Larry Thomas — Furniture Today,
Traffic down but order-writing proves brisk

LAS VEGAS — Although sluggish business conditions seemed to stack the odds against the summer market here, the show managed to turn in a strong performance in the eyes of most exhibitors.


While attendance clearly was below the January market, when the World Market Center’s Building B was unveiled, most said showroom traffic was good and order-writing was strong.

“We wrote big orders and lots of them,” said Bill Benton, president of importer Powell Co.  “We stayed busy all week.”

His and other positive reports came despite a sales slump that has plagued the industry for nearly a year. Most exhibitors said they had low expectations for the show, given the business conditions and other negative factors that tend to keep buyers away, such as this city’s summer heat and the sheer number of industry trade shows.

However, many said they were pleasantly surprised by the turnout and the amount of business that was written.

Ashley Chairman Ron Wanek said his team saw “lots of interest in new product and lots of orders placed.”  He said the just-concluded market was much stronger than last July for the company, since it only opened its second and larger showroom here in January.

He said July markets in Las Vegas won’t be as busy as shows in January, when the city’s warm weather is a boon rather than a barrier, but he remains confident in the event’s long-term prospects as the WMC continues to develop.

“We know that it’s going to be a powerful market,” said Wanek. “It’s a high-quality place to come.”

“The market was so strong in January that we had resolved ourselves to the possibility that some people might not come back in July,” said Larry Klein, vice president of sales at specialty bedding producer Natura. “But it was really steady. On Monday, no one in the showroom had time to eat.”

Shawn Samson, co-managing partner of the WMC, declined to disclose attendance figures, but said registrations were about 20% above the July 2013 show and slightly below the record attendance in January.

“This is very gratifying for us because the industry is telling us … that Las Vegas has the right platform for doing business in the future,” he said.

Samson said he’s especially encouraged by the rising numbers of international buyers and exhibitors, noting that 208 international exhibitors were on the roster.

Many exhibitors said attendance was heavier from small and midsized dealers west of the Mississippi, although major retail accounts from all parts of the country were in Las Vegas in force. 

“Traffic seems more heavily weighted from the West, but that’s good because those people are not in High Point,” Benton said.

Sandberg Furniture was one of the few exhibitors to record higher traffic than the January show, but that was because the company doubled the size of its showroom. Traffic was slightly higher than January and more than 10% above July 2013, said President and CEO John Sandberg.

Sandberg said he believes the companies that will succeed in Las Vegas will be those that develop new goods for the show, not “retreads from High Point.”

Similarly, Universal Furniture had strong response to a new contemporary collection, and plans to do two cuttings for the group by the end of the year, said Roland Maddrey, vice president of sales.

“We have had some great commitments where we can support it,” he said, adding that traffic was not as strong as January, but about what the company expected for the summer show.

“This has been the best response to new product we have handled at Las Vegas,” Maddrey said.

Ed Grund, CEO of case goods importer ART, said reaction to introductions was so strong that he has decided to push up the production schedule for the new Calais bedroom and dining room collection, rather than wait to get a second reading from buyers at October’s High Point Market.

“People we didn’t think would come, did come,” Grund said. “Overall, we were pleased with the market.”

News Editor Jay McIntosh, Senior Retail Editor Clint Engel, Executive Editor David Perry and Staff Writer Jeff Linville contributed to this story.