Upholstery sources find market a pleasant surprise
Creative introductions well received
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, April 20, 2008
High Point — Stationary upholstery makers had few complaints at market and were relieved that business here didn't head south, as many had expected.
Their mood, in fact, was that of pleasant surprise.
Attendance was slack in places, but the number of introductions — considerably more than usual — kept buyers interested. Retailers also had the extra job of checking more sources to make sure they were getting the best deal in the face of widespread price increases.
"We saw about all the majors we need to see and the next tier down," said John Defalco, vice president, U.S. sales and sourcing, for Primo International. "But the tier under that — they didn't come."
Manufacturers said retailers accepted price hikes, mostly in the range of 5% to 10%, because they are nearly universal across the industry as sources face rampant cost inflation.
Hickory Chair raised prices by 5% in January, said Laura Holland, director of marketing services, "but it's the first one we had had in six years." A number of other manufacturers have been eating cost increases until now rather than passing them on, a fact that may have made retailers more charitable in their reactions at market.
Business here was spotty, with some showrooms packed and others empty, and has seemed better for those in the high end.
"Our traffic has been very high," said Hickory Chair's Holland, who said attendance set a record. Many came to see the company's new Suzanne Kasler collection, a 40-piece mixture of French and Continental-inspired modern and antique styles.
High Point buyers also seemed to like smaller scaled, pared-down upholstery offerings. Hardly any upholstery showroom lacked a sofa silhouette under 80 inches, or a pint-sized chair. And of course, contemporary and transitional styles still reigned in many showrooms, including Southern with its Grand Luxuries collection.
In the Lee Inds. showroom, the best-selling introduction was a little club chair with a seat height of 17 inches, arm height of 24 inches and outside height of 32 inches, said Bondi Coley, marketing manager. "I think it's the scale," she said.
Lee also had rug ottomans and benches that sold like hotcakes. The products are each made to fit a particular rug and come in various sizes.
Several companies, including Klaussner and Norwalk, went after the Generation Y consumer with simplified design, solid fabrics with a hip urban feel and often a lower, smaller profile.
"This is one of the biggest demographics we have," said Klaussner's Karla Graves, product merchandising manager. Graves, herself a Gen Y-er, did a study of that demographic and determined it was a group tuned to electronics. A chocolate velvet sectional in the collection, called Millenials, includes plug-ins for electrical, USB and phone cords, a corner hydraulic lift for a storage compartment, and built-in storage in an arm and ottoman. It will retail for about $3,000.
Graves said Gen Y consumers may not be as price-conscious as older consumers: "They're willing to pay more for what they want."
Executives at new importer and domestic manufacturer Westgate, which came on the scene quickly and without much fanfare, saw an impressive list of "targeted customers," according to Tom Carter, the company's president.
"We are so pleased by the support we've gotten and the orders we've written," he said late in market as he waited for another Top 100 prospect.
Westgate showcased about 70 pieces that it said demonstrated its advantages as part of textile company Home Fashions International, which gives the company vertical control of the product from fabrics through the finished product.
Westgate will import 75% of its product and use a factory in North Carolina to produce the other 25% in custom orders.
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