Toronto market points to better year
Exhibitors leave confident
Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, January 23, 2006
TORONTO -- Traffic was off from prior years, but exhibitors at the just-concluded Canadian Home Furnishings Market here left town confident retailers have girded themselves for what promises to be a challenging but better 2006.
Most buyers came to the market having had their best Boxing Week in recent years, racking up sales that ate away at inventories while giving them the confidence to commit to a strong sampling of new product offered here by the 400 or so exhibitors.Canada’s Boxing Week — which traditionally lasts from the day after Christmas until kids return to school after New Year’s Day — is considered the most important sales period in the Canadian retail calendar, much like Thanksgiving weekend in the United States.Assessing the action here, Roger Friesen, senior vice president/merchandising and customer relations at major manufacturer Palliser Furniture, said, “People shopped, people bought and the mood was very positive.”“It was as good a weekend as it ever has been,” said Laurie Horne, director of Toronto operations for Springwall Sleep Products. “There was no doom and gloom, attitudes were great and they were ready to look at new product and get to work.”“Buyers wrote a lot of orders,“ said Demetre Daratzikis, vice president of national accounts for Sealy Canada. “This was a real ‘do business’ show. People actually bought beyond our expectations.”“The only thing that hurt us is that a lot of retailers from the West weren’t here,” said Denis Charest, president of case goods producer Poitras Furniture. “From what I saw, I think retailers are going to be more aggressive with their advertising and merchandising, and I’m optimistic that consumers are going to respond to those moves.” It’s been among Western retailers that the buzz about skipping Toronto for Las Vegas has been strongest. Jean François Michaud, president and CEO of the Quebec Furniture Manufacturers Assn., which owns and operates the Toronto market, acknowledged that attendance was down this market, but not simply because a relative handful of retailers chose to skip Toronto in favour of Las Vegas.“One of the problems is that there are about 5% fewer furniture retailers in Canada than there were a year ago,” he said.Considering the overall economic environment in which the industry finds itself, the QFMA is confident the market will continue to play an important role in the industry, Michaud said. Except for the small, regional Salon du Meuble de Quebec scheduled for September in Quebec City, this is the only Canadian market set for 2006, now that Furniture West has decided not to hold its market in Calgary, Alberta, this summer.Many executives noted that, because it’s considerably more expensive to show in Las Vegas and even High Point, Toronto will remain important, particularly for smaller Canadian factories with strong followings among independent Canadian retailers. It was for this reason the absence of retailers from western Canada wasn’t as strong as originally feared.“This will become a niche market that showcases smaller suppliers who are more flexible in their offerings and service to retailers,” Michaud said.“If you work this show properly, there isn’t anything you can’t find here,” said Salim Chatur, president and CEO of Eztia, a full-line importer based in Edmonton, Alberta. He added the market is a must for Canadian independents serious about building their businesses.In the weeks leading up to Christmas — and for most of 2005’s second half — retail was reported soft across most of Canada, with the exception of oil-rich Alberta. Also muddying the waters were two issues: the imminent fight over safeguard tariffs on Chinese furniture imports, and the second Las Vegas market in late January.However, as this market unfolded, those factors didn’t seem to be reflected in placements secured and orders written, although they provided considerable fodder for conversations.In many ways, this was the first market in many years where Canadian manufacturers truly emphasized their own ability to make furniture, although without diminishing the power of imports, whether through importers/distributors or blended into domestic lines.New product and directions were seen everywhere. For example:
* Palliser re-introduced casual dining after a 15-year absence.* Casual dining powerhouse Canadel re-entered the solid-wood bedroom category.* Superstyle Furniture introduced a collection that applied to stationary upholstery the mass customization techniques popularized by Canadel and others.* Poitras Furniture continued to transform itself from a regional into a national player with a new collection to be merchandised under the Roots label by Sears Canada, all of it made at its factory in L’Epiphanie, Quebec.
* Marshall Mattress brought out a new bedding collection that combined the benefits of pocketed coils with those of ever-more-popular visco-elastic foam.* Springwall recast its bedding offerings to offer more comfort choices at every price point.* South Shore Inds., working like many other resources to differentiate both its product and message to retailers, renamed itself South Shore Furniture and launched a new visual identity and market positioning program in support of 51 new products. * Two upholstery houses brought out new collections from Canadian celebrity designers. Brentwood Classics debuted its Kimberly Seldon collection, and Sklar Peppler unveiled a collection from the Designer Guys, whose program is one of the most popular on Canadian TV. All pieces in both collections are made in Canada and marketed at competitive price points.Housing starts probably will moderate in 2006, interest rates are likely to rise, and the strengthening Canadian dollar should make it harder for factories to compete in the U.S. market. But factory executives and buyers alike left Toronto knowing there is business to be won, and they’re ready to fight for it.
-
Toronto market points to better year
Feb 5, 2006
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
