Leather sources pleased with market activity
By Joan Gunin -- Furniture Today, August 3, 2008
Las Vegas — Stationary leather upholstery resources at market were encouraged by the positive reactions generated by new products shown here last week.
Newcomers to the category mingled with existing players.
Jerry Ding, sales manager for contemporary California resource Moroni, was in a larger showroom and said he was "surprised by the turnout. We are very excited to be here."
Craftmaster's opening of a West Coast warehouse facility for imported leather seating proved a hit with retailers. The collection of eight best-selling styles from High Point plus two new frames retails at $799 to $999.
"The pricing is better because of such factors as freight and, coming out of the warehouse, demonstrates a savings of 5% to 10%," said President Roy Calcagne. "The leather program, begun two years ago, has been very successful for us as a company."
At Soflex, President Tom Schmidt was pleased because several large independents picked up its warehouse program. On the container-direct side, Schmidt said dealers were impressed with a group of transitional frames in better leathers. About 75% of what it introduced here will stay in the line, he said.
"Overall, we were pleased and excited by the results because the amount of effort we put through here (in two showrooms) was worth it," he said.
Chinese upholstery maker Kuka, in its U.S. market debut, exhibited 85 upholstery slots spread over 46,000 square feet. Company consultant Jeff Baron called showroom attendance "unbelievable."
"While a lot of important buyers apparently don't do Las Vegas in July, the quality of those we did see was phenomenally good, amazingly good," he said. "Even if Kuka is relatively unknown, it seems like a lot of retailers know what we are and know the product and are extremely happy at the chance to buy it."
New Classic, a 20-year-old Chinese case good producer long involved in OEM, joined the leather category with seven stationary frames retailing from $799 to $999. National Sales Manager Robert Jarrard called the leather intro "superlative" despite the state of the industry and the economy.
He attributed its success to bestselling looks, consistent construction story, pricing and California warehouse availability.
Similarly, newcomer Leather Living, a stalwart at Toronto markets, offers a full complement of better seating and brought 30 stationary frames here. The sofas, produced in Brompton, Ontario, retail from $995 to $2,400, said President Parm Dhaliwal, whose family owns the company.
"We came here to expand our market share," Dhaliwal said. "It's becoming more competitive overseas because of freight and other costs. We are here to provide consumers with a North American resource."
At Emerald Home Furnishings, Marketing Director Kacie Bray said, "We sent our full staff but Tuesday's traffic was so hectic we did not have enough reps to cover all comers at once. A lot of our regular customers come to our open house but we saw a lot of new customers, too."
Hamilton Spill emphasized modular styles as an alternative to sectionals, because of cost savings realized by shipping smaller, lighter modular pieces. Hamilton Spill continues its push into fabric cover options and more opulent looks, said Gary Harmon, vice president.
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