New prices, faster shipping on tap in wood
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, March 31, 2003
High Point — Case goods manufacturers coming to market here are exploring new price points and faster shipping, and U.S. companies continue to look for ways to compete with imports.
And with buyers hitting showrooms before the end of March, this is the earliest High Point show in recent memory. For some companies, the timing has reduced the number of case goods introductions.
That's not to say there isn't plenty of product. Some major collections have been in the works for more than a year, and with producers not as tied to a twice-a-year release of new furniture as in the past, some between-market introductions are still new to many retailers.
While everyone knew the dates for the show long in advance, the early date — coupled with timing of Chinese New Year and severe weather in much of the country — affected some suppliers' operations.
Drexel Heritage introduces a new license with Frances Mayes this week, but the short cycle did limit the amount of product the company is showing here, said Jeff Young, president.
"That's one reason we're putting off two introductions until July," he said. "We also built some samples here that we normally would have done overseas. Everybody knew this was coming, but it still caught a lot of people by surprise."
Lea Inds. was taking orders and scheduling production on its new lines before premarket, said Lamont Hope, president. Lea is pushing to increase master and second bedroom's share of its business from 15% to between 25% and 30% down the road.
"We're trying to get out front and stay there," he said. "We already have three things in the hopper for October."
Lea also is looking for new, lower price points for master and second bedroom.
"We're trying to focus on $1,500 to $1,700 retails for bedrooms out of the warehouse," Hope said. "We have been running $1,999 to $2,499 in master bedroom."
Bernhardt is using the clean lines and smaller scale of its Asian-tinged Talesai case goods introduction to achieve a new, lower starting price point for the line. Beds, for example, retail between $1,299 and $1,399.
"I think you'll continue to see us address these price points," said William Collett, director of merchandising for residential case goods. "No one wants us to abandon our fashion end, but we think there's room to explore some areas between where we used to open and Martha Stewart (which has beds starting at $999 retail). We're a little more broadly focused than we were a year ago."
Focus on shipping
Bernhardt will have Talesai on floors as soon as this summer.
"We've already had commitments from key department stores, so we'll ship them in June," Collett said. For other stores, Talesai that is bought this week and Bernhardt's other introduction, Artisan Home, will start to hit retail floors in September.
With a tighter market cycle this time around, importer Magnussen Home invested extra time up-front in product development to ensure reasonable shipping dates.
"Normally, we'd begin development in September for April and have product samples in January and February," said Jeff Cook, president. "We started in early August and had our product review meetings overseas completed in December."
Retailer input at Magnussen's dealer conference helped the company get started on production planning for spring introductions.
"Based on pre-selling, we've placed cuttings on all six of our new bedrooms prior to premarket, and they'll ship at the end of June or first part of July," Cook said. "This will help us get new product floored more quickly. If we do experience a tough first six months, this gives us a jump on the back half of the year."
Lexington Home Brands will continue to ship its market introductions in phases. Additions to Waverly, Palmer Home and Henry Link will ship in August and September; Simple Twists, Haley & Carter and Susan Sargent in November and December.
"We're partnering with our retailers so they can get these goods absorbed on their floor," said Scott Ballard, vice president of sales.
Stateside producers strategize
Domestic case goods manufacturers, meanwhile, continue to seek ways to blend imports into their lines to keep their plants here producing furniture. Beds, in particular, are a way to bring value to a collection and propel sales of domestically produced cases.
Kincaid, for example, imports beds for its English Country Oak collection, which includes a queen bed retailing for $999.
"We're bringing that in so we can get the competitive price points on the bed," said Angela Arrington, vice president of retail operations. "We'll make the case pieces here."
Hooker added a new category, metal beds, to complement the line of domestic bedrooms it introduced in October and is expanding this week.
"Our Seven Seas import line has been growing, and this is a way to utilize that relationship to help support some of our domestic case pieces," said Phil Garrett, bedroom product manager.
Four metal beds from the Philippines and China retailing from $499 to $699 are designed to give consumers options that fit the domestic styles. They also open other distribution options.
"A lot of our dealers have a bedding gallery," Garrett said. "Also there are a lot of large retailers that specialize in mattresses and box springs."
At Century, this market's addition to the Destinations container program, Century Campaign, is a domestically built bedroom and dining room. The collection, which blends forms in a straight rendition of campaign-style case goods and executes them in pin knotty oak with mitered corners and recessed hardware, is designed for domestic production.
"If you can get better quality and better features for the same money, you can compete with imports," said Ed Tashjian, corporate marketing director. "(Century Campaign) is essentially a domestic container program, but you can mix the finishes."
The collection, priced at Century's starting points, is available at warehouse or container pricing. Century also is showing the flag in a discreet way on certain products.
"We're going to put an enameled American flag on the interior drawers of every case we make domestically," Tashjian said.
Bassett uses primarily domestic production for American Hewn, its major introduction this week. One of several rustic American country-styled collections at market, the line's domestic production should add flexibility to one of the style's hallmark features — a variety of painted accent finishes.
"Since we're making it here, we didn't have to place any restrictions on any of the color options," said Matt Johnson, vice president of wood merchandising.
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