Intercon offers European-made bedroom
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, January 29, 2006
Las Vegas — Case goods importer Intercon is offering its first European-made bedroom here.
The 12-piece Arts and Crafts-inspired group made at a plant in Slovenia is called American Craftsman. Made from solid European white oak and oak veneers, it has a suggested retail of $4,500 for a bed, dresser, mirror and nightstand combination.
That bumps Intercon into a higher price point than its usual bedroom offerings. Roughly half of its bedroom product comes from China and most of the rest is from Malaysia, said Sam Turpin, company sales director. He said the typical retail for a four-piece set from Asia is about $1,999, and one Malaysian-produced bedroom retails for as little as $999.
Turpin admits the higher-priced European-made product is a gamble for Intercon. But he said the high quality gives the product a strong value.
"There is no question in my mind that with this factory, the craftsmanship is far superior to 95% of what you see on the market," he said. "The quality is superb. We are confident it is going to get some good attention this market."
The Slovenian factory has produced chairs and dining room furniture for Intercon since the late '70s.
"For this factory, dining has always been successful," Turpin said. In years past, two of Intercon's No. 1 dining collections were produced there.
In 2004, the company had planned to source a solid wood bedroom, Casa Vieja, out of this plant. However, it decided instead to have it produced in China by a factory that received a lower antidumping duty than expected. The set was produced at half the price than it would have, were it made in the Slovenia plant, Turpin said.
For this market, Intercon decided the time was right to bring out a higher-priced group. That in turn gave the Slovenian factory a chance to diversify its production.
"We waited and found American Craftsman would help us jump-start some bedroom out of this factory because it is such an attractive collection," Turpin said. "It is heirloom furniture."
The company shows in the World Market Center, space 510.
-
Starmount sets entire focus on Nautica collections
Feb 23, 2011 -
Wood Introductions Focus on Core Pieces
Feb 1, 2011 -
Wood intros focus on core pieces at Las Vegas Market
Jan 24, 2011 -
Wood sources cast a wide net this market
Apr 17, 2010 -
Case goods
Oct 12, 2009
Featured Company
-
Brandwise Inc.
Brandwise serves a model - not just an industry - by integrating, automating, and optimizing the entire sales channel, from wholesale Suppliers to their Reps and the Retailers they service. In short, our software helps Reps and Suppliers sell more and create... more
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
