Upholstery makers keep a fresh outlook
Custom goods part of strategy
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, April 6, 2008
High Point — Asked what they're expecting for the market that takes place here this week, stationary upholstery execs are likely to answer like Matt Eddy.
"I've got a zero reading on it," said Eddy, president of Habersham, which is launching its first collection of upholstery — Habersham Feathers — at Market Square, space142.
That's pretty much the reaction of other upholstery makers, who said that despite sporadic bumps in business, this year remains cloudy because of the mortgage crisis, escalating oil prices and the weakness of the economy.
"When we went to the market last October, I thought, what in the world is going to happen? I didn't know if we would write any business at all," Eddy said.
"But by God's grace, it ended up being the best October market we've had in High Point in the 20 or 25 years we've been there. Go figure. So I have zero idea. You never know what's going to come."
The upper-end wood custom house stands ready to woo buyers with its domestically produced licensed Feathers line. The line includes 50 pieces that convey the Grand European and American feeling of Habersham's hand-finished furniture and custom cabinetry. Sofas will retail in the range of $6,000 to $10,000.
Most manufacturers are bringing out plenty of introductions this market. The range includes everything from a new collection by Martha Stewart for Bernhardt to a huge launch of fabric upholstery by Palliser, known mostly for its leather.
Palliser's showroom will look different this market with fabric sharing the floor in equal proportion to the company's leather offerings, said Arlette Bateman, product manager for stationary upholstery.
Bateman said that everything Palliser develops can be done in both and fabric, and "we're (now) focusing on developing styles first in fabric."
Palliser is a "serious player" in the fabric upholstery business, she added, noting, "We started out as a fabric upholstery company and then moved into leather. Fashion is cyclical and we see a huge opportunity in the domestic fabric business. We have the core competencies, and as a custom-order house we can meet a lot of the requirements of the market."
By putting Palliser on their floors, dealers can "tap into consumers who are looking for leather or fabric," Bateman said.
"We're optimistic for the future. We recognize it's tough times, and we're putting building blocks in place to enable our dealers to move forward. We are a solid domestic provider with a lot of great options they can leverage."
The key to this week's market is to give dealers something new, said several major manufacturers.
"I've never had anybody come into our showroom and ask, "What's old?" said Tom Jordan, president of upper-end manufacturer Michael Thomas. "They want to see something exciting.
"We bring out a lot of new products — especially in a down market. When business is really good, we frankly don't have time to do a lot of innovation. We've had too much free time lately and we're bringing out a passel of stuff," he said, adding that the company "has some of the most exciting fabrics I've ever seen."
Jordan said he doesn't expect this market "to be substantially different than the last three or four. The success of the market is still going to depend on what happens after market — if retail doesn't improve, it's going to be a great show but with no follow-up."
Huntington House is showing several oversized pieces this market, continuing a program that has pulled in a steady flow of business over the past few years.
"It's unbelievable the amount of business that it's driven to our factory at pretty high price points," said Michael Kirby, a sales and marketing executive. Introductions include big-scaled traditional, which has been a big success. "People seem to want it in big family rooms," according to Kirby.
Mike Delgatti, president of Southern Furniture, said he expects only a fair market because of soft retail conditions.
"At the same time," he said, "all of our major retailers will certainly be here. This market will be unique for us in that we're showing Pembrook in the Southern showroom. Pembrook does business with a lot of retailers we don't sell. I think that will create a lot more excitement and traffic in our showroom and that should spice things up."
Southern took over the Pembrook line in January after the chair company said it would cease operations after 29 years.
Broyhill is emphasizing its abilities in domestic manufacturing as a way to combat the flow of fabric and leather imports, according to Anthony Teague, vice president of upholstery merchandising.
"We want to get our factories in the United States running hard and full and expand our manufacturing base in upholstery. And we want to do that by really focusing our efforts on customization," Teague said.
Teague said Broyhill's upholstery division started adding fabrics to its program at the last October market here, increased them again in Las Vegas, and will continue this market — doubling its selection during that time to 650 "in preparation to really being a player in the custom-order business," said Teague.
In addition, the company launched a domestic custom-order leather program offering four styles — with two more here this week — in 50 leather choices.
Teague said Broyhill delivers 95% of its custom-order goods within 21 days and has a goal to improve its schedule to 14 days by the third quarter of this year.
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Upholstery makers keep a fresh outlook
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