Home office traffic heavy
By Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, February 4, 2007
Las Vegas — The excitement surrounding the opening of Building B in the World Market Center translated into heavy traffic for home office vendors.
"We saw our first customer at 7:20 a.m. (Monday) and it was nonstop after that," said Vanessa Martinez, brand manager for Kathy Ireland Home by Martin.
Martin offered a new eggshell finish to its contemporary Tribeca Loft collection. The company said the colors and smaller size of the desks should do well with smaller home and condo shoppers.
Traffic also was heavy at O'Sullivan, where all introduction were imports. All pieces incorporated Ledalock, a no-tool, snap-lock assembly system, part of a new partnership with fellow ready-to-assemble producer Leda.
Better quality and more styles drove major accounts to O'Sullivan's showroom, said Keri O'Connell, product manager. "We want consumers to be able to buy case goods-quality furniture from us at an RTA price," he said.
Vaughan-Bassett showed two 27-inch-deep pieces designed for a youth office, which also are suitable for smaller homes. Doug Bassett, executive vice president, said the company continued to promote its quick-ship program, with seven-day delivery for East Coast dealers and 14-day delivery to the West Coast.
HomElegance's home office offerings included a new black finish for a popular cottage style office collection, an October market introduction. A corner desk and two 40-inch-top side units retailing for $999 and a 69-inch-top desk with hutch, retailing for $799, did well with retailers. The company also added a contemporary style desk with Asian accents and almost no hardware.
At home office resource SLF, distribution investments paid off with dealers here, said Guy Walters III, vice president and general manager of SLF Select.
"The market couldn't have gone any better," Walter said. "We picked up a lot of West Coast customers and more people are realizing what we can do."
Traffic through Sunny Designs' new 6,000-square-foot showroom in Building B, double the size of its previous space in Building A, included more major accounts than typical, said Sunny Hwang, president.
"I think we brought in twice as many dealers," he said. "We were very pleased."
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Home office traffic heavy
Jan 30, 2007
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