Gary Evans — Furniture Today,
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Import warehousing and distribution company BnT Design has launched a program that allows retailers to pick and choose from among 200 products for mixed container shipments from Asia.

BnT says the program, Soho Concept, allows smaller independent retailers to compete with heavy hitters who buy containers direct.

Dealers can select from an array of contemporary upholstery, dining and occasional furniture in mixed containers. Another option is to order in smaller quantities from the company’s stocking warehouses in New Jersey, Toronto and a soon-to-be-opened facility in southern California, according to Gary Carmel, vice president of sales and marketing for the United States.

Carmel said the company consolidates containers of product in China, where 95% is manufactured. It’s 30% to 40% cheaper to buy via mixed container than in smaller amounts from BnT’s North American warehouses, he said.

“That’s the real secret of this,” he said.

BnT Design also provides sales aids and in-store gallery assistance, and has hired Eric E. Kutuck, educated and trained in design in Milan, Italy, as assistant marketing manager. He reports to Carmel, who said merchants can display a selection of BnT’s best sellers in about 800 square feet or more.

The product line includes sofas that retail for $1,800 to $2,000 and sectionals from $2,200 to $2,400, all fully-assembled except for screw-on legs. “It’s a lot of sofa for the money,” Carmel said. One best-seller, called The Boss, includes seating that extends into a chaise or a bed and backs that ratchet into several positions.

To simplify pricing, Carmel said the company quotes in factory-to-the-store wholesale pricing to reduce merchants’ uncertainty over what it really costs to buy offshore.

BnT Design also sells occasional and dining tables, as well as occasional chairs, bar/counter chairs and dining chairs. Retailers taking container shipments can chose from about 75 fabric options, Carmel said, while warehoused upholstery for smaller orders is limited in the number of covers.

The company will show at the Las Vegas Market next month in space B-755 of the World Market Center, and also has space at markets in Istanbul, Toronto and High Point.