Motion uph. vendors raise prices
By Joan Gunin -- Furniture Today, April 20, 2008
High Point — Most motion upholstery manufacturers said at market that they had raised prices on some items or remerchandised their assortments to pass along their increased costs of raw materials, fuel and transportation.
Albany Inds. infused its reclining frames with "features and benefits" to bring more value to the product and to offset price increases," said Brian Einhorn, vice president of global sales and marketing.
Tom Schmidt, president and CEO of Soflex USA, said his company's price hikes typically ranged from 3% to 5%, but was higher on some items.
"Even freight is scary," said Schmidt, whose company has a distribution center in Dallas. "With fuel surcharges at 30% for UPS and truckloads at 48%, it costs $1,000 to fill a truck with diesel."
At Franklin — which showed a plethora of product here featuring fleece-backed suede covers — Chuck Tidwell, vice president of merchandising and product development, said the company's year-old Venture container-direct import program offers savings and value to West Coast customers. He said Franklin re-merchandised much of its line in light of its cost increases, but did so without sacrificing quality.
"We're putting in new pieces to keep price points," he said. "People will pay a lot for a flat screen TV, but not for the sofa they sit on."
Catnapper also recosted its line, while Lane Home Furnishings made increases on an item-by-item basis.
Gary Harmon, vice president, soft goods for Hamilton Spill, said in anticipation of price hikes earlier this year, he had developed product specifically for the market. "We factored in all of the increases — from foam to fuel."
Product development paid off with high caliber prospects for Hamilton Spill. Showroom traffic at market was better than it had been in two years, Harmon said. "We are one of the distant showrooms. Quite frankly, as a destination showroom, I give credit to product development. We have pushed it heavily over the past six months," he said.
At PeopLoungers, Larry Crink, executive vice president of sales and marketing services, said part of his leadership role at the recently restructured company is to "restrategize" the line. "We still offer the traditional overscaled motion looks the company is known for but we added some higher-styled looks in both fabric and bonded leather."
As a domestic producer, "We redesigned the line with styling and craftsmanship that is not easily accomplished in China at these prices," Crink said.
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