Showtime steps out in style
New looks aim to take on the 'chenille habit'
By Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, January 31, 2005
High Point — With textile quotas gone, tariffs possible and euro/dollar currency challenges continuing, exhibitors at Showtime here stepped up styling to set themselves apart from the crowd, and buyers had a healthy range of good-looking, well-priced goods from which to select covers for spring furniture lines.
Retailers at the April market will see an abundance of silks, velvets, fine-yarn chenilles that look like velvet, and sophisticated flatwoven constructions to help wean consumers from their chenille habit, not to mention an abundance of the fun stuff — novelties, trims and frou frou — that sparks the imaginations of furniture designers.
Some vendors here made the point that imports from China and India, for example, were a dollar less per yard thanks to the elimination of textile quotas, while others held the line on prices, convinced that something — whether it ends up being called an export tax or a tariff or something else — soon will be instituted to replace the quota system.
Importers of European goods felt the pressure of the euro/dollar discrepancy, but price is simply not an issue for buyers at the top range of upscale goods, and most of those vendors already had adjusted their lines to have a broader appeal and wider price range.
When asked to name the most pleasing thing at Showtime, Scott Jensen, director of merchandising for upholstery maker Paul Robert Co., said, "I was glad to see the flatwovens with such great hand. I think we're at last going to be able to lure the customer away from the sea of chenille, and it will be a seamless leap for the consumer.
"The companies that have been paying attention have stepped up their styling," he continued. "And I'm happy that the colors are fashion-forward without being too far out."
Carrie Bleile at upholstery major Flexsteel said she came to Showtime "for the ideas and to see the trends. Of course, what you finally select has to work with your line, but these folks have researched and worked to put together their lines, and it's a benefit for me to take advantage of their expertise."
"I don't shop price, really," said Jan Jessup of design company Jan Jessup & Co. "There was a lot of good-looking product related to the increased competition and the pressure of the euro versus the dollar. Everyone was very selective about what they brought."
Although there were no official attendance figures by press time, Catherine Morsell, director of the International Textile Market Assn., said exhibitors seemed to be happy with the market and felt optimistic.
ITMA launched its certification program this market, which essentially "puts our stamp of approval on a participating company," she said, and explains why some exhibitors weren't listed in the directory.
The decline in attendance by furniture manufacturing buyers continued this market — many had seen major lines in New York in December — and the growing numbers of buyers from other markets also was evident.
Because of textile embargoes and West Coast port delays, some vendors didn't have samples, except for a few they'd been able to bring in their luggage or had sent by air, but it didn't seem to make much difference in their business. Everyone asked said they had a full appointment book, and most appointments were kept.
Edinburgh Weavers, a new Showtime member, didn't receive its crate of samples and sales materials till Wednesday. The shipment cleared customs on Dec. 2, but the embargo has slowed everything and created a shortage of trailers for some shippers, which may have been a contributing factor.
With suede fabrics available at less than $3 a yard, several companies focused on alternatives, including Quaker Fabric, which debuted a line called Sueded Velvets. Tom Muzekari, vice president of sales and marketing, said, "We took the technology for our Ultra microdenier polyester performance line and exploded it into a vast product line to address the faux suede market.
"Faux suedes are all starting to look alike, and the prices are deteriorating," he continued, "so we asked ourselves what could give retailers a different look that's between a velvet and a suede."
Teresa Huffman, Culp's assistant director of human resources, said the company's new headquarters and showroom "was a fabulous success. Everything we wanted to achieve through our work with the Gensler design team functioned exactly as we planned it, and customers were wowed!"
