Occasional producers adding fresh pieces
By Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, March 31, 2003
High Point — Occasional furniture continues to be a strong category, and manufacturers are adding fresh pieces to keep the sales going.
Many companies are tying occasional into large collections — whether they are existing licensed groups like American Drew's revamped Bob Mackie, Lane's reintroduction of Eddie Bauer and Klaussner's additions to Dick Idol, or new groups like Century's Sun Valley, Bernhardt's Arcadian Bungalow and Pulaski's The Antiques Roadshow.
The occasional category is competitive because of all the players, said Stephen Giles, Universal vice president of merchandising. Pieces are imported by case goods companies, occasional specialists and upholstery makers wanting to offer a full living room line.
Universal is tying its new occasional pieces more closely to full collections, Giles said. New groups Mission Hills and Del Mar have occasional, including a storage cocktail table retailing for $399.
Klaussner Furniture has its occasional products divided into freestanding groups and those that are part of a full collection such as the new Dick Idol lines Northwoods and Woodland Forge. The Dick Idol occasional goods draw on the outdoors and wildlife themes of their collections.
Atop the occasional pieces in the Klaussner showroom are products from new Dick Idol licensees, Cape Craftsman for decorative accessories with Pacific Coast Lighting handling lamps.
Dick Idol Ventures, the Dick Idol licensing management group, had other sources for these items last market, said Jim Williams, the group's chief marketing officer. Klaussner did a fine job with the look of the furniture and achieved surprisingly low, competitive price points, he said. The previous accessories and lighting looked good, but were overpriced in relation to the furniture.
Century Furniture has dozens of occasional pieces with its new Sun Valley collection, emphasizing finishing details.
"Distressing and finishing is all done by hand," said Ed Tashjian, corporate marketing director. "We estimate that each case will require about two hours of distressing.
"There are a total of 129 SKU's in all of its various sizes and finishes: 36 bedroom, 48 occasional, and 45 dining room," he said. "The individual pieces will be named after places where we discovered each piece, or interesting historic provenances from the great American West."
Many occasional pieces accompany the Eddie Bauer Home collection from Lane. The full group has 140 SKUs, including finish options. The company also has several freestanding table groups and chests.
Lane's recent occasional introductions have been good sellers. Six of the company's top 10 table groups were introduced last October, said Phillip Siler, merchandise manager for occasional, chests and home entertainment.
Bernhardt has about 40 occasional pieces in Arcadian Bungalow, which has an Arts & Crafts theme. The manufacturer also has several freestanding table groups.
Occasional and accent pieces are a large part of The Antiques Roadshow collection from Pulaski. "The Antiques Roadshow" by WGBH Enterprises is the most-watched show on PBS with about 9 million viewers, said Jim Kelly, Pulaski's executive vice president of product development and marketing. Furniture is the most popular category of antiques brought on the show for appraisal.
In working with WGBH, Pulaski gained access to an antiques archive with more than 40,000 pieces of furniture. From that, the manufacturer pulled out about 60 items for the initial launch, with more products planned for the following market.
In a survey of people who watched the show, 35% said what they liked about the show is the history behind the pieces, said Kelly. Pulaski will give product histories on hang tags. Also, somewhere on each piece, the company will affix a small Antiques Roadshow plaque.
For Zocalo, occasional pieces are add-on items to bedroom furniture sales, said Duncan Elcombe, vice president of marketing and sales. However, occasional has helped the company get a foot in the door with new customers.
"Our occasional is a great way for a retailer to test us and see what we can offer them," said Elcombe. This market Zocalo is expanding occasional goods with about 20 pieces in two existing collections: Java and Montana.
Occasional specialist Stein World already is taking orders on its new table sets.
"Our occasional business has done incredibly well," said James Franks, system administrator. In response, Stein World brought to premarket four new table groups as well as about 20 chests in bombé and bachelor styles. Retailers are putting Stein World pieces on the floor and watching them produce results, so they have positive expectations for the new items, said Franks.
A leader in hand-painted occasional, Stein World is focusing more on carvings and improved finishes this time.
"We've been doing hand-painted for so long and many of those continue to do well," he said. But the company doesn't want to paint itself into a corner — it wants its products to work with a variety of styles.
Magnussen Home brings out many new table groups each market, and this time is no exception with 17 groups shown at premarket and another eight debuting at market. The introductions are in stages, according to President Jeff Cook, "because we don't want to overload buyers all at once."
With a new showroom space in the IHFC Main building offering much more room, Cook said this will allow Magnussen to show its full line of occasional and accent pieces — more than 60 table groups and more than 70 home accents.
Function such as storage and motion plays a key part in the new tables, with targeted retail price points between $149 and $399.
American Drew's Bob Mackie Home reinvents the Classic collection with 57 new pieces, including several occasional items such as a writing desk, trunk, screen and round commode.
Hooker made a splash a year ago by launching sink cabinets. This year, the company enters another new product category with home bars, including a small bar cabinet with a mechanical lift. Two bars retail at $1,599 and a third at $1,399. Dealers asked for this addition to the product line, said Kim Shaver, director of communications and brand manager.
Stanley Furniture is offering multiple functions in home office furniture with pieces such as a bookcase that can double as a curio cabinet. Book storage is an important function now, so Stanley has mix-and-match options in heights and widths.
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