Little new = little traffic
Case goods year off to OK start
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, February 21, 2005
San Francisco — A familiar story played out in case goods at a lightly attended winter market here: No new product usually means an empty showroom.
Not many case goods exhibitors came to San Francisco with high expectations, and this winter's edition resembled a slow summer market, historically this venue's less-active show.
San Francisco typically has served as a gauge of early-year case goods business, and comments here indicate 2005 is shaping up as "OK."
Pockets of activity here centered on those who brought something new to the table, such as Brownwood, where a fresh presentation and new entertainment pieces led to a pleasant surprise, said President and CEO Rick Vartanian.
"We had twice as many signed in as we did last summer at this point," he said at the end of market's second day. "We re-energized our entertainment program, which had gotten stale. We waited until we knew exactly where the electronics were going and came out with a lot of product. We came here with well-justified low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised."
Broyhill had a very focused strategy for wood introductions here, said Vice President of Sales Don Essenberg, bringing three new midpriced bedrooms slated for first-quarter shipping.
"We had requests to come up with an assortment of more promotional, midpriced freestanding bedrooms," he said. "Dealers were telling us, 'We'd like to see you do the same thing in bedroom you're doing in upholstery'."
Early business this year at Broyhill is a mixed bag.
"We've had to scratch and claw for what we've gotten," Essenberg said. "With massive snows, flooding, it's been a rolling natural disaster affecting different parts of the country. When the weather's been good, business has been good."
Zocalo brought out what Marketing Director Danny Olivas described as a soft introduction of its brand extension into youth bedroom, called Z Generation.
"We took existing adult groups and added twin beds, and added five additional case pieces with unique selling points," he said. "We took these great-looking pieces and added function and storage. We found that in addition to storage, young people also want to show off their things, so we have open boxes on some pieces or sliding fronts that reveal one side of the space or the other."
Look for the program to grow significantly, with product developed specifically for youth, at High Point, where Zocalo will more than triple its showroom space to 37,000 square feet.
First-time exhibitor Somerton, the new U.S. marketing arm for a manufacturer in southern China, came to the show primarily to give its sales representatives a look at what they'll be selling.
"This is our first show anywhere," said Ed Roth, senior vice president. "We wanted the sales force to see the line. We're pretty much covered on national representation.... Any business we did here was a plus, and we 'plussed' a lot more than we thought we would."
Along with new product, exhibitors here emphasized service issues, especially in light of what some believe will be a challenging year for case goods.
"We'll be inventorying and stocking merchandise in China so we can quick-ship mixed containers," said David Lamons, president of Highland Design, which has shifted to all imports. "We sell a lot of midsized customers, and they'll be able to mix goods from three collections per container. This was the first market we took orders that way."
A-America, which sources goods in Asia, had new dining and bedroom here, but the key to business in 2005 will be more efficient product flow.
"Our customers think '05 is going to be an OK year for case goods," said Senior Vice President Dave Pinamonti. "We'll just have to grind it out. People are being conservative. They're looking for better inventory flow, whether domestic or imported goods."
In response, A-America, which currently distributes from Seattle, is looking to expand support this year with a new warehouse to serve the East Coast.
"This whole inventory flow issue is everywhere; you have to match your service ability on both sides of the ocean," Pinamonti said. "It's crucial for the long-term; it's not just a one- or two-year fix."
