Revamped Palliser adds Asian product
Company also adds urban/loft styling & motion upholstery programs
Joan Gunin -- Furniture Today, October 17, 2006
AT THE MARKET -- Palliser, until now a strictly North American manufacturer with production in Canada and Mexico, is adding product from China this market as one of seven initiatives it is pursuing to revitalize the company.
In addition to its first Asian sourcing, the company is adding urban/loft styling and motion upholstery programs as it works to reposition its assortment, pricing and production capabilities.Today's Palliser is one of five new operating companies created when the old Palliser, then Canada's largest residential furniture maker and importer, was split apart in August. The company that retains the Palliser name includes the upholstery division, with longtime Palliser CEO Art DeFehr as president.Palliser's revamped management team includes Carsten Diercks, senior vice president/manager; John Phillips, executive vice president of sales; Adrian Price, vice president of Canadian sales and administration; and James DeFehr, nephew of Art DeFehr, senior manager over Palliser's four plants in Mexico.The four other spinoff companies are case goods importer Casana, formerly Palliser's World Trade Division; EQ3, retailing to young consumers; DeFehr Furniture, wood manufacturing; and contract furniture maker Arconas.Phillips, who joined the company six months ago after six years as a sales and marketing executive with Natuzzi Americas, said Palliser will continue to produce stationary and motion seating at retails of $899 to $1,999 in Canada and Mexico. At this market, the company also is hitting lower prices with newly sourced upholstery from China. "Now we are positioned to offer retailers competitive opening-price-point products, and we're able to trade up through middle- and upper-middle price points," Phillips said. "It is about more than getting the frame at the lowest price," he added. "It is a combination of price, value, service, selection — and taking care of the dealer and the consumer."The new Chinese import program, Palliser Direct, consists of nearly 50 frames targeting opening price points of $599 on stationary all-leather sofas. Most of the casual styles will be priced to retail at $599 to $899, with traditional from $799 to $999 and contemporary from $899 to $1,199.Also new is the domestically produced Cosmopolitan Collection, 25 frames scaled for urban/loft decor. The collection features more than 100 leather, fabric and microfiber covers."We're also mixing leather and fabric on the frames to create a decorative look," Phillips said.Palliser's longstanding premium line, Horizons, adds three frames this market for a total of 13 stationary frames and sectionals priced from $1,299 to $1,999. Utilizing natural leathers and eight-way hand-tied construction, Horizons continues to be produced in Canada and Mexico. A new motion program, Move In Style, kicks off with 35 domestic models at opening price points of $699 for microfiber, $799 for leather-match and slightly higher in all-leather. Matching sectionals, sleepers and stationary pieces are available in a wide array of covers. Also new is Priority 1, described as a "10-10-10" program offering a choice of 10 top upholstery sellers, in 10 covers, shipped in 10 days. Produced in Canada or Mexico, stationary sofas in this group would retail at $799 in microfiber and $899 in leather, Phillips said. Stationary, motion, leather and microfiber are offered."Priority 1 is ideal for smaller dealers because they will always have 'one to go, one to show and one to stock'," he said. "And it also works for a larger dealer who wants to rotate inventory quickly to spin the investment for more profit."Finally, in addition to truckloads, Palliser now has the added capability to deliver domestic goods LTL (less-than-truckload) nationwide.With these initiatives in place, Phillips said, "We should be the people's choice. Where else can a dealer get this kind of commercial offering married with speed of delivery, selection and targeted price points?"
Palliser shows on the fourth floor of 220 Elm.
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Revamped Palliser adds Asian product
Nov 5, 2006
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