Home office vendors keep up with technology
By Jay McIntosh -- Furniture Today, February 15, 2010
LAS VEGAS —
Smaller scale, great value and versatility were the big selling features for much of the home office furniture shown at the Las Vegas Market.
Sources worked 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 did well with a new line of “smart-scaled” junior executive, 66-inch 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. For a desk, return and hutch configuration, a popular price point was $1,499.
One hot style for Aspenhome was Cross Country, a relaxed urban-country design that tells a green story (it uses sustainable mango wood) and is scaled for 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 can command price points of $2,299 to $2,499, he said.
Contemporary resource Euro Style, many of whose designs have metal bases and glass tops, did well 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 in Las Vegas was Sweetloft Living, a line of accessorized room settings designed as cool, fun living spaces.
Riverside, an old hand at home office, also reported doing well with smaller pieces, often in the “L” configuration. The small scale accommodates consumers using mainly laptops, Blackberries and iPhones who “don't need as much space,” said Glenn Felterman, vice president, sales and product management.
In a way that's a throwback — a 54-inch desk that's popular today for Riverside also was the heart of the business 30 years ago. The company also continues to do well with home office pieces offered in any of 15 colors.
Another longtime home office source, Winners Only, had 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 to the rolltops, where previous versions had removed them to hold big, deep computer monitors.
She also reported some sales pickup on big executive desk systems, but doesn't know if dealers are selling them to home or commercial consumers.
Home office resource Office Star Products reported success with new small-scale desks with glass tops that allow the user to see items in pull-out drawers. Retailing from $99-$199, these have 31-inch to 48-inch work surfaces and come in a variety of styles and materials, including wood-and-metal and metal-and-glass versions.
“These are designed with aesthetics in mind, but are engineered for longevity,” said company spokesman Louis Vegas, adding that the scale is suitable for apartment and condo dwellers as well as students.
The new desks, he noted, are available on mixed containers as well as the company's New Jersey and California warehouses.
Associate editor Thomas Russell contributed to this story.
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