That snazzy new sofa is about to get more expensive.
Because of rising fuel and other raw-material costs, consumers will likely face higher prices for furniture in the coming months. They will also see more offerings at the high end of the market, say participants who are convening this week in High Point, N.C., at High Point Market, a twice-yearly meeting of the nation’s home-furniture manufacturers, retailers and designers. That is because more U.S. companies are abandoning the lower and middle-tier to the likes of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Rooms To Go to focus on lucrative luxury customers — and the interior designers they hire.
Manufacturers Laneventure and Bradington-Young both raised most prices this year because of higher foam, spring and metal costs. Barlow Tyrie, an England-based maker known for its teak outdoor furniture, raised prices as much as 12 percent on its contemporary stainless-steel collection, citing higher metal costs.
As part of the new luxury push that will hit stores this spring, consumers will see products such as hand-distressed leather couches, more outdoor furniture for second-home verandas and massive dining-room tables.
The higher prices and bigger-ticket goods come as the U.S. furniture industry is facing tough times. U.S. retail sales of furniture and bedding rose 7.2 percent to $83.23 billion for the 12 months ended in June, according to a monthly furniture-industry report by investment bank Mann, Armistead & Epperson. But more of those goods are being made overseas, particularly by lower-cost manufacturers in Asia. Home Depot Inc. sources nearly 60 percent of its merchandise overseas. Overall, last year, 43.1 percent of all furniture sold in the U.S. was made overseas, compared with just 24.3 percent that was manufactured abroad 10 years ago.
Several U.S. companies went out of business this year, including Rose Furniture and Wood Armfield. Storehouse, an Atlanta-based furniture retail chain is being liquidated to raise cash for its parent company, Rowe Furniture, after failing to find a buyer.
“It’s tough for everybody right now,” said Jay Reardon, president of Hickory Chair, a luxury manufacturer.
But luxury furniture has been one bright spot for U.S. manufacturers, and many are rolling out new lines of higher-price items.
Barlow Tyrie launched an artificial wicker collection by the midcentury designer Vladimir Kagan: A dining chair costs $700. Century Furniture’s Oscar de la Renta line is an opulent, baroque-style collection that includes a hand-painted leopard-skin pattern chest priced at $2,985. The line’s prices are about 20 percent higher than the rest of Century’s furniture.
Four Hands, a $40 million wholesaler that sells to Crate & Barrel and other retailers, introduced additional luxe offerings, including a two-seater scrolled arm sofa with a buttoned back that costs $2,995. A new dining table with a marble-inlay top costs $4,000, which is about double the chain’s previous price for a dining table.
“What was successful was higher-end goods in every category,” says Jeff Heller, Four Hands’ vice president of marketing.
Companies are adding extras to try to justify the prices.
A $6,600 Bainbridge sideboard by Hickory Chair includes a box for storing silver.
GB Roberts has a $6,500 Art Deco-inspired zebra wood and walnut television console that uses a unique lift system to reveal the television set. (The company says that a TV rises faster on the console when compared with other models.)
Manufacturers are also unveiling new — and often more-expensive — custom options to attract interior designers, who are becoming a much more important market. Wealthy consumers are increasingly turning to these professionals to help navigate today’s “mix and match” decor styles.
For the past three years, Century Furniture’s sales to designers have risen 30 percent annually. Now the division contributes about a third of the company’s sales and roughly half its profits, according to Edward Tashjian, who is Century Furniture’s vice president of marketing. The company raised prices about 4.5 percent this year to pay for increased manufacturing costs for its new customizable dining collection.
Custom furniture has expanded into the kids’ room, too. Pulaski Furniture, a Pulaski, Va.-based division of Home Meridian International, joined with Build-A-Bear Workshop, a make-your-own stuffed animal retailer, to create a customizable children’s line. A 30-piece line by Young America, a division of Stanley Furniture Co., offers 20 colors including “mustard” and “surf blue.”
Traditional retailers are also trying to emulate the success of the contemporary casual “lifestyle” retailers like Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn by adopting some of their marketing tactics. In August, Bassett Furniture mailed 1.3 million consumer catalogs to 21 markets, an effort that is being overseen by a retail executive plucked from Restoration Hardware.
Still, there are signs that High Point, once hailed as the undisputed furniture capital of the world, is losing the faith of style-conscious companies.
Miami-based Urbanus furniture, a design company that creates best-selling metal furniture for Crate & Barrel, Room & Board and Ethan Allen, just announced that it will close its North Carolina showroom.
It is opening a new one in its more buzz-worthy hometown.
