Tupelo ready for active furniture market

Event, opening Friday, promises sharp pricing

Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, August 16, 2010

TUPELO, Miss. — Hoping the summer doldrums are nearly over, manufacturers will be at the Tupelo Furniture Market here Aug. 20-22 with sharply priced merchandise designed to help buyers get the fall season rolling.

Affordable will be introducing the velvet cord 6400 Marshall group, with a targeted retail of $699 for both sofa and loveseat.

Some manufacturers have been running slower this summer than they want while others are working overtime.

It's a "feast or famine" environment, according to Ken Pruett, president of the Mississippi Furniture Assn., who said the factories having the most success are able to add quality and value to products without increasing the price.

Market Chairman and CEO V. M. Cleveland said pre-registration and motel bookings are up over the January show and market staff have been assisting more people with plane reservations - all good signs for exhibitors.

Cleveland added that he expects to see more small retailers at market.

"We really think we're going to have a pickup in the smaller dealers because we're pretty confident that the smaller dealers aren't going to all the markets," he said. "They can't afford the travel and being away from the store. Tupelo is a promotional market and a lot of those little guys need to pick up orders and they're going to be here hunting promotions and things to put in their stores to make money with."

Cleveland said that 40 of the market's exhibitors will be new.

Asked what he predicted for market, Brian Akchin, president and CEO of Fraenkel Co., one of the market's major exhibitors, said: "You can expect anything in today's world."

Akchin expects some high-value goods the company is introducing will drive buyers to Fraenkel's space.

New products will include what he describes as a "hot" sectional program that includes a two-piece chaise sectional targeted at $799 retail, and an all-leather chaise sectional at $999. In addition, Akchin said the company will offer new sofas from $499 to $799, a two-piece upholstery group at $599, and a "really classy" occasional chair program with chairs at $299.

"If there are people in the market, they better be in my space," he quipped.

Fusion Furniture, which turns a year old with this market, has been running its factory overtime to accommodate orders, said President Bo Robbins, who attributes some of the company's good fortune to interest generated by being the "new guy on the block."
"We're anticipating the market being good," he said, noting that the Ecru, Miss.-based company will introduce high-value sofas in the $599 to $799 price points.

Robbins said dealers haven't been asking for price cuts, but they do want to see value added to the product, such as upscale covers for upholstery. He said tight-fisted consumers may shun lower priced goods but will buy if they see cheaper goods that look expensive.

Affordable Furniture President and CEO Jim Sneed expects the show here to be "about an average August market," with buyers scheduled to visit his showroom as early as Wednesday, two days before the official opening. Asked if he was fully scheduled, Sneed said, "We always have room for appointments."

Affordable will be introducing a promotional recliner as well as offering sharp specials on existing frames.

Motion specialist Catnapper will unveil a pair of recliners and a console loveseat with a gliding mechanism.

"We're very optimistic," said Don Hunter, Catnapper's senior vice president for major accounts. "We plan on writing business."

James Franks, vice president of product development and marketing for Stein World, said he expects to have a good show as dealers need more goods for the fall.

"We expect to see the same thing we saw last year. Tupelo was kind of a catalyst for much improved business conditions and customers came to Tupelo with a pretty hearty appetite to buy," he said.

"Typically Tupelo is a place for good values," Franks added. "There are some closeouts. I think it's gotten somewhat less over the years as manufacturers' inventories have gotten lower. So it's really less about just pure drops and closeouts and more about having great value-packed product."

Delivery has been "one thing that puts in us a very key advantage having such a broad line," Franks said. "They can get what they want when they want it without having to stockpile inventory for fear that it won't be there. They're really buying just close to need and you have got to have it when they need it."

Jerry Marlin, vice president of merchandising at upholstery producer Prime Resources, said he's expecting a busy Tupelo market, despite sluggish business conditions the past two months.

"I think the majors will be here ... but I don't know about the smaller dealers," he said. "The smaller dealers just aren't coming to markets like they used to."

Marlin believes soaring international freight costs and capacity problems with cargo ships coming from Asia will be an advantage for companies like Tupelo-based Prime Resources that have domestic production facilities.

"I'm excited about the opportunities that may present for us," he said. "I think people are looking for quick-ship goods ... and they want to go back to American-made products."

Business Editor Larry Thomas and Staff Writer Heath E. Combs contributed to this story.