Vegas a buyer's market?
Retailers seek bargains, quick shipping
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, January 27, 2008
Las Vegas — LAS VEGAS — Retailers shopping the furniture market here are facing the toughest business they have seen in years and, as a result, are counting on landing bargains like never before to help fill their floors and stimulate traffic.
They want quality. They want quick delivery. They want specials and special pricing. They don't want to carry a lot of stock and some may trim their supplier ranks to help them on that front.
Some retailers say price increases from Asian sources may further open the door to domestic producers, especially those who can come close on price and beat importers on delivery. And the overseas sources that are offering mixed containers also will have an advantage with retailers desperate to keep their inventory levels down and their margins up.
Will Las Vegas be a buyer's market?
"I certainly hope so. I can't imagine it being anything else," said Lynn Glick, a buyer for Worcester, Mass-based Rotman's.
"It's very tight out there now," she said. Rotman's has seen occasional strong weekends, business is inconsistent. And with the housing troubles and New England's weak economy, "We just don't see that light at the end of the tunnel."
Glick is looking to reduce its vendors by culling groups where Rotman's has overlaps in look. The retailer will try to cut back on the number of containers it flows, too, and will look closely at Asian and other sources with mixed container programs.
Even so, Glick's Vegas shopping list is fairly long and includes contemporary styles, which are gaining traction in Rotman's market. She's also looking at youth and home entertainment and will use Las Vegas to update the store's bedding lineup.
Jake Jabs, CEO of Englewood, Colo.-based American Furniture Warehouse, said business is "as soft as I've seen it for a long, long time," with sales down about 11% so far this month. Colorado has high home foreclosure and repossession rates, he said.
Jabs also thinks Las Vegas will be a buyer's market — but he also said that suppliers may be forced to seek price hikes, because they can only absorb so many increases in their own costs. This could help domestic producers regain market share, he said.
"Almost every Chinese company is giving us price increases, and times are tough," he said. "It isn't like it used to be in the good old days."
Still, Jabs said he expects to find deals as suppliers look to unload distressed inventories and items they overbought or had to take back because of canceled orders.
AFW recently added more domestic bedroom. Jabs said he's eager to see the new lines of U.S.-made promotional master and youth bedroom furniture from Standard, which will preview new product here prior to a launch in Tupelo next month.
"We rather buy U.S. for several reasons," Jabs said, noting among them a better, continuous flow of goods. "So we'll be looking for a little more American-made case goods."
Greenfield, Wis.-based Bilt-Rite Furniture didn't start seeing a slowdown until December, but now business is difficult, said Marty Komisar, president of the family-owned, midpriced store.
"We still have decent traffic, but to get people to pull the plug — it's hard," he said. "Everyday, you see layoffs, restructuring." Retailers — furniture and other — are resorting to deep discounting, liquidation sales and, "trying to make it look like they're giving stuff away," he said.
Komisar said he has been trying to teach his salespeople who haven't been through a recession that they need to sell consumers the first time they're in, because "you might not see them again."
In Las Vegas, Komisar will look for closeouts and discounted goods — hot prices that can help his team close customers. He'll spend a lot of time on the upholstery category, because consumers tend to replace it more often than case goods.
Despite the push for specials he also wants quality, though he isn't too sure he'll find much.
"There's no shortage of junk. That's the whole problem," he said. "There's a shortage of better merchandise. There are not as many companies that make it any more."
Los Angles-based McMahan's closed the year with strong business in both November and December, according to Vice President Taylor Ganz. He's here hunting for promotions to drive traffic as well as bedroom at the upper end of McMahan's price spectrum — queen beds from $999 to $1,499 — to freshen the lineup.
"We're hearing there are going to be price increases in leather, and as a result, we're going to be reevaluating our entire leather assortment," Ganz added.
At Pilgrim Furniture City in Southington, Conn., co-owner and Vice President Steven Bichunsky described business as challenging. With troubling economic news, he said, "It's getting tougher and tougher to give the customer a reason to buy and buy now."
"I'd say what we're looking for is value and quick delivery," he said. "We look for merchandise to arrive in 30 days or less. The imports make that harder," but Bichunsky said he'd be happy to find overseas sources that ship goods in a week or two and then allow for 30 days on the water.
South Florida continues to struggle as one of the hardest hit markets in the country, and there's no sign things will improve soon, said Pedro Capo, chief operating officer of Miami Gardens, Fla.-based El Dorado Furniture.
Las Vegas should be "definitely a buyer's market," he said. "We're looking for bargains," as well as the latest designs.
But Capo and other retailers agreed that while there will be pressure on manufacturers to cut deals, that's not always the ideal scenario for buyers — who must also now consider the financial soundness of suppliers, too.
"We have to be cautious because there are a lot of manufacturers that might not be around 12 months from now," he said.
-
Buyers Still Need Product
Aug 16, 2011 -
Business on an upswing
Apr 17, 2010 -
Furniture business on an upswing
Apr 17, 2010 -
Buyers push for deals
Oct 19, 2008
Specialty retailer LoveSac introduces new store design
Belfort Furniture, Lawrance Furniture are NHFA Retailers of Year
Kincaid Furniture honors Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter for Habitat work
Singapore furniture show expecting increased turnout
Furniture, mattress sales boost Conn's sales 37.6% in recent quarter
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
