Tupelo numbers down
But loyal backers say market's here to stay
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, February 5, 2007
Tupelo, Miss. — While some exhibitors expressed disappointment with slow traffic at this month's Tupelo Furniture Market, others dismissed the sluggishness as a glitch, saying it didn't reflect the business climate or the future of this venue.
"People who come here are very loyal to this market. They love coming here. It's easy to work. As long as dealers come to this market, we'll be here," said Kerry Lebensburger, president of sales for Ashley Furniture's upholstery division.
Attendance at the show here was, as Tammy Branham, vice president of sales and marketing for Pioneer Furniture, described it, "unbelievably slow." She attributed that to the number of other shows taking place in the early winter time slot.
"Business isn't booming but it's not the end of the world," said Hamp Hughes, president of Rose Hill Furniture. "What are there? Six markets? Everybody's on a tight budget and they've got to pick and chose which ones they're going to attend."
Dwight Hardison, vice president of merchandising for J. Miles, said "any business is good business" and added that the company was seeing "a good mix of customers," mostly from the Southeast but from as far away as Texas, Kansas and Utah.
"The six to eight weeks after market is the critical period — when the reps go back out on the road," he added.
Fraenkel Co., one of the market's five largest exhibitors, said the company's acquisition last year of its own upholstery company, Advantage, was proving attractive to customers and prospective customers. Previously, Fraenkel had bought upholstery from another vendor and resold it.
"We're smokin'," said President Brian Akchin midway through the market. Compared with last winter's market, he said, "We're tracking right on those numbers. And some of the numbers haven't been turned in yet because our salesmen have been too busy."
Tupelo is Fraenkel's main market and its 22,000-square-foot showroom stayed busy. Asked if he had fears of putting too much faith in a single market, Akchin said, "Certainly, you have to be concerned. But this market has a lot of validity because of the upholstery....
"I don't see how many of our (smaller) dealers can afford to go to Las Vegas," he added. "And High Point is driven by large accounts."
Fraenkel brought out eight new upholstery frames, five bedrooms, six dining rooms and a number of occasional and accent pieces. But other manufacturers deferred introductions until later.
"We're working on a contemporary program and will build it up for High Point when we have some time," said Tim Mueller, vice president and director of marketing for Genesis.
He lamented the days when Tupelo wasn't competing with half a dozen other shows. "This has always been a great, great premarket to show product," he said. "We'd show it here, and then go to High Point premarket. By the time we got to High Point, we were really ready."
Largo introduced its first upholstery here last summer, and for this market made only minor changes to the eight frames it has. "The program is working well so far as we can tell with the limited attendance," said Ray Reese, vice president of sales. "We changed some pillows and added more braid and fringe — the jewelry."
Ashley, which usually has a number of introductions, was showing a new sofa, sectional and three recliners.
J. Miles concentrated on its lifestyle-oriented line in brushed cottons — skirted and non-skirted — and added new pieces to a sectional group that included a chair and ottoman. In addition, it developed a condo-sized group, shown in a candy-stripe fabric, with 72-inch sofas, small chairs and sleepers.
Simmons Upholstery continued to emphasize its direct container program in motion and stationary in both fabric and leather, and used this market to concentrate on its $499 retail price point for domestic sofas.
"We hope to see the people we expected," said Ty Hester, vice president of sales and marketing. "We have some loyal customers who have followed us here."
