Entertainment rides big TV growth wave
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, February 18, 2007
High Point — It's no secret that flat-panel TVs will keep consumers streaming to electronics retailers for the next several years, and producers of entertainment furniture want to make sure they're firmly attached to that growth curve.
Most furniture executives believe the TV sales boom will continue at least through 2009, and they're trying to make the most of the opportunity.
"It's going to be a terrific growth category for us," said Dave Urbanick, vice president of sales at Philip Reinisch, a curio specialist that branched into entertainment furniture a little more than a year ago. "Our biggest challenge is to get consumers to consider a nice piece of furniture for their electronics."
Urbanick and other executives say they are meeting the challenge on several fronts.
First, most companies have scaled back the size of their entertainment offerings, focusing on consoles and hutches and moving away from the massive wall systems that once were a staple of the category.
Second, producers are paying more attention to the size and shape of components that typically are linked with today's TVs. By designing shelving and storage compartments that are deep enough to accommodate them, producers are addressing a common objection from casual TV viewers and gadget-holics alike.
Plus, newer units also address issues such as wire management, ventilation and media storage.
"For quite a while, furniture dealers didn't see the importance of this category, but all of a sudden, our business has gone through the roof," said Raymond Carringer, national sales manager at Signature Home Furnishings.
Some of the biggest beneficiaries of the boom are companies such as Philip Reinisch, Magnussen Home, Broyhill and Peters-Revington that traditionally have made a name for themselves in occasional furniture. That's because they can offer entertainment furniture that coordinates with their best-selling occasional tables, giving dealers an opportunity to display several of their products in a vignette setting.
"We've approached entertainment as a great room concept," said Brenda Dillon, merchandise manager for occasional furniture at Broyhill.
Others have gone the reverse route. Companies such as Legends, Martin, Aspenhome and a host of others have designed occasional pieces that match hot-selling entertainment units.
At the recent Las Vegas market, for example, Legends unveiled a sofa table that doubles as a TV cabinet. Offered as part of a three-pack that includes a cocktail table and end table, the sofa table/entertainment unit would even work in a bedroom because its about six inches taller than a typical TV console, said Tim Donk, marketing director.
"Since the average (entertainment furniture) ticket is dropping, this gives the dealer a way to develop add-ons," Donk said of the blending of occasional and entertainment furniture.
Producers also are finding way to blend home entertainment with home office. Aspenhome unveiled its Liv360 collection in Las Vegas. The pieces are designed for a family room, but incorporate a variety of office and entertainment functions that allow a consumer, for example, to use a laptop computer and recharge a cell phone while seated comfortably in front of the TV.
"The laptop has changed everything. Now you can live and work anywhere," said Renee Loper, Aspenhome marketing director.
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