TVs drive entertainment action
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, April 23, 2007
High Point — Thanks to the unbridled growth of flat-panel TV sales, entertainment furniture was high on the shopping lists of many buyers here.
Exhibitors said the category is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise blah retail picture.
"Entertainment is still a hot category," said Jim Schmidt II, vice president of marketing and merchandising at Bush Furniture. "TVs are getting bigger and heavier, and consumers need new solutions for these issues."
And since those solutions usually don't involve large wall systems, once a staple of the entertainment category, retailers need to replace the reduction in dollars from smaller tickets. The consumer who once spent $1,500 or more on a wall system, for example, now is spending as little as $399 for a console.
Exhibitors said some of that is due to the limited selection of furniture at the electronics stores where consumers buy TVs, but it also relates to higher TV prices that give consumers less money to spend on furniture.
At market, many entertainment sources addressed the situation by showing consoles with matching occasional pieces such as end tables, coffee tables and sofa tables. The idea is that by displaying furniture in vignette-style settings, retailers can sell additional items with the console to boost the total ticket.
In addition, many consoles were shown with a variety of pier units, hutches and bookcases that also can beef up tickets.
"When the console is shown with tables, it makes it more compelling (for the consumer) to buy the group," said Karen Knoch, merchandising manager at Magnussen Home, which unveiled about a dozen new entertainment units.
Others who reported success with vignettes included Kathy Ireland Home by Martin, Broyhill and Peters-Revington.
"We added new placements with retailers," said Karl Eulberg, Martin's vice president of sales and marketing. "The Vallarta, which has a matching end table and cocktail table, was a good new group for us."
The Vallarta features a console that's 31 inches high, about five inches more than typical consoles and TV stands, and Eulberg and others said the taller units are gaining in popularity.
Several new consoles shown here were 30 to 35 inches high, and a few — notably the Essex at Riverside and the newest Legends Lifestyle piece at Legends Furniture — were 40 and 48 inches high, respectively.
Many of the tall sizes are designed for bedroom use, but exhibitors said such products also are suitable for great rooms.
"I think the larger pieces are the wave of the future," said Mike Lambright, director of marketing at Sauder Woodworking.
And while the popularity of consoles has hurt sales of larger products, exhibitors such as Hooker, APA Marketing, Signature and Legends reported that it's too early to write the wall system's obituary.
"The demand for the larger-format walls is picking up again," said Paul Coscarelli, a partner in APA, which markets the Encore line of entertainment furniture.
Hank Long, senior vice president of merchandising and design at Hooker, said his company's wall system sales have picked up since it began sourcing them from Asia. "We had a good wall market," he said.
Legends reported success with additions to its Legends Lifestyle program, while Signature scored a hit with its Five Niner line of modular wall systems. "It turned out to be a great market for us," said Raymond Carringer, Signature's national sales manager.
