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Updated finishes, features greet buyers in Toronto

Heath E Combs -- Furniture Today, January 23, 2012

These full leather Concise recliners from Chair-Tech are less bulky scale than many recliners and feature a contemporary style, gas spring reclining mechanism and adjustable headrest.TORONTO - Buyers at the Canadian Home Furnishings Market saw an array of products, largely from Canadian manufacturers and importers.
     Finishes and paints in grays and white that show wood grain more prevalently were popular across the price spectrum from companies like Bermex, South Shore and Concordia.
     Helping retailers tell and sell the stories of their products continued to be a priority for companies like Magnussen and Primo International.
     At dining and bedroom manufacturer Dine-Art, President Sergio De Angelis said the company's upgraded upholstered dining chair program, with 40 new fabrics, was well received at market. While the program has been popular in sales to the contract market, Dine-Art has been promoting the category more on its residential side.
     A Parsons chair program continues to sell well and the company has a wide array of options such as wingback, camelback and short back, Angelis said. Buyers also liked two new finishes, Pecan and Java.
     While the company has mostly been known for traditional bedroom, it has begun offering more contemporary such as its Dalton collection - which, with an option for an upholstered headboard, was among the week's good groups, he said.
     At case goods and occasional supplier Magnussen, the new Next Generation youth program launched last year was shown for the first time in Toronto, said Christa Albrecht, vice president of sales eastern, U.S. and Canada. A big push with Next Generation is in educating buyers on the line's safety features, functional lighting, bolt-on-bolt construction and dust panels, among other attributes, Albrecht said.
     She said the program did well and continues to be attractive since it's offered with a 250-cubic-foot minimum order on containers for shipping in Magnussen's QuickFlex Vietnam warehouse program.
     The QuickFlex program offers container pricing without the commitment and helps stores better manage inventory costs, she said. It includes 10 youth collections and 28 master bedrooms that ship in about 30 to 45 days.
     In occasional, Magnussen continues to do well with the Pinebrook, Larkin and Flemming groups with industrial reclaimed looks, Albrecht said.
     She added that sofa tables that have functional desk features, which can accommodate a laptop or media devices, are increasingly popular add-on pieces.
     "You have to give the consumer a more compelling reason to add on," Albrecht said.
     Bedroom, home office, home entertainment and youth furniture manufacturer AP Inds. put a big focus on informing retailers about the quality "DNA of AP." It promoted features like self-levelers on case pieces, high-quality self-closing drawer glide systems and valet trays, said Ken Loh II, vice president of sales.
     In product, the Elements collection is still the company's top seller but the new Oslo collection was well received here, Loh said. The company also rConcordia’s contemporary Series 1506 occasional table has pull-out drawers on its ends and a new soft satin white finish that was well received in Toronto.eceived good response to the launch of the home office category here and said its showroom traffic was up early on.
     Loh also said a recently launched gallery program, which has been undergoing testing for several months, continues to add retailers.
     George Itzkovitz, president and CEO of bedding, upholstery and dining source Primo International, said a special store circulars partner program to help retailers market its products was getting a good response in Toronto.
     "The Canadian market has not been like the American. There's not as much doom and gloom. It's been pretty consistent," Itzkovitz added.
     Toronto exhibitor Chair-Tech continued to promote innovation. Its Orion dining table with a double-extension runway roller mechanism and legs that lock into place received a good response from retailers. One person can open and close the tables, which are offered in six colors of glass and other options, according to Michael Rewucki, president.
     Rewucki added that a better grade sofa-sleeper with a coil spring mattress, along with clean contemporary recliners, were hits at market.
     Glider rocker specialist Dutailier's efforts to modernize its product line over the last 18 months - breaking from the traditional glider look with many new silhouettes and fabrics - resulted in good traffic here, said Blair Doherty, sales manager, North America.
     "We're really carving the marketplace for people who want quality Canadian-made product," Doherty said.
     Ron Paddock, owner of distributor R&T Furniture, said the company's new Platinum Pricing program, which offers price savings of more than 10% in some categories, drove in good traffic. He also said that chenille upholstered groups were doing well and that retailers seem to be moving away from taupe.
     Bermex reported good response to two new finishes, a light gray Tosca and a natural Dune. Both emphasize wood grains. The company also introduced an MDF promotional group to help offer a broader price spectrum to retailers.
     Concordia, a maker of home entertainment, bedroom and occasional furniture, had good responses to soft satin white finishes introduced here, according to James Florio, vice president of sales and marketing. But he said the dark chocolate Java is still the company's bestselling finish.
     Case goods supplier South Shore had good early response to its contemporary Scandinavian-influenced Flynn bedroom group, according to Alain Juneau, a designer for the company. Dealers liked the juvenile group's design, which features a champagne or gray painted finish on oak, anthracite color hardware, horizontal detailing on dresser drawers and built-in storage shelves behind a thick headboard, Juneau said.

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