Upholstery consumers want durability
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, November 9, 2009
High Point — Big-box stores, the Internet and other alternate means of distribution still have a ways to go when it comes to serving consumers' upholstery shopping needs.
According to surveys conducted by Furniture/Today and HGTV Consumer Views, 63% of consumers shop first through a traditional furniture store. The key factor in their decision? Sixty-five percent choose a sofa retailer based on its reputation. And product durability and quality are their key concerns when making a buying decision.
For example, at Blackburn Home Furnishings in the small town of Nelsonville, Ohio, durability plays a major part in making Flexsteel's Vail sofa the hands-down best seller. That sofa features a family-friendly performance fabric. Price is not a major concern.
Here's a look at the type of stationary upholstery that is selling well in mid- to upper-priced retail stores.
What's hot: Broyhill's Laramie sofa.
Key features: The sofa features a hardwood frame, Ultralux Plus cushion, semi-attached back and nailhead details.
Why it is selling: "It's got a microfiber cover but it looks like leather," said Tom Wright, president of the 50,000-square-foot Wright's Furniture and Flooring in Dieterich, Ill. "It gives you the best of both worlds. With microfiber, you get a sophisticated style but with a rustic cover so it goes both ways in our area, which is rural. It really works well for us."
The store sells the traditional, roll arm Laramie sofa in a saddle color. "It's available in a darker cover but the lighter color sells best for us," Wright said.
Another hot stationary seller for the 120-year-old retailer is the Logan Stone sectional from Ashley. "Logan Stone is a leather look with microfiber seat cushions and back pillows. It's a younger customer but it's a sectional that sells for under $1,000 and gives them good value," Wright said.
What's hot: Smith Brothers' No. 165 sectional.
Key features: The frame is solid maple, with a fashionable gold-on-black cover.
Why it is selling: George Carson, owner of Marty Rae's, a 15,000-square-foot, mid- to upper-end store in Lexington, S.C., said consumers like this sectional "because it's smaller. A lot of people like the idea of a sectional but they don't want it large."
It's a "wonderful product," he added. "The pre-engineered coil system is consistent. You don't have the problem where one side feels like it's softer than the other side or middle. It's an incredible foam cushion. Nothing's worse than if you sell someone a sofa and the seat cushions don't hold up."
The Berne, Ind.-based manufacturer ships upholstery in specially equipped trailers with compartmentalized floors, allowing products to sit on their legs and not be stacked upright on arms. That saves the store prep time since arms aren't crushed in shipment and don't have to be steamed or plumped out, keeping deluxing to a minimum.
Carson said Smith also protects distribution so that its line doesn't become a commodity — providing better margins. "It's one of our best-value products," he said.
What's hot: Flexsteel's Vail sofa.
Key features: This sofa features a Kashmira cover, a suede-like cross between fabric and leather. It comes standard with plush cushions.
Why it is selling: "It is their Kashmira fabric that is something in our market that people find to be an incredible value," said Debra Blackburn, a principal in the 20,000-square-foot, family-owned Blackburn Home Furnishings in Nelsonville, Ohio.
"They like the features and the benefits of the Kashmira fabric — the wearability, the durability, the cleanability. It's very family and pet friendly. It upholsters beautifully. It is to me the best product on the market. I have not come across anything out there that would even touch it."
While the Vail sofa comes in a wide variety of colors, Blackburn said burgundy "is what's really moving, which is funny because we don't sell a lot of burgundy in upholstery.
"What I find is that people are willing to spend a few hundred dollars more for this product without even thinking about it. It's a no-brainer," she added.
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