Office additions win praise
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, February 5, 2006
Las Vegas — Home office exhibitors stayed busy here as they sought to bolster sales activity in this small but growing furniture category.
Traffic and order writing stayed strong for some companies during the week, thanks to a mix of new product with novel functional aspects.
At Aspen Furniture, crowds admired a group of new writing desks sized for smaller workspaces. Ranging from 48 to 64 inches wide, they broadened the company's line beyond larger executive desks.
"The smaller desks have been the biggest hit so far," said product designer Andy Nielsen. "We try to come up with new features nobody else has, and people are loving it."
Functional features range from pullout laptop trays and extendable mouse pad trays to drawers that are convertible for file or printer use, and drawers with docking stations. The open configurations even have wire management going through the back legs.
Kathy Ireland Home by Martin Furniture showed two new collections — Mission Hills and West Gate. It also added a conference table and a writing desk with reception hutch to its Capitol Hill home office group.
Martin set out to better merchandise its Kathy Ireland-licensed product line by tying its introductions with those of other licensees such as Standard Furniture, Pacific Coast Accessories and Shaw Living.
"Our Kathy Ireland branding relationship is really gaining momentum," said Karl Eulberg, vice president of sales. "With more new SKUs and more new customers coming in, those two things combined make for a really strong market."
Winners Only CEO Sheue-Wen Lee said traffic was off slightly on opening day, no thanks to long registration lines. It was steady throughout the day on Tuesday, and by the end of the day, orders were 20% higher than July.
Lee attributed the spike in business to the company's new offerings, including a lighter cherry finish for its Americana home office and case goods line. The transitional group received strong reaction from higher-end customers, she said.
"They really like this finish," she said. The group includes three-piece cherry executive desks, hutch and credenza units retailing at $4,000.
Ken Whalen, president of home office and entertainment specialist Golden Oak, was also pleased with market activity, calling it "beyond strong." In particular, he noticed more traffic from Top 100 retailers than in July. Those customers also were writing orders.
"It's one thing to have a high count of customers," he said. "It's another to have meaningful customers in buying product."
He said reaction was particularly strong on a new 48-inch solid ash and ash veneer writing desk and mini-hutch in a java finish. Other pieces include a rolling file, office console and bookcase units. The group is aimed at younger consumers who might view it as a better value than similar-priced laminate and MDF-based products found at office superstores.
RTA specialist Leda Home Furnishing's introductions included leather and wood veneer tops on writing desks in its Colton collection. Ranging from $169 to $249 retail, these 36-inch to 52-inch wide models were a hit with retailers.
A number of buyers at the winter show were from midsized retailers that didn't come in July, said Edgar Gonzalez, Leda's executive vice president.
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Office additions winning praise
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