Wood business brightens
Retailers buying variety of case goods styles
Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, April 21, 2010
 One of two new formal dining groups at Lifestyle Enterprise, this European traditional set retails for $1,199 for a double pedestal table and four chairs. |
Retailers are buying a wide range of products in multiple styles, including European traditional looks with a surprising amount of carved elements.
Groups with lighter and natural wood finishes, and weathered and earth-tone looks, also are appealing to buyers seeking more casual styles. Solid wood groups with medium tone finishes also are doing well.
Vaughan-Bassett is reporting its strongest introduction in the past decade with its new Appalachian Hardwood Collection. Dealers like the mix of solid cherry and oak groups available in several different oak and cherry finishes that complement the wood grains.
With three different solid oak and cherry beds retailing in the $599 to $799 range, dealers also like the price points. Order writing has gone so well that Vaughan-Bassett is boosting its initial cutting to 1,750 sets, up from 1,400 planned initially.
Kincaid also is receiving strong response to its solid wood groups, including its Cherry Traditions bedroom, a lodge-inspired set with American traditional design influences targeted to retail at $2,699 for a four-piece group.
Response also has been strong on Clairmont, a solid mahogany case goods collection featuring bedroom and formal dining, with four-piece bedrooms priced under $3,000. Dealers like the European traditional styling and the materials story.
Todd Hady, vice president of sales and marketing, said Kincaid is filling a void and giving dealers a solid wood story to tell.
Licensed collections including the new 22-piece Martha Stewart Songwood collection by Bernhardt, and the new 52-piece addition to Thomasville's Hemingway line, also are receiving positive dealer response.
Dealers like the casual American traditional nature of the Martha Stewart pieces, which are made with rustic walnut veneers in a walnut finish.
Price-sensitive buyers are finding plenty to like at promotional to lower-medium price points.
Lifestyle Enterprise, for example, is seeing success with a number of five-piece bedrooms in the $799 to $1,199 retail range, as well as in the higher realm of $1,999, which is about $200 lower than its higher-priced groups at previous markets.
Of its 21 new bedrooms introduced, the company will likely produce about 15 based on reaction at market, said Derrick Ng, assistant vice president.
Product innovation and merchandising efforts also are gaining attention among dealers seeking new features and ideas on how to display product.
Signature Home Furnishings, for example, expanded its pop-up dresser mirror unit to four new bedrooms. The dresser mirror unit has a remote control mirror that slides down into a dresser to reveal a flat panel TV. The patented units are a hit with dealers, who also like the $2,999 retail of the complete bedroom - a sharper price than the $6,000 for the original bedroom featuring this unit.
"The fact that we can retail it at so much less is a big deal," said Albert Lin, Signature vice president, adding that the cleaner-lined approach of the new bedrooms helped achieve the sharper pricing.
This market, Kincaid has reinvigorated its Kincaid Shoppe concept with more furniture product and accent pieces. The area also has a new fabric wall and a dining chair display area.
Most sources reported strong attendance through Tuesday. At American Drew, attendance was up 48% from last April, officials said.
"The people who are here, we are at least getting to see them, and everybody seems to be more positive," said Earl Wang, senior vice president of merchandising.
The company is also reporting strong sales of its three new collections, including its 55-piece New Generation, an updated version of its Cherry Grove collection, a traditional case goods line first launched in 1960.
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