Canadian retailers scouting Vegas action
By Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, July 24, 2005
Las Vegas — The inaugural market here is drawing Canadian furniture retailers of all sizes and stripes, but exhibitors won't see a huge turnout from north of the border the first time out.
Most chains and buying groups have sent one or two members of their buying and merchandising teams with a mandate to scout the market and report back. If those reports are favorable, larger delegations may come to future markets.
A significant number of influential retailers, including Mega Group and Tepperman's Furniture, haven't sent anyone.
Retail executives say if product here is mainly warmed over from the April High Point market, getting to see Céline Dion at $399 a ticket won't be sufficient reason to come to Vegas.
But if there's product not found at High Point or the January furniture market in Toronto, exhibitors should find an enthusiastic audience among Canadian retailers, very few of whom attend San Francisco or Tupelo shows. For most Canadian retailers, the key markets are the Toronto market and the April and October shows in High Point.
"We're sending one buyer to see what's going on," said Ed Leon Jr., vice president of merchandising at Leon's Furniture, the full-line national chain based in Toronto. "If they can do something special, it will be successful."
"Two of our six buyers are going to Las Vegas," said Bruce Watton, national merchandising manager/furniture at Sears Canada. "They're going to give us a feel for what's going on. We were told by some of our suppliers at High Point in April that there will be new product to see."
The Brick, meanwhile, has sent a full buying contingent to Las Vegas. "We want everyone to see it," said Colon Donnelly, vice president of Canada's largest furniture retailer. "We think it's going to be an important forum."
With the exception of The Brick, most retailers said they aren't in Vegas with a big open-to-buy, primarily because it hasn't proven itself yet for new product. Business in Canada has been challenging, and whatever open-to-buy most buyers had was committed at High Point in April.
Executives believe it will be two or three years Vegas' true value to the retailer is established.
"They've had a lot of hype and that's generated a lot of interest." Leon said. "If it lives up to its promise, it will become a meaningful market."
Dennis Novosel, president of Stoney Creek Furniture in Stoney Creek, Ontario, also sees potential in Vegas, although he sent only a single buyer to explore the inaugural event.
"I think it will become an important event simply because of the strength of will shown by the people who are running it," he said. "They're already talking about building 12 million square feet, and that's not a regional market by any means."
The market's challenge, Novosel said, is to differentiate itself from High Point. "They can't simply end up competing with the old guard in High Point — that won't work," he said. "Where they have an advantage is their ability to attract new Asian suppliers. Las Vegas could be the place where a lot of new Asia business is done."
Las Vegas' proximity to the West Coast should help it attract exhibitors from Asia, whose furniture industry is showing an increasing willingness to market product directly to North American retailers.
Vegas appears to have other competitive advantages for Canadians. They can fly directly to Las Vegas from almost anywhere in the country, with attractive travel/hotel packages that might be priced well below C$1,000, which can be one-third the cost of traveling to and staying in High Point.
In January, a Vegas market would mean a break from an ofter-harsh winter, and retailers, particularly the smaller independents, could add a couple of vacation days.
"It could have a lot of appeal to a lot of people," Leon said. "We shouldn't discount the fun factor."
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