Market report positive
Buyers place orders despite sales slump
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, November 2, 2009
HIGH POINT — Although the industry remains mired in a sales slump, most exhibitors left the October market in a positive frame of mind after hearing scattered reports of an uptick in retail business and completing a respectable amount of wholesale business in their showrooms.
Exhibitors said buyers, in general, were very upbeat and enthusiastic about product introductions. That led many to conclude the long-running slump may be hitting bottom.
“People feel the worst is behind them,” said Kevin O'Connor, president of Samson Marketing and chairman of the High Point Market Authority. “I think attendance probably was flat, but in this economy, I consider that pretty good.”
As usual, the market was shopped heavily by Top 100 stores and other major accounts on the first two days of the show and several days before its official Oct. 17 opening. Interior designers and buyers from small- and medium-sized stores were more prevalent the third and fourth days of the market, according to exhibitors.
“The majors aren't bringing as many people as they used to, but we still did a lot of business with them,” said Chuck Tidwell, vice president of merchandising and product development at upholstery producer Franklin. “Instead of bringing six or seven people, they only brought three or four.”
What impressed Tidwell and other executives was the positive attitude of buyers toward product introductions and new marketing efforts.
“Dealers were more interested in making changes to their floor. In April, we didn't see that,” said Steve Kincaid, president of Kincaid Furniture and head of La-Z-Boy's case goods business.
Part of the impetus came from the need to replenish depleted inventories, but Kincaid said another driver was the decline in the amount of closeouts in the marketplace.
“By now, I think we have all that (obsolete) inventory flushed out of the system,” he said.
The Las Vegas Market, and its decision to set its show dates a month before High Point was on everyone's mind, but most exhibitors said the impact of the nearly-conflicting dates wasn't immediately clear.
“I think there are enough dealers for us to see at both markets,” said Marvin Rubin, vice president of case goods and upholstery importer Acme Furniture. “We do more order-writing in Vegas, but not as many smaller stores come to High Point.”
Tim Donk, marketing director at entertainment and home office specialist Legends Furniture, said the company saw some of the same customers it saw in Las Vegas, as well as a number of major accounts that didn't go to the Vegas show.
“We wrote more than we normally write and we also got big commitments,” Donk said, noting that there was an equal interest in its domestic and import lines.
He also attributed the company's success to a new, high-traffic showroom location in Furniture Plaza.
This was the second market back to High Point for casual dining, home office and occasional specialist Sunny Designs after an absence of several markets. Hokeun Lee, vice president of sales, said the company saw 60% more dealers than April, including 45 Top 100 accounts, 25 of which are new to the company.
Many of those made firm commitments and placed written orders as well, Lee said.
Like Legends, West Coast-based Sunny Designs has a showroom in Las Vegas. While it sees more accounts in Las Vegas and has more written orders there, most of those accounts are smaller independent dealers, Lee said.
Other exhibitors noticed a significant increase in the number of Canadian buyers — many of whom had shunned High Point in favor of Las Vegas in recent years.
“I think the Canadians are back at this market. We had great attendance from Canada,” said board member Art DeFehr, who is president of Canadian manufacturer Palliser and owner of the 220 Elm showroom building.
“We heard nobody complaining about business or attendance,” DeFehr said.
Associate Editor Thomas Russell contributed to this story.
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