Casual dining sources add products, programs
By Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, April 24, 2005
High Point — With retail sales a bit sluggish, casual dining producers came to market armed with more than just new goods.
While new styles are important, manufacturers need to find ways to help attract consumers and help retailers make more money, said Davis Beaston, vice president of John Thomas.
John Thomas launched a program last year to help retailers with in-store presentation, online ordering and tracking, and advertising creation. The company provides pocket-sized brochures that shoppers can take to show their spouses or see how the products would look in their homes, said Carla Mata-Sprinkles, vice president of marketing. Sales reps can check inventories 24 hours a day.
Beaston said he realizes that salespeople work with dozens of sources, so John Thomas tries to make its catalog easy to understand and intuitive. John Thomas gives each of its groups a catalog section that can be removed from the three-ring binder.
Cultivating new customers is difficult, Beaston said, so it makes sense to create ways to boost sales through existing dealers.
Canadel agrees. The casual dining leader has added few new accounts in the past couple of years — except for a partnership with manufacturer Kincaid — but it has increased sales nonetheless, according to Jean Deveault, sales coordinator. Canadel had a single-digit sales increase last year, but it would have been much better if the Canadian company's U.S. sales hadn't been hurt by the rising value of the Canadian dollar.
There are two reasons that convince the consumer to buy, said Deveault — the price is right or the furniture is right. Rather than try to battle importers on price, he would rather focus on product. Canadel satisfies needs, he said, "and if you do that, then it's a done deal."
Canadel drew more foot traffic thanks to an expanded showroom. The latest addition took the company's space up to about 27,000 square feet.
Kinwai, which has a 1.2 million-square-foot complex in China, is making a big push into the U.S. retail market this year after years of contract and OEM work. The company has a couple of stores in San Francisco and has a warehouse there to service them, said Steve Eisler, vice president of sales and marketing. Now Kinwai is opening two leased distribution centers in Dallas and High Point.
Eisler did not disclose the sizes of the warehouses, but said they can be expanded as U.S. sales grow. He joined the company in January and has quickly expanded the U.S. sales team, from three sales reps last year to 33 today. At the April market, the company showed in 21,000 square feet in the International Home Furnishings Center.
Eisler said that rather than produce low-price, low-quality goods, the company prefers to use the cost savings of manufacturing in China to produce better goods at medium price points. Chairs and tables are made to contract quality standards, he said, such as sturdy beech chairs with tongue-in-groove corner blocks under the seat bottom.
Riverside has been considering adding distribution centers on each coast as it works to improve logistics and better serve dealers, said Richard Winstead, vice president of sales.
Several companies, including Calligaris, Cramco and Reflections, told retailers at market about their quick-ship programs, while Cochrane and John Thomas noted point-of-sale materials.
Johnston Casuals showed off new tear-sheet pads for retailers who carry their popular chairs and barstools, and offered a Plexiglas stand to hold the pads and samples.
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Armed and casual
May 1, 2005 -
Casual dining retailers get sales help
Apr 16, 2005
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