Buyers like splashes of color in upholstery
Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, February 11, 2011
The new Hermitage sectional from Rowe uses a splash of colorful pillows to accent the white cover.
LAS VEGAS — With an emphasis on colorful, fashion-forward fabrics and speedy delivery, upholstery resources reported brisk showroom traffic at the market here.
Exhibitors said both traffic and order-writing were up significantly from last August's market, and most said those two key indicators also were ahead of winter 2010.
Several exhibitors said buyers began shopping as early as Sunday afternoon - the day before the market's official opening - and that the brisk pace continued.
"People were buying heavy," said Jay Quimby, vice president of sales at United Furniture, a first-time Las Vegas exhibitor. "We had more traffic the first three days here that we did the entire High Point Market last fall."
Andrew Cohen, president of upper-end massage chair resource Human Touch, said most buyers were upbeat, despite the industry's lingering sales slump.
"What was nice is that buyers were so positive," Cohen said. "They were willing to embrace new products and new concepts."
Despite the positive mood, executives said buyers remained skittish about future business conditions. The uncertainty of the housing market and consumer confidence make long-term planning extremely difficult, exhibitors said.
"Basically, if (a retailer) had a good weekend, they need furniture," quipped Chris Podschun, president of LaCrosse, a producer and importer of stationary and motion upholstery. "There is a lot of short-term optimism, but long-term optimism is another story."
He said that puts a premium either on quick delivery to replenish inventories or special orders that offer consumers multiple cover choices.
To help capture special orders in particular, producers said they used more colorful fabric and leather covers that sometimes represented a radical departure from the traditional brown and earth tones that dominate retail sales floors.
"We're using a mix of colors and patterns," Rowe President Stefanie Lucas said of the company's newest fabric offerings. "People aren't afraid to try something different."
The demand for more color has caused Flexsteel, for example, to ramp up domestic production of leather upholstery because goods imported from China typically are available in only two or three shades of brown, said Lee Fautsch, senior vice president of home furnishings sales.
"With the rising price of leather out of China and more interest in color, it's a great opportunity for us domestically," Fautsch said. "Instead of two or three color choices, we can offer as many as 120 choices domestically."
He said that approach resonated well with buyers at market, who see special orders as an opportunity to build loyalty with consumers and increase margin dollars.
Also doing well with upholstery buyers was just about anything in the motion category - especially motion sectionals and seating groups.
"This is all driven by people buying flat-screen TVs," said Stephen Barr, president of Man Wah USA, producer of the Cheers brand. "Most (dealers) are adding motion to their floors and dropping stationary."
Like many other upholstery executives, Barr said most of the action was at the middle price points.
"People with a disposable income are starting to increase their spending, and it's not a problem for them to spend $1,000 or $2,000 on a home theater group," added Rob Burch, CEO of Berkline.
Burch and other executives said motion pieces with power reclining mechanisms continue to do well. Berkline and Lane, for example, now have power mechanisms available on all frames, and other resources say they're headed in that direction.
"Power has really taken off," said Michael Herman, vice president for upholstery merchandising at Lane. "We have two dealers who are putting in power (motion) galleries, and I think you're going to see more of that."
Herman said the power mechanisms appeal to aging baby boomers because of the ease of opening and closing the ottoman, and appeal to younger consumers because of the "cool factor."
"It's the wave of the future," added David Beckmann, president of Emerald Home Furnishings. "Before long, I think it will become standard equipment - just like power windows on a car."
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