Buyers busy at Tupelo Market.
Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, September 9, 2010
TUPELO, Miss. - The Tupelo Furniture Market lived up to its reputation as an orderwriting haven as buyers who needed goods shipped quickly appeared to find everything they needed.
Exhibitors said buyers began roaming the halls in earnest two days before the official Aug. 20 opening, and the attendees included many representatives of Top 100 stores and other regional chains looking for items to add to their fall promotional schedules.
Overall, traffic generally was described as light to moderate, but the heavy order-writing made up for the attendance shortfall, according to most exhibitors.
"This was the best (Tupelo) market we've ever had, by far," said Michael Campbell, president of leather upholstery importer Leather Italia. "Attendance ranged from independents to Top 100s ... and everybody was very upbeat."
Campbell and other executives said domestic production and/or domestic warehousing were the keys to getting the attention of buyers - many of whom have been burned by shipping delays and high freight rates for goods ordered directly from Asia.
"It's nice to see domestic companies getting a shot in the arm," said Tim Donk, marketing director at entertainment and home office specialist Legends Furniture. "We have (product) warehoused in North Carolina, Dallas and Phoenix. And once you order it, you have it within 10 days."
The Eclipse sofa, part of a new motion seating group at Catnapper, features a coil seating system encased in foam and a polyester cover that resembles leather. Retail is $799.
The interest in domestic goods was especially gratifying for the many Mississippi-based upholstery producers that make up the core of the market's exhibitors.
Most of them have kept their factories running five days per week for several months, even as retail business in general has been sluggish.
"Traffic started even earlier than usual at this market, and was up over past markets," said Ron Teeter, vice president of marketing and merchandising at upholstery producer Affordable Furniture. "Even better, they were writing orders and were particularly interested in our ‘Tupelo only' specials."
Executives at motion furniture specialist Southern Motion, meanwhile, said they shouldn't have any problems utilizing a new factory in nearby Pontotoc, Miss., that will begin operations early next year.
"We wrote a lot of orders throughout the market," said CEO Guy Lipscomb. "Thursday (the day before opening day), we were slammed, and for the first time we had quite a few buyers here on Wednesday."
Jerry Marlin, vice president of merchandising at upholstery producer Prime Design, said buyers weren't looking exclusively for closeouts, but were also seeking ideas to drive traffic in the fall - usually a busy time for furniture retailers.
"With business conditions as they are, retailers want to have a fresh floor for the fall selling season," Marlin said.
Dining manufacturer and importer Cramco also saw steady traffic starting Wednesday, according to Dave Shock, national sales manager. The company did well with its domestic swivel-tilt laminate top tables, first introduced at High Point in April. Those tables were among the best introductions the company has had in several years, Shock said. Five-piece sets start at $599 to $999.
He said the Tupelo buyers were focusing on finding available product, not just hunting for specials.
"The good thing about this market was that we wrote stocking orders rather than closeouts," he said.
Jason Yelverton, sales manager for dining and occasional table specialist Steve Silver, said buyers told him retail has been soft for the past two months, but they were looking toward a strong fourth quarter.
The company did well with Tupelo market specials that included $599 retail dining sets, each with a table, two Parsons chairs and two upholstered benches.
But he said retailers were also seeking less price-sensitive goods.
"Though price is always a concern, many of the buyers that visited our showroom were focused on other aspects of value as well, including fresh looks, construction, packaging and finish," Yelverton said.
At full-line source Fraenkel, Brian Akchin, president and CEO, said buyers responded well to an occasional chair program with a $399 retail price point.
"Our traffic was steady and overall attendance good. We had consistent numbers for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but much lower on Sunday," Akchin said. "The dealers we saw were placing orders."
Staff Writer Heath E. Combs and Editor-in-chief Ray Allegrezza contributed to this story
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