Share this on

Powell gets creative with three new youth groups

Retailers invited to "Rock the Wish" on Guitar Hero

Gerri Hunt -- Furniture Today, April 17, 2009

HIGH POINT — Youth furniture manufacturer Powell Co. will introduce three PowellKIDS youth groups at the market here, highlighting each introduction with creative activities for kids and dealers in its National Building showroom.

One of Powell’s new youth groups is Rock and Roll, styled to look like instrument cases for a traveling rock band.

"Powell is committed to providing dealers with fresh products in one of today's most vital and profitable furniture categories," said Tom Liddell, senior vice president of national sales for Powell. "Even in tough times, average families with two to three kids need to graduate them from cribs to bunks to student desks and storage units. This represents huge sales potential for our customers."

A line extension in the Little MissMatched collection named Artsy Craftsy consists of 10 clean-lined, contemporary pieces, made with sustainable wood and available in a light finish with bold, asymmetric punches of color. The twin student loft bunk bed and desk offer storage space, as does the trundle bed with under drawer option.

This new group targeting ‘tweens — the fastest growing demographic in youth furnishings, according to Powell — will be introduced by local children on Saturday, April 25, beginning at 11 am. They'll make puppets from the fun socks that launched the Little MissMatched brand in 2004.

With a bed frame styled like a rock climbing wall, the signature short loft bed in Cliff Hanger is designed to appeal to active young boys and girls, some of whom will be on hand April 25 to demonstrate one of the bed's key merits: climbing up and sliding down, kids can wear themselves out to get ready for sleep. The group, in honey maple veneer, includes a bed, dresser, mirror and night table.

Rock and Roll is designed for ‘tweens and teens with a "band on the road" design. A textured matte black finish has the appearance of sound equipment cases, ready to for a road trip. The locker storage cabinet fits under a loft bed or may be used freestanding. A rolling cart resembling an amplifier adds function, as does a storage bench that converts to media stand and includes wire management for today's plugged in kids. Rock and Roll's gossip desk seats two when not folded up into a space-efficient cube.

In keeping with the tuneful theme, Powell will host a Rock the Wish campaign, a Wii Guitar Hero competition held in the showroom during market. Retailers will be encouraged to take up the headbanger mantle for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. For each successful Wii axe strumming, Powell will donate $25 to Make-A-Wish.

Photos of participating dealers channeling Hendrix and other rock greats will be added to the PowellKIDS Rock and Roll Wall of Fame.

Powell worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation last year to create a national network in which retailers from across the nation can fulfill furniture-specific wishes, working through their local Make-A-Wish chapters. More than 30 Powell dealers are participating in the program, and three wishes have been granted so far.

More High Point Market coverage

Share this on

Powell gets creative with 3 new youth groups

Apr 25, 2009

Also by this author

Also by Gerri Hunt

Featured Company

Brandwise Inc.

Brandwise serves a model - not just an industry - by integrating, automating, and optimizing the entire sales channel, from wholesale Suppliers to their Reps and the Retailers they service. In short, our software helps Reps and Suppliers sell more and create... more