Nationwide attracts 3,400

Ray Allegrezza -- Furniture Today, March 12, 2012

ORLANDO, Fla. - The PrimeTime Show hosted recently by Nationwide Marketing Group at the Gaylord Palms Resort here proved to be a prime venue for the close to 40 furniture and bedding companies that exhibited here.
     The twice-a-year show attracted a record crowd of 3,400 members of the buying group, who saw a broad selection of furniture from sources including Ashley, Bush, Catnapper/Jackson, Classic Flame/Twin-Star, Coaster, Klaussner, Legends, Leggett & Platt, Mac Motion, Protect-ABed, United Furniture/Simmons Upholstery and more.
     The show also attracted key bedding sources such as Boyd Specialty Sleep, Naturepedic, Sealy, Serta, Simmons, Tempur- Pedic and others.
     Exhibitors interviewed by Furniture/Today gave Nationwide high marks for putting together what they said was an exciting event that offered education, networking, entertainment and, of course, ample selling opportunities.
     Since Nationwide's members also buy appliances and electronics, many of the exhibitors, including Rick Schmidgall, president of Legends Furniture, praised the show for opening furniture sources up to new types of dealers.
     "We don't often see consumer electronics retailers at the furniture shows we exhibit at, which makes this show a plus, especially since so much of our furniture supports home electronics," he said.
     Bones O'Briant, regional vice president of sales at Klaussner Home Furnishings, agreed. "We've attended this event for about five years and we meet new customers each time we show," he said.

	Chuck Catterton of Catnapper/Jackson Furniture said he saw scores of retailers by midmorning on the opening day of Nationwide’s latest PrimeTime show.
Rick Schmidgall, left, and Tim Donk, both of Legends Furniture, show new goods to Brad and Linda Elbrader of Brad’s Home Entertainment Service.
	Don Smith, left, and Karl Eulberg of Bush Furniture show Nationwide members new merchandising tools along with new furniture.

     O'Briant said many appliance and consumer electronics stores are seeking to fatten margins by adding furniture, a strategy that has helped Klaussner expand its presence with these dealers.
     "The fact that we have dozens of styles that ship with 48 hours is right up the alley with many of these types of retailers," he added.
     In addition to writing orders on its furniture lineup, the company was also doing a brisk business during the show with its Enso bedding lineup.
     Aaron Blount, owner of Med- Lift lift chairs, was at the show offering goods from his other company, a maker of juvenile furniture called Kidz World.
     "This is a great show for us," he said. "Each of us here on the selling floor is a Nationwide-approved vendor and the group's members are always very supportive of the approved suppliers."
     "We've been writing orders all day. The retailers that come here are serious about buying," Blount added.
     "Slammed" is how Kim Williams, Ashley Furniture's vice president of sales, described his time on the show floor. "This is our eighth year here and this, by far, is our busiest opening day in the past three years."
     Williams attributed the crowds to the fact that "the business is improving; we are in the middle of tax season and dealers are on the lookout for products that we can ship right away."
     He added that one of the upsides of the Nationwide Prime- Time venue is that it allows exhibitors to build what he described as "customer intimacy" with dealers.
     "It is also a great opportunity to sell buyers who come here to buy furniture, appliances and white goods all in one area," he said.
     Williams said the margins afforded by furniture have made the category increasingly important to buyers here.
     "Since many sell consumers electronics, they are being challenged by Walmart.com, Best Buy and others. But there is less competition for them when it comes to furniture," he said.
     Karl Eulberg, vice president of sales for Bush Furniture, credited the Nationwide show for its ability to bring in a concentrated number of multi-category dealers.
     "Anywhere else, it's virtually impossible to see hundreds of small dealers in one place over a two-day window," Eulberg said. "We've been busy since we got here because this is definitely an order-writing show."
     Chuck Catterton, vice president of sales at Catnapper/Jackson Furniture, also praised the venue's ability to attract multicategory retailers.
     "There aren't too many places where you can go and in a two-day period see 300 serious customers who sell all three categories," he said. He added that Catnapper/Jackson also benefits from the fact that it has created exclusive products for Nationwide members.
     On the bedding side, Serta said it did well with two lines designed for the group's members, Smart Choice and a stepup line called Bellagio.
     During the show, Furniture/ Today interviewed exhibitors and retailers attending the event. To watch those interviews, go to http://www.furnituretoday. com/video/.
     Nationwide's next Prime- Time is scheduled for Aug. 19- 22 at the Gaylord National in National Harbor, Md., just outside Washington, D.C.