Fine Furniture Design adds lower-priced bedroom lines

Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, March 4, 2013

This chest is part of Fine Furniture Designs Circa 1310 group, a contemporary Arts & Crafts bedroom in mindi and hand-hewn quartered oak veneers. It has a textured grayish brown finish.

HIGH POINT — Fine Furniture Design is entering new territory in pricing and production, launching three bedrooms at new lower starting price points.

The Circa line, to be launched at the High Point Premarket March 11-12, includes three casual bedrooms that each have two beds, two chests, two nightstands, a dresser, mirror and bench.

Beds are priced at $799 to $899 for a queen version and $899 to $999 for a king. This is about 25% lower than the next higher priced beds in Fine Furniture Designs line, which includes the Summer Home collection retailing at $1,199 in queen.

The company is producing the new beds in Vietnam, rather than at the factory of parent company Fine Furniture Shanghai in China.

The company has produced a whole home collection that it introduced last fall out of this same factory. However, the new bedrooms marks the first time it is having any significant production outside its core factory, which will continue to produce the higher priced portions of the line.

Officials said they anticipate the launch will broaden the company's appeal to new customers and a younger demographic, based in large part on the youthful, casual styles of the groups.

"We have been working on this program for a year," said Jim Adams, vice president of product design and marketing. "The goal is to offer existing customers and other retailers that don't currently sell a reliable source for stylish bedroom furniture that would appeal to younger consumers operating on more limited budgets."

He added that the collection launched in October received a strong enough response to proceed with the new bedrooms. They include:

• Circa 1310, a contemporary Arts & Crafts-influenced group made with mindi and hand-hewn quarter-oak veneers with a textured grayish brown finish.

• Circa 1320, a casual European lifestyle group in acacia veneers with a multi-tone finish.

• Circa 1330 and 1331, an updated traditional group made with mahogany veneers in two finishes, a wire-brushed deep brown and a rubbed-through translucent black finish.

"We are adding fashion to a price point that has been commodity driven over the last few years," Adams said. "What we can do is add a fashion element to the category. The looks are what I think will turn some of these dealers into buyers for us."

The groups are slated to ship in June. Depending on how well they are received at market, the company may expand them with other categories in the future, Adams said.