High Point — Facing a threat from ever-lowering prices for high-look Asian imports, domestic manufacturers of promotional bedroom furniture are concentrating on adding value to mass-market product and honing service to compete.
Cognizant of the fact that fewer dollars buy a full wood bedroom suite these days, promotional suppliers have found that building in more style to laminate and print sets, and addressing quality issues, helps differentiate their products.
Looking for an edge
"Trying to get something out there to differentiate yourself from the lowest price imports — that's driving the business," said Chris Hart, president and chief operating officer of Hart Furniture. "You're seeing lots of $999 complete wood bedroom out there.
"Can we add enough looks and value at and below that price point to compete?"
That key question, and how companies respond to it, also separates the wheat from the chaff when it comes to stateside competition.
"There are numerous companies producing at this price point, and quality definitely sets some apart from the others," said Danielle Grimes, national sales manager for Higdon Furniture. "The consumer purchasing a $499 bedroom works very hard for their money and expects a level of quality and value, just as someone who is purchasing a bedroom at $2,499.
"The dealers promoting at promotional price points want as few headaches as possible, and quality and value in their merchandise."
Consumers shopping for promotional bedroom, therefore, are finding a wider range of styles along with bigger scales and more details.
"We're upping the scale of our cases, and adding roller glides for our drawers," noted Craig Smith, president and chief operating officer of Harden Mfg.
Harden's long-time best-selling suite, Hunt Hill Pine, is a good example of increased variety at promotional price points.
"We've had this suite for several years, but we've given it a boost every so often by adding new looks," Smith said. "Now it's available in whitewash, light pine, dark pine and cherry with marble tops."
At Michels-Pilliod, contemporary looks get a lot of attention.
"Our focus is contemporary, because you don't really import promotional contemporary," said Mike Norris, vice president of sales.
"You go where they're not. Style and availability — that's the category."
While the growth of Standard Furniture's import program has gotten a lot of attention in recent years, the company's domestic starting price point bedroom business has grown faster percentage-wise in the past two years, said Todd Evans, national sales manager.
"We're moving away from the low, low end and building some more upscale, larger furniture," he said. "Our average domestic retail for bedroom has gone up at least two price points."
Extra style, function attract interest
Where a couple of years ago, Standard averaged $599 on a domestic bedroom suite, that's moved up to $799 today.
"And we're building a lot more into the furniture and finding there's a definite market for it," Evans said. "We're using more overlays and moldings, much bigger cases and beds, more function and different types of pieces."
Buyers are sometimes surprised by the snazzier promotional looks, which include more natural-looking papers for laminates and an increased use of wood and other materials, often in larger cases.
"We've brought out a series of suites with high-waisted dressers and hutch mirrors — I think the paper is the main attraction since it's more wood-like," said Hart. "We've also brought out a metal bed to complement a paper laminate group, and we now have four introductions with the power-bed style."
Higdon is introducing hybrid collections that offer the impact of solid wood in frames and fronts in combination with ever-more attractive paper laminates that add affordability. More attention gets paid, as well, to shapes, curves and other elements that add motion and increase eye impact.
"If you look at the promotional bedroom manufacturers, each of them has a similar bedroom group or collection with a bit different finish and hardware," Grimes said. "A different look, a quality product, especially in combination with a strong rep can really benefit both manufacturer and dealer."
Promotional producers also look to maintain their share of business relative to imports with service. That can create logistical headaches, but the payoffs are worth it, say those producers who've invested in making it easier for retailers to do business with them.
"Our delivery times are quicker because we've built up some finished goods inventory," Hart said, adding that Hart Furniture's delivery times are down from four to five weeks two years ago to two to three weeks today.
With "availability" a given as a business driver, Michels-Pilliod also carries more product.
"Our finished goods inventory is probably 35% larger than it was two years ago, and we already carried a lot then," Norris said. "But our dealers don't have to carry inventory themselves. Having plants on both coasts, we can ship the entire country immediately."
Adding more piece options, especially different bed sizes and selections, including power and metal beds, also complicates service, but is necessary to building business.
"We do a lot of our headboards in king and queen size, too, and some as twins as well, but you have to carry the extra SKU and handle enough sales to warehouse it," Grimes said.
