Thomas Russell — Furniture Today

Orders strong early
AT THE MARKET — Occasional and accent furniture sources are offering a mix of new product, promotions and price points to lure customers into their showrooms here this market. Based on initial reactions, the efforts are paying off.

Bailey Street Trading, which just unveiled a new company logo, had a promotion in November that awarded free airline tickets to dealers that placed orders before the holiday season.

All told, the company flew as many as 35 people to the Las Vegas show this week, where it has added 26 pieces to its occasional and accent furniture line.
By Tuesday morning, the company had a 22% increase in written orders.
CEO Greg Waylock attributed the success to the variety, style and price of the company’s product line, which features a mix of exotic veneers and hand-painted designs. Many have traditional footprints, but the company also has started to branch into more transitional and contemporary designs.
“We offer a lot of design, value and good, respectable quality,” Waylock said.
Broyhill Furniture is launching several new occasional groups here and also adding to its existing line. Its strategy this market was to offer a mix of styles and new finishes at more moderate price points. New cocktail tables mostly fall within the $199 to $249 range, a lower price point aimed at matching the company’s values in upholstery.
“Our values in upholstery make us not want to overprice occasional,” said Brenda Dillon, Broyhill’s merchandise manager for occasional. “You have to be consumer-based in your thinking. The price relationship has to make sense. These represent more advantageous price points for the consumer.”
Based on the mix of new product and pricing, Dillon said that order-writing was strong during the early part of the market.
Other sources also have new products to offer.
Magnussen Home Furnishings has a half dozen new occasional groups with cocktail tables priced mostly in the $249 range. It also has 14 new accent pieces ranging from tray and clover-leaf tables to nesting tables with a mix of hand-painted and contemporary designs.
Ultimate Accents has 22 new pieces this market, more than double the nine it introduced in July. The company also made some changes to existing product, including new hardware.
The changes have helped spur a 15% increase in written business from July, said Ray Steele, vice president of sales.
The Powell Co. has nine new SKUs in occasional, including an eclectic antique black accent table with a reverse-painted glass top and an adjustable-height game table with four benches retailing for $1,000.
During the market’s first full day, the company had double the number of dealers in its showroom from July. It also saw an increase in written orders across the board on new and existing product, said Sean Slack, executive vice president of marketing and merchandising.
Accent specialist Stein World also reports strong order-writing this market, even though it isn’t making any introductions. As of late Monday, business was up about 50% from July.
The company will consider launching new product at the July show, said David MacIntosh, chief operating officer.
Universal has several new occasional pieces, including two cocktail tables and a bar imported from the Philippines.
The company wanted to have some new product for dealers who have already seen the line in October. But as with the July market, it largely sought to introduce the existing line to dealers not familiar with its product.
“This show, for us, still is a regional market, where those dealers who didn’t come to High Point can see what we brought out in High Point,” said Stephen Giles, senior vice president of merchandising.
Showroom attendance the first two days was about the same as July, with most dealers from the West Coast, Giles said.
At this point, Giles said it is too early to say whether Las Vegas will be an intro market for his company. If it does launch new product in Las Vegas, it will use the launch as its premarket.
“Right now, High Point is the major introduction market,” Giles said.