Youth stays strong
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, August 18, 2008
HIGH POINT — In the midst of the most severe home furnishings downturn in a generation, producers of youth furniture say their category hasn't suffered nearly as much as their adult brethren.
Executives say that, while consumers clearly are reducing discretionary spending, many remain willing to make such expenditures for their children.
“Parents are still spending on their kids, even though they may be cutting back on buying things for themselves,” said Karen Knoch, vice president of merchandising for Legacy Classic Kids. “This category doesn't seem to be as hard hit as the rest of case goods.”
That doesn't mean there haven't been bumps on the yellow brick road to the proverbial youth furniture rainbow, but executives say the sales swings tend to be more manageable.
“It's almost always less cyclical than the adult side,” said Glenn Prillaman, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Stanley, which makes the Young America line. “It's a demographically-driven purchase.”
Prillaman said Young America dealers are seeing some consumers “trade down” by settling for a product at a lower price point or buying fewer pieces from a collection, but the overall trend remains healthy.
“When a child is born, there are going to be certain purchases made — no matter what,” he said.
Prillaman and other executives pointed to two other trends that should keep a high level of interest in the category — the popularity of a variety of colors other than white or pine, and the ability to market certain youth collections to consumers furnishing guest rooms or extra bedrooms.
“The smaller scale works well for second and third adult bedrooms,” said Linda Moretz, merchandise manager for youth furniture at Broyhill.
Broyhill, in fact, unveiled a youth bedroom collection at last month's Las Vegas Market that featured Louis Philippe styling — a staple of virtually every producer's adult bedroom lineup.
Colorful finishes, on the other hand, are rarely seen in adult bedroom, but seem to be gaining traction in youth furniture, according to producers.
Powell, for example, had success in Las Vegas with its Puzzle group, which features an array of bright colors in a checkerboard-square design. And Riverside has reported positive feedback on its Splash of Color lineup of finishes, a group of 20 custom colors rolled out last year that recently was made available for its youth furniture.
At Stanley, Prillaman said color has been a huge hit since it was rolled out in 2006 on Young America's myHaven collection.
The collection is available in 20 custom colors and can be shipped in two to three weeks, he said.
