RTA emphasizes unique looks, mixed media
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, April 13, 2003
High Point — Searching for new categories and new channels of distribution, manufacturers of ready-to-assemble furniture exhibited creative energy and original thinking at the just-concluded market here.
Retailers shopping the category appreciated the new ideas on display throughout flat-pack showrooms, but it remains to be seen whether consumers will give their thumbs up.
One thing is certain: RTA furniture, which has been rocked by a series of retail failures during a period of weak sell-through, is undergoing a fundamental overhaul, with an increased emphasis on unique looks, mixed media and new categories, and much less dependence on pure panel processing.
Wood — solids and veneers, not just particleboard — continued to show up on more and more RTA, and chain-store buyers appeared to be responding favorably. Staple categories — home office and home entertainment — continued to get attention, but the stronger of the two is still entertainment, RTA producers said, as retailers want to show furniture for the latest generation of televisions.
Bedroom has established itself as a flat-pack staple, allowing retailers to promote single pieces or multi-piece collections at promotional price points. Emerging categories include kitchen, storage and highly targeted, solution-based furnishings such as the craft carts that Sauder Woodworking introduced.
One of the most dramatic presentations was Sauder's Entertainment Solutions program, an Italian import collection in birch veneers with accents of metal and green frosted glass. With a tall wall unit for plasma-screen televisions projected to retail at $599, the contemporary group targets furniture and specialty electronics stores, said Susan Dountas, vice president of merchandising.
"There are a number of retailers and consumer who want a veneer product and also understand the great attributes of RTA," Dountas said.
Ameriwood and Carina reported that solid fronts also are a selling advantage that retailers are embracing. Carina substantially expanded its use of solid drawers and doors, including woven and rattan treatments, after the retail success of the past six months.
"It creates a nice furniture look when you can offer a raised panel door in solid wood," said Jim Fiala, senior vice president at Carina. "It's a look that you just can't achieve with paper laminates, and it doesn't necessarily add cost to the product."
Dorel's Ameriwood rolled out its own solid-front program with a series of entertainment centers that coordinate with solid-wood occasional tables. The larger-scale pieces, with full entertainment walls retailing at up to $799, represent a major strategic shift for Ameriwood, which had previously focused on low-promotional price points.
At O'Sullivan Furniture, the Gramercy Park collection was all solid wood, with occasional pieces retailing from $199 to $599.
"It adds to our arsenal to have solid-wood options," said Mike Franks, O'Sullivan's director of strategic planning. "We want to sell anything our customers want to buy, and we have some customers who are ready to move up in price with products like this."
Imports — both components and full products — are playing a big role in the RTA changes.
"Imports help us add a lot of value for the price," said Shawn Lieb, president of Gusdorf. With an expanded Metal Works program, Lieb said Gusdorf enjoyed substantial success with desks and entertainment centers that combine imported metal components with vacuum-formed tops produced at the company's Quebec factory.
"We are trying to be creative, with designs that are unique and appealing, always at a price," Lieb said.
Kitchen and storage, once linchpin RTA categories, are getting new interpretations.
"Kitchen is emerging as more of a force," said Fiala at Carina, which offered seven new carts and stands with butcher-block or granite tops, set to retail at up to $199. "More merchants are looking to expand categories, and kitchen is one of the opportunities they are looking at first."
O'Sullivan's alliance with camping-equipment brand Coleman produced a beefy new collection of garage storage cabinetry, shelves and bins, as well as pieces designed for specific storage uses, such as sporting goods, gardening and more.
"There's a lot of functionality built into this. We're developing specific solutions for consumers' storage needs," Franks said.
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