Tech-friendly office furniture wins attention at Las Vegas Market
Smaller scaling, value and versatility are watchwords in category
Jay McIntosh -- Furniture Today, February 2, 2010
 Euro Style’s Bungie chair has elastic cords in the seat and back that offer an economical approach to seating comfort. |
LAS VEGAS — Smaller scale, great value and versatility are still the watchwords for home office vendors here, although some also want to keep the large configurations - and bigger tickets - of yesterday alive.
Sources are working to keep the category meaningful, by offering solutions for both the more -traditional desk users and also for today's laptop-toting, smart phone-addicted consumers.
Aspenhome is offering a new line of "smart-scaled" junior executive desks and other office pieces, with the most popular desks targeted to hit $799 to $999 retail, said Bryan Edwards, vice president of sales, eastern region.
One of the most popular is in Cross Country, a relaxed urban-country design that tells a green story (it uses sustainable mango wood) and a small scale story, targeting the laptop user. A short power strip pops up from the desktop for a handy place to plug stuff in.
"This was the fastest-changing category for us in 2009," said Edwards. He said many of Aspenhome's products are targeting the needs of today's "more informal computer users."
Still, the company doesn't want to give up the big ticket. A wall system that combines a home office with a sized-to-fit space for a big screen TV and also a bar (why not?) can command price points of $2,299 to $2,499, he said. A Top 100 retailer already picked it up here, he added.
Contemporary resource Euro Style, many of whose designs have metal bases and glass tops, is doing great in home office with a line that puts the accent on affordability - popular office chairs and desks retail for around $300, said Judith Ets-Hokin, vice president of marketing.
Although the company doesn't disclose sales, she said its overall business was up 37% last year and 70% in January, she said.
Two hot distribution channels are designers and the Internet. Online sellers are doing well with Euro Style products, which can be shipped ready-to-assemble, while designers are more willing to sell low-priced goods these days as long as they're stylish, said Ets-Hokin.
"When the economy is like it is, even very rich people feel better not spending a lot," she said.
A new style for Euro Style this market is Sweetloft Living, a line of accessorized room settings designed as cool, fun living spaces.
Riverside Furniture, an old hand at home office, is doing well with smaller pieces, recognizing that consumers using mainly laptops, Blackberries and iPhones "don't need as much space," said Glenn Felterman, vice president, sales and product management. In a way that's a throwback - the 54-inch desk that's popular today also was the heart of the business 30 years ago.
Also remaining popular at Riverside are home office pieces available in any of 15 colors.
Another longtime home office source, Winners Only, has a back-to-the-future item in a new rolltop desk configuration. CEO Sheue-Wen Lee said the new version has put the cubbyholes and secret drawers back in - they had been removed on models built to accommodate big, deep computer monitors.
She also has seen a little sales pickup on big executive desk systems, but doesn't know if dealers are selling them to home or commercial consumers. That would be good if it could drive tickets higher, she said.
"The trouble is that the small-ticket item doesn't make up for what you lose in the big-ticket market," Lee said.
More Las Vegas Market February 2010 Coverage
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Home office vendors keep up with technology
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