
Importers offered well-priced programs beyond rolled fabrics. At Loomcraft Textiles, for example, the spotlight was on silk-like, diamond-stitched pillow shells trimmed with matching beads and silky chenille plaid throws. Two-sided microdenier polyester fabrics — sueded on one side and fleeced on the other — were showcased as pillows and throws at Aadvantage Fabrics, Fabrics and More, and others.
Domestic companies like Culp, Quaker Fabric, Microfibres, Sunbrella, Crypton and others capitalized on their ability to add value with technical innovations related to cleanability and softness. Performance fabric programs were expanded with vastly broader color palettes, as well as trim programs featuring the same performance properties.
At Sunbury Textile Mills, for example, a highly decorative program of Sunbrella fabrics on bright new warps was highlighted by a line of trims made of Sunbrella yarns by Bomar Inds., giving furniture designers the ability to add equal value and flair to frames for inside and outdoors.
The number of trim vendors at Showtime continues to grow. Nearly two dozen trim sources exhibited last week, offering the "jewelry" that is an important element for such upholstery makers as Henredon, Vanguard, E.J. Victor, Key City, Marge Carson, Wesley Hall and others.
Most of the trim vendors — as well as an ever-growing number of silk and leather companies — showed in temporary spaces at Suites at Market Square.
"There are people here now that I'd never have dreamed I'd see at Showtime," said Bud Caywood, national sales and marketing director for Trio Leather. "(The temporary space) has opened the market up for more international and leather companies.
"I also like the way it's been organized," he said. "There are groups and bunches of leather vendors, groups and bunches of trim vendors, groups and bunches of silk vendors. That makes the show interesting and easier for the buyer."
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