Market attendance may be down
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, March 31, 2003
High Point — Some retailers say the weak economy coupled with the war with Iraq could slice into market attendance and is making things tough on the retail front.
"It complicates your inventory position if you're dropping a lot and adding a lot when business is tough," said Tony Wilkerson, senior vice president of marketing for Atlanta-based Havertys.
Wilkerson, who is coming to market, said pre-market attendance a month ago was as weak as he'd ever seen and that he thinks the war could hurt market turnout.
"I think a lot of people might stay at home taking care of the business and getting that extra sale that comes in the door," he said.
Richard Rusnak, president of Russell's Furniture in Santa Clara, Calif., said consumers "are very hesitant" about the economy and the war. "There's a whole lot of uncertainty," he said. "I tell my sales- people to keep doing their job, do the things that they do well, and it will pay off in the end."
Joe Reddington, chief executive officer of Lancaster, Pa.-based Breuners Home Furnishings Corp., said the high-end segment has been rocked for more than two years. Like many, he doesn't expect a turnaround until the second half of this year at the earliest.
Added to the problem, he said, is price deflation, which means retailers have to sell more furniture for the same sales dollars they were getting a few years ago.
A bright spot in the otherwise dreary scene, he said, has been standout product from the last High Point market, including Bernhardt's Martha Stewart and Broyhill's Yorkshire Market, which Reddington said have gotten good consumer response.
"I think that's a little light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
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