Bargain hunters find plenty of deals in Tupelo
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, February 24, 2008
Tupelo, Miss. — Despite sparse traffic, exhibitors at the winter market here said they were doing a good business with bargain hunters, and were seeing flashbacks to the days when Tupelo was considered the market for promotional upholstery.
Deals were advertised on flat screen TVs throughout the market complex, and "Tupelo-only" promotions, such as sofa/loveseat combos for the price of a sofa, were abundant in showrooms.
"Most of the people we're seeing are outlet buyers or buyers for major accounts that have outlets," said Brian Einhorn, vice president for global sales and marketing and Albany Furniture.
"Attendance is as expected and not overly impressive," he said. "We've seen the major accounts that we needed to see and we opened up to major accounts. In general, we're happy with the market."
Even though exhibitors were writing business and making new contacts, including people they never see at other markets, most said last week's market was reflective of economic conditions.
"Given the current retail environment, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of buyers we saw," said Mike Genrich, vice president of sales for AICO, which showed the company's expanded rug program that it rolled out in Las Vegas and a top-of-bed program "which did very well."
Philip Hodgson, executive vice president of Standard Furniture and president of IFM, said the company used Tupelo to launch its made-in-the-USA Frisco family of products.
"Tupelo, which is still a strong regional market, was the best place for us to debut our American-made promotional furniture," he said. "This is still a strong order-writing regional show, especially for the mom-and-pop retailers."
Ron Wanek, chairman of Ashley Furniture, said, "Business is OK. This is the first time that we essentially are flat."
Wanek said he thinks "this environment will weed out weak players and result in a cleansing at all levels — wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers.
"I also don't think this is a quick fix. We are positioning our company to operate in this environment for a protracted period of time."
| Acknowledgements | ||
| Editor-in-chief Ray Allegrezza, leather editor Joan Gunin and staff writer Jeff Linville contributed to this story. | ||
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Bargain hunters descend on Tupelo
Feb 22, 2008
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