Pennsylvania House pulls Southern Roots
Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, January 4, 2005
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Citing concerns about quality, La-Z-Boy subsidiary Pennsylvania House said it won’t make Steve Tyrell’s Southern Roots collection, its case goods introduction at the October market.
Dealer reaction to Southern Roots at market wasn’t on a par with the original Tyrell collection, New Standards, but it was a solid performer, said Pennsylvania House President Dave Sowinski.
“The decision wasn’t a function of the selling, but an issue of manufacturing execution,” he said. “We were concerned about quality issues using the (collection’s) okoume veneer.”
In a letter to dealers, Sowinski said Pennsylvania House explored other veneer options but couldn’t find an alternative that didn’t significantly alter the collection’s look.
Pennsylvania House has a long tradition in solid wood, and the company will continue to emphasize that category, but Sowinski said veneered goods will continue to play a role in the line.
“New Standards has been a wonderful collection, and it uses a lot of veneers,” he said. “We’re not going to be all solid wood, but predominantly solid wood. The mix will depend on each collection’s needs.”
Sowinski said dealer response to the Southern Roots cancellation for the most part has been very supportive. “They appreciate that we’re not going to bite off too much, and our concentration on in-line product as we shift from manufacturing to sourcing,” he said.
Ed Williams, president of Leiper Furniture in Monticello, Ill., a Pennsylvania House dealer, said pulling collections creates problems, and that such decisions have ramifications at retail.
“When you go to High Point market … you look at a collection, you figure out how you’re going to floor it, and if all of a sudden it’s pulled, you have some disappointment,” Williams said. “Maybe you don’t buy another collection because you’ve chosen this one, and you’ve put yourself in a merchandising hole going into the spring.”
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