Leather resources gear for more frenzy

By Joan Gunin -- Furniture Today, January 29, 2006

Las Vegas — Leather upholstery sources anticipate the frenetic pace of the debut Las Vegas market held here in July to pick up where it left off at the second round being held here this week.

Many manufacturers and importers are bringing more sales representatives and support staff to this season's event, anticipating that attendance and order-writing will be even more brisk than in July.

Considered by many as more than a regional show, some leather seating sources are bringing out brand new product here rather than simply re-introducing goods originally shown in High Point.

Among the companies debuting new leather are Flexsteel, Coaster Co. of America, Hamilton & Spill and Palatial Furniture.

Flexsteel is among those exhibitors expecting to enjoy another strong showing here.

"We had more customers at this show in July than in High Point in October, and our written business in Las Vegas rivaled what was written in High Point," said Lee Fautsch, vice president of residential upholstery for Flexsteel.

"The leather business has never been as large a part of our business as it is today, because of both imports and domestic sales," Fautsch added. "We have really high hopes for this show."

Flexsteel's introductions include the addition of a leather motion sectional to its popular Latitudes line.

"We have created a line extension with the addition of a motion sectional version of our best-selling motion sofa," Fautsch said.

The Digby recliner chair, another addition, also is aiming to build on the success of its sofa counterpart, which features sleek, diminutive scaling.

Lane Home Furnishings puts Las Vegas on a par with High Point as far as product introductions.

"We have a sprinkling of new product across all categories," said Greg Roy, Lane's vice president of domestic sales. "Although not quite as broad as High Point, (Las Vegas) is a more comprehensive offering than either San Francisco or Tupelo.

"The challenge is (how to show a) breadth of product," he said, noting that Lane's 25,000-square-foot space here is a far cry from its 100,000-square-foot High Point space.

In addition, Lane has beefed up its sales force for this market. Seventy-five percent of its reps will be here, versus 50% in July.

"If their accounts are here, they are required to be here," he said. "We expect a bigger crowd. It will be substantial."

On the product front, Lane is quite pleased with dealer reactions to two Chinese-made upholstery lines — Hemispheres and Explorations — that it launched in High Point in the fall.

"Initially, both were offered on a limited basis to make sure we could service stocking goods in Asia, but we are now set with our forecasting," Roy said.

For its domestic collection, Lane continues to eye better step-up leathers from Italy and Brazil — "things we are not able to find in China," he said.

Like Lane, Coaster uses its more spacious High Point showroom to show a complete array of items. Las Vegas is viewed more as "an all-star game," reserved for the best products shown at High Point, said Product Manager Sam Contreras.

"Las Vegas is a phenomenally good writing market," Contreras said. He added that the timing of the event is good, since many of the company's October introductions are now in the warehouse and ready to ship.

Coaster is offering a few special items this week, including a three-piece fabric group promotionally priced at $299.

Omnia, which experienced a wildly successful market six months ago, is "expecting even greater business" this time around, said Murray Eastern, director of sales and marketing.

"We are expecting an overwhelming market. Traditionally, the winter market on the West Coast (San Francisco) was always a marked difference from the summer, in terms of activity," he said. "If that holds true here, we'll be working even harder and looking for a very strong market."

Based on conversations with dealers in California, Arizona and the Northwest, Eastern said he expects that "a significant number" of first-time dealers will be in attendance this week.

With that in mind, Omnia is among those exhibitors bringing in more personnel to support its sales force.

At retail, Eastern said, "The peaks are higher and the valleys are deeper. There has been no sustained, good business environment for the last several years."

'A mob scene'

Gary Harmon, vice president of U.S. sales and merchandising for Canadian-based importr Hamilton & Spill, also expects good traffic. At one point last July, he said, the Hamilton & Spill space was filled to capacity. "The showroom could not hold any more people. It was a mob scene."

Harmon is expecting "a much broader participation" this market, with dealers coming from the North, Northeast and Upper Midwest. "We expect to see as many or more as last summer," he said.

To handle the crowds, 98% of Hamilton & Spill's sales team will be in attendance ("all but one sales territory"), up from 85% last time.

Because its showroom size here prohibits the company from displaying its entire product line, the primary focus this market is on stationary leather, as well as motion.

In addition, this week marks the importer's first foray into fabric upholstery. The line will feature Hamilton & Spill's own designs made to its specifications in China. Microdeniers in different weaves and constructions, as well as performance fabrics, are making their debuts.

The upholstery line is split equally between those frames that can carry either leather or fabric covers and those dedicated solely to one or the other, Harmon said.

"We are also beginning to show our coordinated collections, tying occasional (pieces) to walls and to upholstery," he added. "And we're getting a good response."

John Hoff, president of Palatial Furniture, a year-old importer making its Las Vegas debut, said the show's Western locale "gives us the opportunity to see people we wouldn't typically see in High Point."

Palatial is rolling out three new leather upholstery frames here, including the 68-inch Grayson settee dressed in top-grain leather with a pearlized finish.

Seven leathers from China, with hand-rubbed applications, also will be introduced.

Other Vegas newcomers showing here include Fiamma Leather, from China, and Rubelli, a Malaysian-based company that offers container loads from China.

Also, rug importer Safavieh Home Furnishings is launching a wholesale furniture division at the market, offering what it says are private-label products at container pricing.

Safavieh follows Abbyson, a rug resource that launched its own furniture line — including leather seating — here last market.

Broyhill and Universal are among the full-line furniture manufactures that will re-introduce their leather offerings from High Point, some in new cover assortments.

Broyhill is featuring a traditional leather group in various configurations, while Universal is emphasizing Queensgate, a leather/fabric upholstery collage with correlating dining and occasional table pieces.

Additional leather merchants on hand this week include importers Acme Furniture, Alphaville Design, Armen Art, Classic Leather, Global Furniture, Leather Italia USA, Moroni, The Park Avenue Furniture Group and Canadian-based motion producer El Ran, which has bulked up its stationary program this market.