Occasional sources continue to spark good growth with fresh ideas
Creative shapes, colors and functions capture consumer interest
By Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, December 25, 2005
High Point — Occasional furniture sales continued to grow in 2005, despite soft business conditions overall.
The economy has yet to return to the Spring 2000 level, yet fresh shapes, colors and functions of occasional and accent furniture have helped companies not only tread water, but prosper.
One of the biggest problems for manufacturers is the diminishing dealer base as a number of small stores and big chains alike have closed over the past four years, said Stan Reinisch, CEO of curio specialist Philip Reinisch.
Those companies sourcing from overseas also have been hurt by plant closings in China. Standard Furniture lost a couple of key factories to bankruptcy, said Todd Evans, vice president of sales and marketing. Since Chinese factories often service multiple vendors, other companies must have been affected, too, he said.
Standard's occasional sales were up 5% through the first 11 months of the year, but that performance actually lagged that of other categories as the company overall was up 13% for the year.
For some companies like Philip Reinisch, the Powell Co. and Howard Miller, existing product lines held their own this year, and growth came from adding new, exciting goods.
Powell had a good October High Point market in occasional and is up a little over 2004, said Sean Slack, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing. The increase was helped by incremental business from its new Michael Payne and Pfaltzgraff collections, which include occasional and casual dining.
Howard Miller's existing product has been stable this year, said Philip Miller, chairman and CEO. Thankfully, new goods have generated excitement and orders. These include oversized wall clocks, fashion-forward floor clocks and occasional furniture in both contemporary and relaxed traditional styles.
The company's new Wine & Spirits collection was extremely well received at the October market, Miller said.
Philip Reinisch has long promoted its focus on collector's cabinets, but the company had a "huge hit" at High Point with its new hybrid curio fireplaces, according to Reinisch. The company showed a couple of prototypes in April, and from that response developed about a dozen models for the fall market.
Brand power
Pulaski Furniture helped its occasional sales this year by refocusing on branding; the Accentrics line includes occasional tables and accent items, while the curio line has been organized under the Keepsakes name.
Accentrics is growing very well, said Jim Kelly, executive vice president for product development and marketing. Strong sellers include both the mainline pieces and the stepup Accentrics Signature line, which offers bigger sizes and touches like silver leaf and crackle finishes.
Pulaski's collector's cabinets have benefited from the addition of the Insight lighting system that adds extra lighting built into the shelves. This was a consumer-driven enhancement, said Kelly. A telephone survey of about 500 curio buyers showed that they wished they could have more light near the bottom of the case.
Two companies that focus heavily on occasional have had double-digit sales increases this year.
"Occasional tables are our bread and butter," said Christy Johnson, Maitland-Smith's furniture product manager. Tables did well at the High Point market as did bars, chests and occasional chairs. The bars were probably the hottest pieces, she said.
The big key for Maitland-Smith is to offer a wide variety to appeal to retailers in many regions. A new Spanish colonial style was developed this fall to appeal to consumers in areas like Florida, Texas and California, she said.
Compared to the High Point market in October 2004, this past show had a sales increase of about 10%, Johnson said.
Offering more options
Magnussen Home typically shows 18 to 20 occasional groups at premarket, then narrows the offering down to 12 to 15 groups for market. Rather than just having the standard three tables in a group, the company sometimes offers six or seven pieces to give consumers more options, said Jeff Cook, president and CEO.
At High Point, Magnussen unveiled 65 pieces in a new Home Accents Express quick-ship program for accent furniture. This was an extension of the service offered for products in the Carolyn Kinder licensed line, which launched in October 2004.
Magnussen's research has shown that homeowners look to add accent pieces to their home an average of five times a year, compared to once every eight years for case goods. The goal of the express program is to keep a flow of goods going to retailers who understand the value of occasional furniture, according to Cook. This program has helped the company achieve a double-digit sales increase in the category for 2005.
Case goods companies like Pennsylvania House and Stanley have found function to be a key in driving occasional sales.
The most successful occasional pieces generally offer a little something extra, said Kelly Cain, vice president and product manager for Stanley Collections. Examples include tables that offer drawer or door storage, shelves and serving trays.
Stanley stays away from freestanding accents because there is such a glut of those items being imported by numerous companies, Cain said. Instead, Stanley has found success with crossover pieces that can work in multiple rooms, such as a home office bookcase that could go in a great room or dining room.
Round cocktail tables seem to be retailing well, said Cain, although he wasn't sure if that's because of a trend or because it's a silhouette the company didn't focus on until recent collections. Circular cocktails take up less space than a similarly sized square table and make it easier to get up from the sofa without those corners sticking out in the way.
Pennsylvania House likes to pair its occasional with upholstery, making it easier for the dealer to coordinate pieces and sell room settings. However, even in this format, retailers prefer functions such as shelves, drawers and glass-top display tables. One stackable chest could work as an occasional piece in any room, but also could double as an office file drawer, said Ron Fuhrman, vice president of marketing.
The 'wow factor'
Occasional furniture is a category that continues to grow, said Ray Steele, Ultimate Accents' vice president. The company's pieces can retail from $89 to $989 and fit in any room in the house, like a table or drawer chest replacing a traditional nightstand, he said.
Occasional adds the "wow factor" to a room with its variety of styles, colors and hand-painted designs, he said. Rather than just using a typical dresser or drawer chest, today's bedroom might have an accent armoire to add pizzazz.
With so many companies trying to beat each other down on prices, Steele said his company is going the other way by trying to create a better product. Special touches like fancy hardware or hand-painted finishes can set the furniture apart without having a big impact on pricing, he explained.
As for the competition, Steele said the fact that so many companies are pushing occasional has raised retailers' awareness of the category and produced opportunities for new sales. Competitors also help make companies stronger. Occasional is all that Ultimate does, Steele said, so it has to do it better than others if it wants to grow.
The future of occasional furniture looks bright as all the new housing starts in the past few years eventually will lead to sales, say some executives.
But new housing starts are not good indicator of sales in the short term, said Miller of Howard Miller. Often, families are too strapped for cash after saving for a down payment on a home loan. At some point, however, the owners will want to add nice furnishings, and that will help the industry.
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