Upholstery activity proves better than expected
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, February 3, 2008
Las Vegas — Stationary upholstery manufacturers closed out the market here last week with attendance and order-writing that was better than expected.
The world within the World Market Center seemed to defy what has been going on outside, where business has been tepid. Some execs saw the atmosphere here as possibly an early sign of stabilization or upswing.
Early in the market, exhibitors found their showrooms packed, sometimes with buyers queued up to see reps. That happened at Lexington, when all 32 reps were busy at the same time.
"We found it to be very steady," said Harold Clark, vice president of sales and merchandising for Nuance Fine Furniture, whose showroom is in Building B. "It was actually busier than we expected because people usually start in Building A and work their way here."
Clark said buyers seemed interested in the company's fine-tuning of its line. He predicted that at market's end, the company would see "more than a 20% increase over last year — because people are coming to buy."
Ted Jarnagin, vice president of LOFT retail sales, said after opening day, "This is the first time in my career of many years that I spent an entire day talking to customers continuously."
Jarnagin expected orders to be "way up" over the previous January market. And among Top 100 accounts, "The people we've seen here have been unbelievable."
Import specialist Flair Furniture also had a bang-up market, according to Kurt Kelly, U.S. sales manager. The market opened Monday and he said that by Tuesday, the company had already sold close to 100 containers of upholstery, more business than it did at the July market here and the October market in High Point.
"We came here with high goals and we're going to have to raise them," he said.
Douglas drew customers to its stationary program, which Tom Gates, vice president of merchandising, said had gained momentum since the company began putting more emphasis on the category last July.
"Retailers are looking for new products," he said. "Out of 28 upholstery groups we're showing here, 22 are new."
Jason Harris, national sales manager for Stylus Made to Order Sofas, said he thought that buyers' "appetite for fabric is strong right now" and the market here was good.
"We're happy with the results," he added.
He said attendance midway through the show was "even with last year.
But given the business conditions out there, we're happy with that."
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