But tough conditions may limit action
LAS VEGAS — Retailers should be out in force at
the fourth home furnishings market here, but tough business conditions, heavy inventories and too many furniture markets could keep buying on the light side.
In interviews, retailers characterized recent business as so-so to soft, and hold little hope for significant shifts anytime soon as a weak housing market and other economic uncertainties continue to weigh on consumers.
Still, dealers will be here, many staying longer to check out the World Market Center’s second building. Some are focusing on bedding — a strong category in Las Vegas — and generally looking for outstanding deals to lure consumers.
“Were trying to find ways we can drive some business into the store, some good values. That’s going to be our main focus,” said Jeff Child, president of Salt Lake City-based R.C. Willey.
The company, with 14 stores in greater Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Reno, Nev., Boise, Idaho, and now Sacramento, Calif., will be shopping all categories. Home office, one of the strongest furniture categories for the retailer now, will get plenty of attention, Child said. He noted that the company has done particularly well with groups priced from $1,500 to $2,500, so it will be looking for the latest looks in that range.
“We definitely don’t need a lot of product, so it’s going to have to be really good,” he said.
Child described business as fairly good, saying that Las Vegas is the softest market for the retailer. While he said he hears Sacramento — where the retailer opened its first store last year — is a tough market, R.C. Wiley has no track record for comparison and, so far, the store is meeting expectations.
Child bemoaned the dilemma of too many markets.
“We’re being bombarded with so many new products,” he said. “Our buyers haven’t even gotten (goods) from the past (High Point) market and they’re going to Vegas and seeing new product.
“I don’t think it’s healthy. I don’t think we give product a long enough time on the floor anymore. If something doesn’t work (soon after) it hits the floor, we’re getting rid of it. Used to be it took awhile,” said Child.
Chris Pelcher, general merchandise manager for Smithton, Pa.,-based Levin Furniture, agreed, saying, “It’s just silly at this point. Basically, we’re still waiting for everything we picked up in September and October” (in High Point and from a buying trip to China).
Levin took care of most of its lineup changes in the fall. That, combined with a productive two days at High Point’s mini-market earlier this month, limit the Top 100 company’s open-to-buy for Las Vegas.
“We’re at a point now where something really has to be an amazing value, a deal-we-can’t-refuse type of thing,” Pelcher said.
In Levin’s Cleveland and Pittsburgh markets, business has been a battle every day, he said. What’s more, Levin has had to contend with going-out-of-business sales at La-Z-Boy stores in Pittsburgh, which has it looking to counter with strong motion and recliner promotions of its own.
“That would be our biggest need if we had any right now,” he said.
Like Levin, Kane’s Furniture of Pinellas Park, Fla., attended the Lifestyle Enterprise-led mini-market in High Point and will buy some goods. But that’s not affecting its shopping plans here.
“If we see it and we like it, we buy it,” said CEO Irwin Novack.
In the hard-hit Florida market, where Novack said home sales last year were off 50% from the year before, business has been spotty and inconsistent, he said. But Kane’s is still in the market for fresh product.
In July, Kane’s skipped Las Vegas because he didn’t feel there was enough new product at the second show to make the trip worthwhile.
“With the opening of Building B, we’re going to give it another try,” Novack said. “There will be more vendors showing and hopefully more new product.”
Among other things, Kane’s will check out what’s new in direct container imported upholstery programs, a category he said is “just starting to explode.”
Kris Woodcock, vice president and general manager for Wheeling, Ill.-based Wickes Furniture, said her buyers will be here primarily to fill in between High Point markets, seeking special purchases and values in everything from upholstery to case goods. Wickes also will focus here on California suppliers for its 14 Los Angeles-area stores.
On Woodcock’s shopping list: deals in casual contemporary sofas at $399 and wood beds it can retail for $299 to $399.
“We’re bringing our bedding buyer along,” she added. “Las Vegas is the big bedding market, so he’ll be shopping bedding, and we’re investigating the specialty bedding arena.”
Wickes carries Tempur-Pedic, but “we want to look at some other things too,” she said.
Taylor Ganz, vice president of the 17-store Los Angeles-based McMahan’s, will look to add color to his upholstery mix, starting at $399 sofas and across the board to $1,119 frames.
“The proliferation of earth tones continues, and we need to break that up,” Ganz said.
Jake Jabs, president and CEO of Englewood, Colo.-based American Furniture Warehouse, isn’t expecting much in the way of upholstery here. Most of AFW’s key vendors in the category aren’t showing, although Jabs said he will be eager to see what’s new at Ashley, Klaussner, Douglas and GuildCraft of California.
He’s expecting more luck in the home accents category, noting that past Las Vegas markets have yielded some great surprises, including $299 marble-top sink cabinets from K.Y.O. Trading, which the retailer has been selling by the container load, and Max Win, which has become a great source for traffic items such as hall trees, mirrors and vanities.
Bedding also will get AFW’s full attention, especially new offerings in memory foam from Chinese sources.
AFW’s sales in December were off $3 million from a year ago, Jabs said, thanks to back-to-back weekend snowstorms that shut the stores down for several days. This month, the company is running an “Everything on Sale” promotion, playing up the fact that it’s overstocked.
“We’re giving 3% off … and it’s working,” Jabs said. “We’re up 10% for January.”
Jabs is expecting a good crowd at the Las Vegas Market despite difficult business conditions around the country for many retailers.
“Every little dealer I’ve talked to said they’re going to be there,” he said. “There’s that appeal to Vegas.
“In fact, my wife is going with me — her first furniture market in 30 years. I guess I’m caught in the same trap.”
