Panache in Paris
Strong euro leads to internal focus; styles still cutting edge
By Jay McIntosh -- Furniture Today, January 30, 2005
Paris — Manufacturers exhibiting at this month's Salon du Meuble here were still bedeviled by a strong European currency that is dampening sales outside the continent, but look forward to better days.
The addition of 10 countries to the European Union last May, including Poland, Hungary and the Czech and Slovak republics, has raised hopes for more furniture trade within the now 25-nation economic bloc.
In style, this year's Paris furniture show stayed on the cutting edge of contemporary — preferred by a larger audience in Europe than in the United States — but also focused on updating traditional designs with modern fabrics and finishes.
Organizers of the Paris show say that buyers look for product in these proportions: 43% contemporary, 37% traditional and 20% designer or avant-garde.
While some buyers at the show said traffic seemed light, spaces of popular lines such as Grange and Gautier stayed busy.
"It was one of the best shows we have had," said Jose Gosselin, a Gautier vice president and CEO of the company's American arm, Gautier USA, who was in the Paris space.
Like others with an active export business, the company is battling the currency trend — the euro's value has risen about 30% against the dollar in the past two years. European producers have to raise prices in dollars to keep pace, or accept a lower profit margin if they don't want to raise their U.S. prices.
"We're going to suffer for a while but hopefully things will turn around," said Gosselin. Despite the currency effect, he said the company did well in the United States last year, with programs at some major retailers helping push sales up 9.2%.
One way the Paris show aims to support the industry's business is to offer some professional guidance on where styles are headed. This year, the show invited designers and artists to create tableaus of furniture and related products that could reach new customers in the years ahead.
One room setting in a style called Industrial Grand, for example, mixed the antique and the high tech in pieces including a Louis XV chair covered with a soft vinyl imprinted with a photograph, and a chandelier hanging alongside standard industrial lighting.
Artist Daniel Rozensztroch said he and a colleague were inspired to create the setting by a group of manufacturers he knows in a Paris neighborhood, which make furniture in a classical style dating back 300 years. The products still enjoy a following but their clientele is getting older, he said.
"I feel the necessity to show these producers how we can change the looks of this furniture very simply," said Rozensztroch. "It's a new way of life for a new generation of consumers."
A Paris show exhibit called VIA looked at how changes in home technology will affect furniture. Gerard Laize, director of the exhibit, said that, for one thing, people will spend even more time in front of video screens, either passively watching television or actively working or playing on a computer or video game.
"Naturally, the furniture will follow the form of the technology," said Laize. People will need to be comfortable in a variety of postures — think of a chair that can be adjusted to several seating positions, and a table that converts from round to square by rotating it on its base.
Techology-based changes in furniture are nothing new, says Laize: "Lest we forget, it was the advent of the television (in 1955) that brought the divan into the home."
-
RTA getting second looks with stylish new designs
Mar 21, 2012 -
Upholstery Holds its Own in Tough Economy
Aug 16, 2011 -
Tupelo ready for active furniture market
Aug 16, 2010 -
Albany Inds. offering RTA sofa line
Apr 22, 2012
Featured Company
-
Brandwise Inc.
Brandwise serves a model - not just an industry - by integrating, automating, and optimizing the entire sales channel, from wholesale Suppliers to their Reps and the Retailers they service. In short, our software helps Reps and Suppliers sell more and create... more
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
