Jeff Linville
Several sources report stronger orders

AT THE MARKET — Talk of reduced traffic here doesn’t seem to have affected some case goods resources, with several reporting stronger sales than at last April’s market.

Some showrooms reported fewer visitors, but others said their buyer count was up. Most agreed that slow retail sales in April didn’t overly dampen buyers’ spirits.

One manufacturer admitted he was concerned about the potential impact of the Las Vegas market, but he was pleasantly surprised by the orders written here.

The major retailers were here, and they make up the bulk of the commitments, said one sales representative.
Emerald Home Furnishings said it didn’t see some of its West Coast accounts this market because they visited the company’s Las Vegas space in January. But the company did see a lot of accounts from other regions.

Big manufacturers and importers or those with an interesting story this market drew in buyers, and their neighbors benefited from the traffic.

Business was up 20% for the first three days of the week at Ashley before dropping off some, said Kerry Lebensberger, president of sales, upholstery division. Still, the entire week was up more than 10% overall.

Down the hallway on the ninth floor of the International Home Furnishings Center, Philip Reinisch and Intercon were pleased with traffic.

Copeland Furniture introduced its Frank Lloyd Wright licensed case goods collection, and attracted many passersby with a window display in its Design Center showroom.

New groups in the National Geographic Home collection spurred activity at Lane Furniture. Heavy traffic on the first three days of the week had the total count up between 15% and 20% by noon Friday, and the licensed additions could turn out to be one of the company’s top two or three case goods introductions ever, said Ray Allori, vice president of merchandising.

Bernhardt went in different directions with its new case goods groups this market. Windemere, a European cottage look in mahogany veneers, is light on carvings and smaller scaled than the company’s typical groups.

Tuscan Villa, on the other hand, is bigger and bolder. The latter did a little better this week, but Windemere’s smaller scale appeals to a more mainstream dealer and is allowing Bernhardt to build this clientele, said Rountree Collett, executive vice president of residential case goods.

Vermont Precision reported good traffic, thanks in part to its addition of an import division called Bolten to its domestic offerings.

Vaughan Furniture had good reaction to both domestic and imported product. The company had tried imports in the past, but those weren’t at well received as this market’s offerings, said President and CEO Bill Vaughan. This has been the best market in five years as Vaughan picked up some new majors, which he attributed to studying the market, developing its own designs and using good overseas sources.

Broyhill Furniture made a big push in youth furniture this market, which helped bring in a few new specialty stores that might not have carried the case goods line.

Some companies said that orders written this week will make up for an otherwise weak April.

 Jeff Scheffer, Stanley’s president and CEO, said that buyers he spoke with seemed to agree that January was a good month, but March was down and April has been hit or miss. Other manufacturers said their dealers reported business was spotty in March, but simply awful in the first weeks of April.

Magnussen Home was disappointed with its first quarter because of an issue with its Biltmore collection. The licensed line premiered in October to great success, and with orders rolling in, the company looked for a huge first quarter. Sales were still up 16%, but that was short of expectations.

President and CEO Jeff Cook said crotch mahogany takes delicate handling, and he wasn’t quite satisfied with the final product. So the factory spent more time on the finish before shipping. That should result in a boost to second-quarter numbers, he said, but that could be offset by higher gas prices cutting into consumers’ disposable income.

Instead of focusing on sales numbers, Cook said Magnussen would emphasize gaining market share. The industry’s overall numbers might be down, but if Magnussen works hard, it can capture new accounts and be in a good position to grow when consumer spending rises again, he said. At the end of the year, he expects the company will continue its run of six consecutive years of strong growth.

A new, bigger showroom pushed Primex to better sales in the first quarter of 2013. The case goods importer last year moved into an International Home Furnishings Center space that was more than twice as large as its old showroom, said Marketing Manager Vasso Unks.

So far this year, sales are up between 15% and 18%, she said.

SLF, formerly Samuel Lawrence Furniture, made a big splash this market with more than a dozen new collections. Five groups are part of its upscale Signature line, with bedroom groups between $2,000 and $3,000, while eight are in the more sharply priced Select line, at $1,000 to $2,000.

Several companies moved to attract younger consumers. They want to get Gen X and Gen Y adults back into traditional furniture stores instead of specialty retailers such as Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Pier 1 Imports and Restoration Hardware. Those retailers own the under-40 crowd, said Bill Carpenter, president of Lifestyle Solutions by Elite.

Originally offering futons and convertible sofas, Lifestyle Solutions now does three-fourths of its business in bedroom.

This market, the company developed a new bedroom suite with younger consumers in mind, Carpenter said.

Modus Furniture dramatically boosted its showroom this market as the contemporary bedroom source offered home entertainment and dining for the first time.