Barn Door calls this set Bedzilla. It combines a full bed on top with a twin bed on bottom, two chests and two desks.
HIGH POINT -- Major youth furniture makers are targeting the teen/young adult demographic, seeking a broader consumer base with goods that can work for a wide range of ages, from middle-school kids to grandma living in a second bedroom.
Novelty beds in bright, primary colors and cutesy designs can draw the attention of young children and their parents in a store, but a more mature look can interest pre-teens who want to feel more grown up, and also can work in a young adult’s first apartment.
Since launching a youth line a couple years ago, Legacy Classic Kids has had a more mature look than many competitors, said General Manager Lee Boone, with new fall offerings continuing in that vein. Full and queen beds and mirrors are more adult-oriented, with no corkboard or photograph areas that younger children enjoy, and the size, scale and finish are such that a child won’t grow out of it in a few years, Boone said.
Some dealers even discussed setting up the furniture as a second-bedroom vignette on their floors, he said.
Master bedroom can get pretty big, Boone said, and doesn’t work in the main bedroom in all homes, and even less so in guest rooms.
Berg Furniture adds some innovative touches to this L-shaped system. The steps leading up to the top bed have drawers built into them. The upper bunk has a matching shelf attached to the rail. The underneath desk can be replaced with a drawer chest or bookcase.
A collection can be versatile enough to suit both younger and older children, depending on the finish and piece selection, said Phil Garrett, Hooker’s bedroom product manager. A young boy probably will start out with a twin bed, a dresser and a small desk, which are useful for a long time. As he becomes a teen-ager, he’ll want a full bed or even a queen, which is why all of Hooker’s youth groups have beds in all three of those sizes, he said.
The teen also will need new accompanying pieces, like a larger dresser or drawer chest, perhaps an armoire, Garrett said. The small student desk gives way to a computer desk/hutch with laptop ports, electrical outlet, Internet outlet and USB port.
Garrett said the big story at the October market was flexibility, with the mixing and matching of pieces and colors. Hooker’s new cottage lifestyle group comes in six painted finishes that attract older and younger children alike, he said.
Lea Inds. also worked to incorporate color into its new youth group, iRoom. Drawing on the success of Apple’s portable music device, iRoom offers pastel finishes that mimic the iPod.
These colors allow children to personalize their rooms, said Earl Wang, Lea’s vice president of product development. There is so much white youth furniture that mixing in these pieces can help retailers break up the monotony on their floors, he said.
At Young America, the new Cottage Treasures group “appeals to everyone, from toddlers to teens,” said Glenn Prillaman, senior vice president of marketing and sales for the Stanley division. “With a simple change of linens and accessories, it can be transformed from soft and sweet to chic and sophisticated.
“With its comfortable, familiar silhouettes and warm, inviting finishes, Cottage Treasures has a timeless beauty that will grow with a child,” he continued. “This collection is as beautiful in a first apartment, a vacation home or a guest room as it is in a nursery.”
Of Young America’s second new fall group, Prillaman said, “Cottage Cove has many elements of conventional cottage design — plant details, turned posts, simple finials — yet the collection takes on an eclectic, sophisticated persona in darker finishes.”
Klaussner launched a youth line this October called Homeworks Collections. “It went over very well,” said Darren York, vice president of merchandising. The company showed five groups and will cut four.
“A lot of thought went into the designs,” said York. “Homeworks was a year and a half in development,” with the design team aiming for good quality at reasonable prices. Dealers liked the fact that, rather than coming out with many SKUs, Klaussner narrowed the choices to what it believed would sell best, he said.
Buyers also liked the sturdy construction and materials, York said, and, based on their comments, the company is adding queen beds so the groups can be used in second bedrooms, with two or three more groups in the works for spring.
For some manufacturers, the key to garnering new accounts and growing sales has been showing at multiple markets — Las Vegas in July, Tupelo in August, the All Baby and Child show in September, and High Point in October.
“We feel like we’ve been at market for two months,” said Young America’s Prillaman, after taking part in the ABC show, High Point premarket and market, then hitting the road for three weeks following up on contacts made at those shows.
The ABC market allowed Young America to meet some new buyers and establish relations with dealers who came back to see the line in High Point.
“This fall, retail seems to be steady but not overly strong,” Prillaman said. The new groups will hit retail floors in January, so the company will have to wait until then to see how they fare.
Attendance at the High Point market was off for Lea, as it was for almost everyone, said Wang. The retail climate isn’t stellar now, he said, but overall, Lea was pleased with the market. The company showed three youth groups and will cut two.
There has been a lot of uncertainty with consumers, he said, and furniture purchases can be postponed while families worry about heating bills and shop for the holidays. Given all that, Wang said some major retailers picked groups already in the line because they know the goods get good response from consumers.
Dynamic Furniture showed some new youth pieces in Tupelo, then took them to High Point along with a new contemporary set, Carousel. Sales and Marketing Manager April Williamson said Carousel was well received.
“The multiple color options make it a popular choice for both boys and girls, and the casual styling easily incorporates into a variety of decors,” she said. Dynamic plans to show Carousel at the January Las Vegas market.
*For complete coverage of the infant and juvenile industries, check out our Kids Today Web site at www.kidstodayonline.com
*Also see Cribs go convertible at Young America
