Wood sources target younger demographic
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, April 25, 2009
High Point — New wood offerings this market provide a clean—lined approach that simplifies both bedroom and formal dining and broadens the appeal to an even wider demographic.
Even many traditional styles are updated with softer curves, fewer carved details and multi-step finishes that add a sense of warmth and depth to the piece.
In some cases, the styles are aimed at a younger demographic settling into their first house, apartment or condo. With that in mind, some groups are scaled in order to fit into those living spaces.
The approach is also helping sharpen price points — and add value — for cost-conscious consumers still reeling from the effects of the ongoing recession.
A case in point is Hooker Furniture, which is launching a brand new division this market tailor made with the younger consumer in mind. Envision offers new transitional bedroom, dining room, home office, home entertainment and occasional groups considered to be entry-level price points for Hooker.
Four-piece bedrooms, for example, are targeted to retail at $1,995, or about 25% below typical Hooker case goods.
"We're not going after the bottom, but after the broad middle market that starts below Hooker in price," said Bruce Cohenour, senior vice president.
The items also are scaled back to fit into smaller homes, with dressers in the 62- to 68-inch range compared to a more typical 72 inches.
SLF is launching 10 new entry-level bedrooms priced at $999 in a variety of styles and finishes. These are marketed under a new division called SLF Direct, which provides container direct pricing on these goods.
A.R.T. Furniture is launching a new entry-level product line called A.R.T. II Generations. Four-piece bedrooms are targeted to retail from $1,799 to $1,999, while five-piece dining rooms are slated to retail from $899 to $999.
Other four-piece bedrooms A.R.T. is launching this market retail from $2,499 to $2,999, while a dining table and four chairs typically retail from $1,499 to $1,699.
In announcing Generations, A.R.T. officials said the line is targeted to both younger customers and empty nesters that may be downsizing to a smaller home or condo.
Like other items in the A.R.T. line, Generations is produced by Chinese furniture manufacturer Markor International.
"By carefully value engineering this line, combined with lean manufacturing and streamlined production processes, A.R.T. Furniture answers the needs of our dealers in their promotional efforts," said A.R.T. CEO Ed Grund.
Case goods importer Largo is offering seven new bedrooms ranging from promotional sets at $1,399 as well as more upscale groups at $2,399. It, too, is trying to be as competitive as possible on its prices, in some cases shaving $100 to $200 off retail for four-piece sets.
"We adjusted the pricing on a lot of our line and got a lot more aggressive," said Mike Bradshaw, vice president of product development. "We try to look at every piece and make it a compelling value."
Case goods importer Legacy Classic is launching four new collections this market, which also aim for a lower price point. Bedrooms hit price points between $1,399 and $1,999 compared to a more typical $1,999 to $2,299.
One table and four-chair set retails at $999, which compares to a more typical $1,499. Other new dining sets range from $799 to $1,299.
"Price points are being compressed," said Legacy Classic President Lee Boone. "Customers are focusing on value more than ever before."
The sets also are scaled smaller for today's homes. For example, a dresser is about two to four inches shorter than normal, while a dining table closes to 60 to 64 inches versus a normal 72. Because the leaves are larger, the table can expand to a normal size, seating 8 to 10 people comfortably.
AICO's Sahara is a contemporary collection in a dark sand finish that also is scaled a little smaller than is typical.
A typical 72-inch dresser is about 66 inches in Sahara, said President Larry Rinaldi. A Sahara dining table, he said, extends to about 110 inches compared to as many as 156 inches in other collections. Chairs, too, he said have been scaled to seat eight comfortably in the extended position.
"It is scaled proportionally so that each piece has a relationship to each other," Rinaldi said. "It works together and helps the dealer and the consumer out so that everything is a comfortable and confident fit for their home. There is no guesswork — we take that out."
Hooker Furniture and AICO are not the only upper middle/high end resources to offer either smaller-scale product or sharper price points.
At an even higher end of the spectrum, Harden Furniture is launching a 26-piece bedroom, dining room and occasional collection called Artistry. Designed by Blake Tovin, this contemporary collection is made with quarter-sawn white ash and priced along the lines of the starting price points of its Classic Cherry collection.
Four-piece bedrooms in that group retail at $8,000, compared to $10,000 for a typical Harden bedroom.
In this case, the sharper price points partly result from the smaller scale of the pieces as well as the cleaner lines, which make it simpler to produce. A dresser in Artistry is about 66 inches wide, compared to the more typical 70 to 72 inches, while a dining table with self-storing leaves is about 76 inches compared to a more typical 80.
"This is scaled more for an urban customer," said Douglas Cleveland, Harden's national sales manager, noting that Harden also is looking wants to establish deeper brand loyalty with younger customers.
Still, companies aren't abandoning the higher-priced, larger-scale areas of their lines. Hooker, for example, is still having success with Beladora, a large-scale European traditional line launched in October that features $5,500 four-piece bedrooms.
This market, Hooker is launching a 70-piece transitional collection called Kinston that would be considered the better part of its good, better, best story, with four-piece bedrooms priced from $2,999 to around $3,100.
Pulaski is offering five new bedrooms this market, including four-piece sets priced at $1,999. But one of its most popular bedrooms at premarket was a European traditional group starting at $3,500 for four pieces.
"No matter what that price is, it has to look like its worth a lot more than what the price is," said Page Wilson, vice president of sales and marketing for Pulaski.
"It's not just about being cheaper — it has to have that screaming value. A lot of retailers say 'don't go that low, but you have to give us more at the price where you are.' Value doesn't mean cheaper."
That's why regardless of price, companies such as Largo, Aspenhome, Bernhardt, Hooker and others have added as much look and function to their pieces as possible. Items range from media dressers with drop-down drawer fronts for media storage to bedside chests with charging stations for electronics.
A signature piece in Hooker's Kinston collection is a revolving lingerie chest that has seven drawers on one side and a mirror on the other with hidden storage for jewelry.
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