Casual dining serving up better quality with wide range of looks
Higher price points
Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, October 19, 2005
HIGH POINT -- Casual dining, perhaps the most fashion-forward case goods category, won’t disappoint buyers seeking hot new numbers this market, even though its key selling season already is in full swing.
Retailers should note several key trends here:
* The race to the bottom could be over. Resources say that, in response to retail demand, they’re rolling out better quality goods at better price points.* Counter-height dining remains in vogue and may have evolved beyond a trendy novelty and established itself as a permanent subcategory within casual dining.* Transitional will be the key style this October, especially for domestic goods. It’s seen as a highly flexible design category, easily adapting elements from traditional and contemporary looks. Colorways will remain firmly entrenched in the earth tones seen for the past several markets.u Although it has been true for several seasons now, this market should bring home the key difference between North American-made goods and imports. Anything that can be customized or personalized is made in either the United States or Canada. Anything produced with the ‘you get it as you see it’ approach is an import, regardless of its quality or price point.Even though they have considerable breadth and depth in their introductions, most category executives point out that April is the more important market for casual dining, simply because the key product on retail floors right now was sourced and selected this past spring. “We will have decent attendance (this market), but April is usually the strong market because that’s when retailers are getting their dining lineups ready for the fall,” said Becky Gould, director of marketing for Saloom Furniture.However, there’s an emerging view that seasonality is becoming less of an issue in casual dining for several reasons, including the cash-and-carry nature of the product, particularly at the lower price points, and the multi-functionality of its accompanying case pieces.“The dining category gets more attention in April, but there doesn’t seem to be a season for casual dining,” said Jim DeRose, merchandising manger/case goods for Lane Home Furnishings. “This is often a ‘popcorn-type’ category where people want to take their purchase with them.”“Sales are not that seasonal anymore,” said Pat Gervais, president of Dinec.Complicating their forecasts of attendance and the open-to-buy retailers will have at this market is the enthusiastic reviews most factory executives gave to the first Las Vegas market this past July. “There was excitement in the air in Las Vegas and we wrote orders,” said Rik Talley, vice president of sales and marketing for swivel/tilt specialist Chromcraft. “When it comes to High Point, the big guys are always going to come. But when it comes to the independents, our expectations aren’t as high, especially if they went to Las Vegas.”Many resources believe that buyers, especially those who attended Las Vegas, could shorten their High Point trips, making them more selective about the showrooms they visit, the time they spend in each, and nature of their placements.“The amount of time they’ll spend here will be shorter because of Vegas,” said Jean Deveault, executive vice president of Canadian powerhouse Canadel, even though he expects overall traffic to be on par with previous October markets.Should Las Vegas establish itself as a key platform for the launch of new product, manufacturers say their biggest challenge will be to manage the product development cycle to ensure they always have something fresh to present at each of what will be four major markets. While this won’t be evident in High Point showrooms this week, it will be a factor next year.“It’s made things more challenging on the merchandising/product development side,” said Lane’s DeRose.
“Las Vegas puts a real strain on (product development). Being forced to move samples around causes all sorts of logistical problems,” said Chromcraft’s Talley. “I suspect that Las Vegas will mean there’s no real need for premarket.”“We are spreading out our introductions because of the Las Vegas market,” said Saloom’s Gould. “Ideally, we’d like to get out of the market cycle and launch new product all year long.”Talley noted there’s more space in High Point to show new goods, which likely will keep the emphasis on introductions here, at least until construction in Las Vegas is complete. “Right now, the major introductions will be at High Point because High Point is still the show and we have showroom space here,” he said. “But since we’ll try to have something at every market, we’ll have to keep more work-in-progress in the pipeline all the time.”Exhibitors expect retailers quickly will decide which of the two markets they’ll attend on a regular basis. “You won’t see a lot of dealers going to both,” Talley said.Introductions in most showrooms here will be a combination of never-before-seen goods and holdovers from Las Vegas. While import programs will continue to be strong, domestic producers are re-emphasizing the better and best price points.“I see some backlash against the imports,” Gould said. “A lot of dealers are telling us not to go for the lower prices but to continue to offer the New England quality story and to continue to offer real value.”“Dealers are tired of selling stuff at $299, so a lot of them have asked for better price points,” Talley said. “They’re looking for value at attractive prices because they believe they can move that $699 customer to $899 if they have the look.”“The lower price points will be covered by the importers, because we can offer more features and benefits at a higher price,” Dinec’s Gervais said.Although not immediately evident, the escalating price of oil will affect everyone in the not-too-distant future, resources said. “It’s a big part of the costs of solvents and paint, 30% of the cost of glass is fuel, and our deliveries are going to become more expensive,” said Canadel’s Deveault.While manufacturers, importers and retailers grapple with the nuances of doing business in an increasingly complex environment, the product is the thing here, and casual dining resources promise to surprise and delight. For example, Saloom is introducing both a ladderback chair and a turned pedestal base. “Saloom has always been very independent in terms of design. We’ve always tried to be innovative,” Gould said, adding recent research told them retailers want the things Saloom does best applied to the tried and true.“A turned pedestal base and a ladderback chair are things we’ve never had before,” she said. “These are items that are geared toward more mainstream tastes, but it’s also product that sells well, but to which we’ve added the Saloom touch. Dealers have always seen us as a style leader, but we found that we need to round out the product line by introducing the best sellers.”In response to the growing condo/apartment market, Lane is offering a new “dining room set in a box” program. “This is the Murphy bed as applied to casual dining,” DeRose said. “Dining areas in big city condos and apartments are getting smaller. So working with an Italian designer, we’re bringing our some sets that have very high style and don’t look like a flat-pack product.” Lane also is continuing to build on the success of its Great Room concept, and make 36-inch high tables a standard across every casual dining group it sells, he said.Chromcraft is adding to its existing 300,000 SKU assortment a brushed steel finish which Talley described as a “very contemporary, sharp and clean finish in the upper middle to higher price points.”Also new this market is a copper finish called Venetian and a natural wood finish that will be available on a limited number of Chromcraft’s better-quality bucket seats.Also on deck is a new group in its Gatherings collection called Trinidad. This 20 SKU group has an island/bamboo look with a target retail between $899 and $999 for a table and four. “This is going to move us up a price point with a more interesting look,” Talley said.Canadel is debuting a 168-inch long table that uses as many as five leaves, and also is adding several leg styles to its pub-height table program, a series of new chairs, 45 new fabrics and new benches.
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