Looking for excitement
Hot new product, fabrics on San Fran lists
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, July 26, 2004
San Francisco — Retailers coming to the summer market here want to put some excitement into their stores by giving consumers more of what they're asking for.
One retailer said he'll be on the lookout for smaller-scale upholstery and case goods. Another sees a growing interest in large dining room tables.
Some will shop for entertainment centers that work best with the latest televisions, and another will hunt for performance fabrics as alternatives to the overabundance of microfiber suedes in the market.
When it opens Friday, San Francisco will be the first regional furniture market since the U.S. government announced preliminary duties on Chinese bedroom furniture, and some retailers are eager to eye the merchandise for any price changes.
"I'm very curious to see if prices have gone up on (Chinese bedroom) imports," said Mary Li, co-owner of five-store, upscale R.S. Basso, based in Sebastopol, Calif.
Her current Chinese suppliers face preliminary duties of about 10% in the antidumping case, she said. But Li wants to know if that goes for everybody she's considering working with, and whether the duties will translate into price increases at the same rate.
Li said she's happy with her upholstery lines and isn't looking to make changes, but is always searching for good case goods and this time is focusing on "innovative consoles for plasma TVs," she said. "That item alone will probably drive looks more toward contemporary simply because of what it is."
While consumers seem to be scaling down in several areas, R.S. Basso is seeing an interest in larger dining room groups — tables with leaves and seating for 10 or 12.
In general, Li said consumers seem to be looking for cleaner looks. Baby boomers are getting older and they want to simplify, she said, "so the Tuscany look is dead."
Dave Harkness, president and owner of two-store Harkness Furniture in Tacoma, Wash., echoed that sentiment, saying he'll be looking for "smaller, both in upholstery and case goods.
"It seems like we have a lot more people moving into retirement communities or smaller apartment living, and our clientele is asking for smaller-dimensioned furniture," he said.
Harkness also will search for values in the on-fire microfiber category at $499 and $599 sofa price points as well as leather upholstery at $899 to $999 — another category that remains strong.
Both retailers reported mixed business so far this year. Harkness said the first quarter was strong, the second quarter was softer, and July is off to a pretty good start.
"If appears to me, both from our own experience and what I've seen in the marketplace, that the business is there, but you have to be really aggressive to get it," said Taylor Ganz, owner of Los Angels-based McMahan's.
He said San Francisco is McMahan's major upholstery market, and the retailer will have an eye out for fresh looks from $599 up.
Bob Ammirato of the high-end Design Galleria by Valentine in Sacramento, Calif., is having a good year on top of two previous stellar years — something he attributes to a crack design team and his store's focus on whole-home and whole-room project business.
In San Francisco — a fill-in market for the retailer — Ammirato said he's shopping for clean-lined upholstery and case goods, leaning toward contemporary for a store that typically is very traditional. He'll also shop aggressively for accessories, including art, and will spend time in the temporary spaces at the San Francisco Mart and the Concourse.
"A lot of times you can find small vendors that are not being carried by your competition," he said.
Blackledge Furniture in Corvallis, Ore., also is experiencing strong business — about due for a market that has been "down in the dumps for a number of years," said President Eric Blackledge.
He believes the preliminary duties on Chinese bedroom imports will be an issue this market. "We're going to be looking at making adjustments," he said, depending on the pricing he sees.
Blackledge also will look for new covers and looks in upholstery. Microfiber has been good this past year, but he believes it's starting to tire, and hopes to find other performance fabrics to break the monotony of solid colors — more natural looks, wovens and "particularly some patterns."
In addition, he is a member of the Pacific Furniture Dealers buying group, which has vendor buying agreements expiring soon in leather, entertainment and casual dining. He expects PFD will shop and carefully review those categories in San Francisco.
Lael Thompson, manager of Sonshine Unfinished Furniture in Aurora, Colo., will be "taking a look at new ideas in entertainment." Many of the expensive new TVs are simply hung on walls, but Thompson believes that as prices move down on the electronics, consumers will gravitate back to entertainment centers for these sets. He wants Sonshine to be ready.
"I'm also looking to shop bedding lines much closer this market," he added. "There's so many changes happening in the bedding industry — with the new technology and the foams — we need to, more or less, reeducate ourselves on the trends and which companies are able to offer the best values."
Thompson said he's particularly interested in seeing Simmons' offering this time out.
