Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, 9/28/2005 7:17:00 AM
Overtakes formal dining
Betty Crocker
HIGH POINT -- Casual dining continues to grow at the expense of formal dining, according to many manufacturers.
“Formal doesn’t sell like it used to,” said Randy Chrisley, president and CEO of Universal, which offers both formal dining and its Upscale Small Scale casual dining line.
Casual dining is doing well now, Chrisley said, especially since comfortable casual designs are selling well throughout all case goods categories.
Charleston Forge
“We’re not talking about some cheap ‘table and four’ casual look,” he said. The table still needs to stylish.
Universal recently added six groups to its Upscale Small Scale line, with retails between $799 and $999. The company also plans to introduce two or three more groups at the October High Point market.
Many retailers reported slow sales overall in the first quarter, according to Alan Mintz, vice president of sales and marketing for Reflections, but casual dining business picked up in May and June.
The economy has suffered because of the skyrocketing cost of gasoline, but the middle-class and lower-middle-class families have been affected much more so than the wealthy, said Jean Deveault, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Canadel.
Chromcraft
Because of the economy, larger, more expensive formal sets can be a harder sell to the average consumer.
Switching focus
In the past, Primo Designs offered formal dining with all of its new collections, then added casual dining if the group sold well. Now, “most new groups include casual dining right out of the chute,” said President David Ballard.
In fact, this year, for the first time, Primo Designs introduced a new group with no formal dining at all, he said. “There’s seems to be excellent growth in dining,” Ballard said. “We’re probably getting to where 40% to 50% of sales in a given collection is in dining, mostly on the casual side.”
Hooker
At Charleston Forge, “Dining still a strong category for us right now,” said Susan Barber, owner. “We sell a lot of dining tables.”
Shermag’s overall business is steady, but casual dining sales are up, said Jeff Schwall, vice president of U.S. sales. Unfortunately, like other Canadian companies, profits have been hurt by the shift in the currency exchange. Shermag also has incurred some expenses related to closing some outdated plants and restructuring facilities.
Schwall is pleased that sales are strong considering this is usually the off-season for dining.
Typically, 60% of dining sales come in the last half of the year, especially September to November, said Chrisley. Consumers tend to think more about buying that formal table they’ve been eyeing when it gets close to family holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Largo
Casual dining, however, seems to provide more year-round business, he said. People may use the formal sets just over the holidays, but casual dining tables are used every day, so demand is less cyclical.
Universal’s sales have been buoyed by showing at the inaugural Las Vegas market. Chrisley said the company had about five times as many buyers visit the showroom as it ever had in San Francisco.
Like Universal’s Upscale Small Scale line, Canadel has continued to blur the line between formal and casual dining. Last year, the company introduced a leaf table that’s more than 100 inches long. This October, a new five-leaf table will extend to 168 inches, using a steel reinforcement system.
Powell
The 20-inch leaves allow Canadel to offer the long table at less cost than a single-piece design, said Deveault. It is expensive to find 14-foot-long sheets of quality veneer to cover such a long table, but the leaves break up the table into many small sections.
Canadel also has ventured into the formal arena by offering numerous case pieces to complement the table. The company offers 11 pieces, all in multiple widths. Canadel will show a new sideboard at High Point that measures 54 by 18 by 36 inches to retail between $1,499 and $1,599.
Creating differentiation
Reflections
Shermag has added small case pieces to complement its dining as well, such as small servers and wine racks. A lot of sources are in the category now, Schwall said, so it’s important to create differentiation through product or customization. Being a North American company allows Shermag to offer product options and quick shipping.
At Reflections, Mintz said he is seeing a big surge toward custom orders. The company’s imported sets are selling, but consumers like the choices available with the domestic goods.
“They can pick their fabric and their frame,” he said.
Saloom
Canadel and Dinec have built their business by offering lots of options. Consumers can customize the Canadel sets with one of 125 standard and distressed finishes, as well as leg/base and tabletop options.
To address a trend toward bigger homes, Saloom Furniture is focusing on larger-scaled tables, base styles and chairs in its fall product introductions.
“There’s an important comfort factor in the larger-scale furniture, as well as the perception of a better value when the furniture gets bigger,” explained Becky Gould, Saloom’s marketing director.
Saloom’s strategy also includes a commitment to maximizing value in both scale and pricing. While the furniture is bigger, the price point remains the same or even drops.
Shermag
“A few years ago, our average retail price points for a five-piece wood dining set were $2,200 to $2,800,” Gould said. “We’ve worked hard over the past few years to create a better value story to compete with the imports. We’re now in the strong position of being able to offer price points that start at $1,800 with our ‘custom-made in New England’ quality story.”
Casual but elegant
While many new homes are scaled bigger, it is the smaller dining area that is boosting casual dining sales for upper-end manufacturer The Platt Collections. A small breakfast nook in an attractive new home just wouldn’t look right with a dinette in it, said John Reinhart, vice president of merchandising and operations.
Homeowners want something casual, yet elegant. Platt offers about a dozen decorative bases that accept a round glass top from 48 to 60 inches across. The designer finishes work with both wood furniture and stainless steel kitchens.
Sales of these pedestal tables have grown in the past 18 to 24 months because kitchen cabinets are becoming more refined — some even have multi-step finishes similar to fine furniture.
Largo has a strong line of glass and metal table sets, but many customers have asked that it expand its wood selections, said Mike Bradshaw, vice president of product development. Two strong performers from the April market addressed that need: the Harvest counter-height set and the Jaclyn Smith Heritage group in birch and pecan veneers.
The company also does good business with mixed media such as tile and slate and the Jackson mosaic top with pewter-finished metal frame.
Charleston Forge will have a new showroom look this October. Some new groups that include dining and occasional will be set up in a “loft living” format, said Barber.
HIGH POINT -- Casual dining continues to grow at the expense of formal dining, according to many manufacturers.
“Formal doesn’t sell like it used to,” said Randy Chrisley, president and CEO of Universal, which offers both formal dining and its Upscale Small Scale casual dining line.
Casual dining is doing well now, Chrisley said, especially since comfortable casual designs are selling well throughout all case goods categories.
