Case goods buyers focus on value in High Point
Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, May 2, 2011
Martin Home Furnishing’s Ellipse bedroom received strong reaction from dealers who liked the soft contemporary styling and the 10-step finish, called Graphite.
HIGH POINT — Case goods buyers shopping here two weeks ago found strong values in a broad mix of product ranging from short bedrooms to whole home collections.
Some dealers sought out slightly higher priced goods than they normally carry, while others gravitated toward sharper price points. And many looked beyond price at style, construction and finish.
"People are focused on value more than just price, which is refreshing," said Adam Tilley, vice president of product management at Stanley Furniture. "It's nice when you talk about the woods and finish and they listen to you. They are willing to hear about how a piece is constructed. It hasn't been that way in a while."
He said the company did particularly well with its new contemporary-leaning Avalon Heights collection, with highly figured cherry, anigre fiddle and mapa burl veneers on cocktail tables and dining chairs. Retailers tended to buy the entire collection, while designers chose individual pieces, Tilley said.
Bernhardt reported strong interest and orders on its new 50-piece Bon Maison, an updated traditional collection in pine veneers and solids. Dealers liked the styling and the two finish options available on case pieces and two additional finishes available on select accents.
Hooker Furniture said it received a strong reaction to the two wood tone finish options in its 45-piece Harbour Pointe collection, and also did well with its contemporary Felton collection in walnut veneers and poplar solids, and its more traditional Grandover collection with dramatic marquetry patterns.
Finish also was a highlight of Martin Home Furnishing's new soft contemporary Ellipse bedroom, which has a 10-step brownish gray finish called Graphite. Along with the finish, dealers liked the styling of a dramatic $599 shelter bed featuring interlocking circles on various surfaces.
"They are looking for the value and are tired of seeing the same sea of brown on their floors," said Curt Christian, a chief designer at Martin. "That is why we got such a great response to this. The finish is unique, and architecturally, it's different."
Other strong transitional and soft contemporary collections in the marketplace included Thomasville's Modern Theory and Century Furniture's Omni collection.
Century also received strong response to its new Bob Timberlake licensed collection.
"The Bob Timberlake Home collection was a smash as it took Mr. Timberlake to a whole new level of texture, design and capability," said Alex Shuford III, vice president of sales and marketing. "Customers raved about how livable and beautiful it was, and we sold it everywhere from California to Florida to New York."
Other licensed collections that did well included Dick Idol at Shadow Mountain and Paula Deen Home at Universal.
While dealers paid more attention to style, construction and finish, price and logistics remain important.
A number of suppliers were poised with groups that are ready to go into production and hit retail between now and late summer.
Others, such as Lifestyle Enterprise, continued to focus on offering groups that hit the lowest price points in their segment.
Lifestyle officials said they were pleased with dealer response to 18 new bedrooms, available from $499 to $1,499 for three-piece groups. While those deals continued to be important to price-sensitive dealers, many also were drawn to the value-oriented features of the groups including footboard storage and hidden jewelry trays in nightstands.
On the logistics front, Broyhill reported strong early response on a new program that added several casual dining groups to its Essentials program. This enables dealers to mix the $799-$999 five piece dining groups with short bedrooms imported from Vietnam.
In addition to the new dining sets, the company received strong reaction on new Essentials bedrooms priced from $1,699 to $1,999.
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