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Steve Noble, vice president at Old Hickory Tannery said that 2016 mirrored previous election years. He added that Old Hickory is focusing on creating original products that offer retailers unique looks for the floor.
“Every election has an impact in the beginning in a negative way.” Noble Guangzhou office furniture said. “For some reason, business always tends to slow up in an election year but once everyone realizes “Chicken Little style” that the sky is not going to fall, order is restored, and business tends to find its normal place. Once the unknown is known, everything settles and becomes stable again.” Although Old Hickory Tannery made the decision not to show at markets a year ago, the company remains committed to introducing its product to retailers. Noble said the approach of inviting buyers to the factory has worked well. we told our dealer base, this (not showing at market) saves us over a million dollars a year,” Noble said. “That helps in giving them deeper discounts on stock and special ordered items. We have our dealer base come to the factory and we put together product here where China office chair manufacturer we have so much we cannot take to a show room.
“And even though we are not showing in High Point, we are still continually creating new product throughout the year as opposed to twice a year. We are able to create items for our dealers that hit their selling demographic and not just build samples for a market hoping it fulfills every selling demographic.” Norwalk Furniture launched a major collection with Company C in 2016 despite the negative rhetoric surrounding the election. Norwalk President Caroline Hipple said that while the divisiveness created during the campaign was “unsettling and China office sofa manufacturer disconcerting,” she is remaining positive about the coming year. “We are not sure of what has been rhetoric and what has been real policy because we have a new administration with no prior performance to use to predict behavior,” Hipple said. “With all of that said I am counting on us. We as everyday people have to keep living thriving and making our homes our sanctuaries, and in times of stress, we can make them cozier and safer and more beautiful It is something we can control and in these times, we will look to act on things we can control.” Norwalk will continue to build on the lifestyle partnership with Company C in 2017, Hipple said. She noted that the 45-piece upholstery collection and 80-SKU fabric offering is curated to coordinate with rugs, bedding and decorative pillows, offering dealers the opportunity to present a colorful, cohesive lifestyle that is fresh and distinctive7 She believes that color will be a key trend in 2017 as an alternative to the linen looks that have permeated the market in recent seasons.
“We believe in the color theory,” she said. “It can brighten an otherwise glum world.” Norwalk is also emphasizing its performance story with fab rics from Crypton Home, Sunbrella and Revolution and offering a curated assortment of 160new patterns that range from “luxurious neutrals to Company C colors,” Hipple said. “Two key words for us at Norwalk come to mind for 2017—authenticity and sustainability,” said Hipple. “With the transparency of social media, we are seeing a developing desire for authenticity so we are working hard to bring our Norwalk story to life for our dealers and consumers.”
New year, new opportunities. After a second half of 2016 that migeof has been described as “brutal” by some, manufacturers are looking forward to 2017’s promise as a non-election year. Many of the company officials interviewed said that any decrease in negativity will uplift the consumer mindset, and they added that they are planning to offer upholstery options with stories that will help retailers persuade their customers to buy “I believe business conditions will improve now that the election is over,” said Roy Cakagne, president of Craftmaster Furniture. “No matter what side you are on, the decision is made, and now we can all move forward.”Calcagne noted that, at the time of this interview, Wall Street has China office desk manufacturer viewed the election results” in a positive manner.
“A stronger economy will help all, and that’s what I hope we will see with the new administration,” he said. Zack Taylor, president of Wesley Hall, agrees. UI think the entire world has been in a ‘wait and see’ state of trepidation, he said. “Now that we know our path, we can roll up our sleeves and get back at it.”
Taylor said that Wesley Hall has focused on its core message of “classic made current” and will capitalize on it even more in 2017. An aggressive launch of new silhouettes is planned, along with more information for dealers that will help China office partition manufacturer them dose transactions. “One word —inspiration,”
Taylor said. “We are pulling out all of the stops and offering innovative products with style and comfort—clean, tailored, modern textiles, leathers and silhouettes that allow someone the chance to revamp an entire room, or to simply replace that dated odd chair in the corner.”
As the motion upholstery category continues to grow, the search for the winning advantage heats up as major players jockey for position against price pressures and increased demand for customization, power functions and faster delivery. At the promotional to moderately priced levels, the mix of “bells and whistles in power functions has been the key driver in sales this year with China office furniture manufacturer suppliers moving quickly to integrate the power headrest function and, in the second half of the year, to more aggressively add value with premium leather covers as leather prices remained low.
Mike Campbell, president and CEO of N.C.-based stationary and motion supplier Leather Italia USA, said he has seen high demand for leather and distinct move away from synthetic From importers to domestic manufacturers, the natural cover had a big presence during October High Point Market and big impact with imports using premium leather to up the ante in what has been characterized by some China conference desk manufacturer suppliers as a pricing war in imported motion upholstery. “The recent price war created by China motion manufacturers will definitely cause a competitive challenge and negatively affect 2017 volume,” said Randy Spaic CEO of Mississippi-based American Furniture Manufacturing.” Spak said American’s motion business experienced “very modest growth in 2016 in spite of difficult retail business conditions : overall” and expected that the power headrest will be a factor in generating growth for the coming year.
Power functions are wide spread in motion groups and recliners and continue to overtake manual mechanisms in sales and floor space, and the power head rest has been a winner in 2016. Getting honorable mention as a new Guangzhou negotiation desk provider or improved function that may get more attention in 2017 is the power lumbar support, found at Klaussner and Southern Motion in the spring and at Flexsteel Ind. and Franklin Corp. in the fall. “The year is finishing up fairly well for us even as we continue to face challenges with Chinese importers,” said Chuck Tidwell, vice president of merchandising and product development at Franklin. “Our answer to those challenges and our direction is to continue selling our strengths as a vertically integrated manufacturer with a true American-made story that delivers value with the full package of better styling cover to frame, innovation and the ability to deliver four categories of furniture on one truck Dealers are starting to see that its not all about price.”
In addition to offering a gamut of styles, Coast to Coast has moved toward a more collection-oriented approach in occasional tables, offering not only cocktails and ends, but also accompanying pieces such as bookshelves China office furniture and media cabinets to round out the selection.
Retailers “might just buy the bookcase and media piece instead of the tables, and we’ve had success with that,” Stein said “We’re doing fewer stand-alone table groups and doing more frill collections.” Coast to Coast will stick at its middle price points, covering a range of styles from traditional to transitional. “If you offer a really good look at a really good value, it will be successful,” Stein said “Because of our better/best strategy, you’ll see items from Hooker that will be true trend/style leaders in the upper price range along with items that; while very unique China office chair manufacturer and exciting are more value driven,” said Hook&Watson. “Regardless of the price point; innovations in design and material usage are leading the market today.” He added that, in 2017, occasional table buyers at Hooker will see things “that have never been seen before and will generate a lot of ‘ooh’s and aah’s’, along with a lot of sales for our retail partners.” Styles and function Mixed media in tables will continue to prevail regardless of price point or style next year Glass and metal, woven fibers plus treatments in stone should add some style chops to the basic wood table when it comes to complementing contemporary and transitional upholstery.
Another ongoing trend is a move toward “organic” looks with metal treatments replicating patterns and textures found in nature. Watch for more occasional vendors to offer function, as well Tables with casters allow consumers to accommodate their spaces for parties or family gatherings Lift tops on tables address those consumers who might be eating dinner in front of their televisions Storage function — such as a shelf beneath the top or a sliding top—will let consumers store magazines or gaming components. Some vendors say that if “it doesn’t move, China office sofa manufacturer it doesn’t sell” for a large part of the shopping populace.
Occasional tables typically reflect the entirety of home furnishings sales, and this year was no exception. For retailers, that means choosing an assortment of tables that jive with what’s moving on their floor when it comes to upholstery and related categories such as home entertainment. After all, everyone needs a place to put their feet while binge-watching their favorite shows on Netflix.
Occasional tables slightly outpaced overall home furnishings and bedding growth in 2016 in terms of sale.
According to Furniture Today’s research, overall industry migeof sales were up 2.7% this year to $1042 billion. Occasional tables rose 2.8% to $5.5 billion, representing 5% of total industry sales. While its share of market remained the same this year, occasional tables’ growth did not match performance in 2015, when the category grew 3.8%. Its no surprise that tables will follow trends in upholstery this coming year regarding not only price points but also style. Companies with a specialty in occasional naturally outpaced other vendors when it comes to growth in their table business. Hooker has enjoyed double digit growth in occasional tables in 2016,” said Pat Watson, vice president of merchandising at Hooker Furniture. China office desk manufacturer At Coast to Coast Imports occasional table business also out-paced overall industry growth, according to CEO Andy Stein. “It’s a growing category for us,” he said. “We don’t specialize in promotional price points, we’re in a medium price point where we offer a big value—a lot of look and style and substance. That’s our niche.” Drivers for next year Stein said the popularity of motion upholstery remains a big driver in the occasional table category and one that feeds into the importance of function when it comes to occasional.
“Especially if its a bigger piece, we’ll put hidden casters on it and make it ‘motion’ occasional,” he said of Coast to Coasts plans. “In general, we’ll be offering a lot of style and substance at the $299 to $399 range as opposed to $199 for a table; that’s what sells. The dealers aren’t focused on lower price points. Items used in the public areas in a home such as upholstery accidents and occasional tables always lead the way at the beginning of market expansion cycles, said Hooker Furniture’s Watson.
“Although it has been weak the market has been expanding this year so there should be natural expansion in the category,” he said. “Hooker has enjoyed better than average growth because of two things,” Watson said. “First, leading creativity from our merchant teams and manufacturing partners; and second, renewed focus on tying our occasional offerings with successful upholstered China office partition manufacturer goods from our Bradington Young Sam Moore and Hooker Upholstery divisions, as well as doing a better job of developing upholstery to go with occasional in our stand-alone collections.”
Home office performance relative to the industry in general was little more than flat in 2016, but for vendors and retailers really paying attention to the category when it comes to product development for the former and merchandising for the latter, it represents an opportunity for growth next year. According to Furniture Today market research, home office sales should increase to $6.49 billion Guangzhou office furniture manufacturer by year’s end, a 2.8% increase over 2015. That compares with an overall Industry increase of 2.7% in 2016 to $104.8 billion In furniture and bedding sales. Last year, home office sales were up 3.5%, compared with a 3.9% increase overall.
Home office’s share of the furniture and bedding business remained steady at 6% of total industry sales. As in home entertainment, modularity and space-friendliness that accommodates associated technology efficiently is a key in home office. Adjustable heights in desks remain another area of focus for vendors.
Home office is an exciting category at BDI. “Having an efficient work environment within your home has become a very important need to many consumers. Developing functional and efficient products, all with exceptional Guangzhou office conference desk manufacturer design that improves not only how you work but is better for you as well, is an area we excel in,” said BDI President Lori Kelley. “For example, our power stand/sit lift desks, which provide a large work surface of micro etched tempered glass. offer a height position tailored to your own needs at the touch of a button. The height is adjust able from 25- to 50-inches overall, and with four memorized pre-set heights that you determine, it is really customized to individual needs.
“There are so many opportunities in this important category of product that we believe we have only just tapped into.” Hooker Furniture Executive Vice President Hank Long said executive home office has slowed down somewhat in the China negotiation desk provider last two years but is still very significant because of the dollar volume that comes with a five-to six-piece sale for a dedicated office room.
Traditional styling remains the most popular style for (these) office products7 he said. Long anticipates growth from Hooker Furniture’s Work-well program of freestanding desks with matching file cabinets, bookcase and utility cabinets. “Freestanding desks are selling in all sizes with below 60-inches showing the fastest growth in this category” he said. “The new House Blend format will also drive growth in home office because of the flexible nature of this new category.”
Home entertainment furniture outstripped overall furniture and bedding sales in 2016, which should be up 2.7% to $104.8 million, according to Furniture Today market research. While the category comprises just 7% of total sales this year, it should climb 3.1% to $6.86 billion by the end of 2016. In 2015, home entertainment sales were up 3.4%, compared with a 3.9% increase for all furniture and bedding sales that year.
Home entertainment’s share of overall 2016 industry sales migeof office furniture relative to last year is expected to remain steady at 7%. Drivers in home entertainment continue to be developments in consumer electronics technology, space-friendliness and increasing attention to style in addition to function on consumers’ part. Those factors also have resulted in an ongoing expansion in the category among accent-oriented vendors, who bring their abilities in mixed materials to bear on a category ever more reliant upon modular configurations and consoles. As in home office, function and utility have been historical benchmarks in home entertainment, but portability and wireless connectivity have completely China office desk manufacturer transformed the business model and created exceptional opportunities for growth, according to Lexington Home Brands CEO Phil Haney. Lexington’s Sligh division is a long-time specialist in both categories.
“The home office and home entertainment categories continue to experience a major directional shift that bodes well for those brands whose primary emphasis is focused on design and style,” Haney said. “This category has seen the most dramatic change in the last five years because of the need for less and smaller components, and the consumer’s growing preference to installing the TV on the wall,” said Hank Long, executive vice president at Hooker Furniture, which has many years of addressing home entertainment as a specialty within its overall business.
“Large wall units, which drove our business for more than 25 years have declined, as well as large console/hutches. Today’s consumer is more likely to choose a more decorative console taking a 55-inch to 60-inch TV and pairing it with China office partition manufacturer bookcases or etageres flanking the sides for a more decorative look.” At the upper end of Hooker’s home entertainment line, consoles from 72- to more than 100-inches designed to accommodate 70- and 80-inch televisions are strong sellers.
“These are usually statement pieces retailing from $1,499 to $2,499,” Long noted. At Martin Furniture, as well, larger, longer, lower consoles are trending. Those are running 84 inches and even larger. “These longer consoles are typically low slug and offer space on the top of the unit for display in addition to the TV and also look great when used with wall mounts,” said Karl Eulberg, executive vice president of sales, marketing and merchandising. “Additional items like piers are now smaller
and functional only for storage of collectables”
Doug Bassett, president of case goods manufacturer Vaughan-Bassett Furniture, noted that 2016 was tough, particularly for its core bedroom category “We grew in 2014 and 2015, and 2016 has been more of a challenge,” he said. “We grew in the mid-single digits the last couple of years, and it’s been tougher this year.”
He attributed this to an on going weak economic recovery, China office furniture manufacturer lower-than-normal housing starts and election year politics that made business a challenge, particularly in battleground states. “It’s hard for me to remember a really good presidential year,” said Bassett, who said he has been in the business since 1998. “Retailers are unable or unwilling to buy ads…. Presidential (election) years are tough years, and I think that contributed to this being a tough year.” He noted that while bedroom continues to be one of the toughest spots in the industry, he noted that the company’s Artisan & Post solid wood bedroom program launched in April, has boosted the over all business. The China office chair manufacturer company expanded this in October with new bedrooms as well as a new solid wood dining program, its first foray into the dining segment in several years.
As dining begins to ship in 2017, he believes it will strengthen the business moving forward with both existing and new accounts.
This will be driven partly by the company’s plans to inventory the line, which the company said will lead to quicker shipping times than Amish competitors in the categories. But here, too, there will be some competition from resources such as Borkholder Furniture, which last year at this time offered eight- to 10-week deliveries. This year, the company began producing product at the Guangzhou filling cabinet manufacturer plant of its parent company Kountry Wood Products, including its 10-piece Aero collection and 18-piece Madera, both designed by Catina Roscoe. As it builds up inventory there, lead times will drop to two to three weeks, company officials note. The company expects higher growth this year than Furniture Today’s projections, said Tom Halvorsen, vice president of sales. But still, he noted, it wasn’t an easy year.
“The year itself was a year of ups and downs, and unfortunately, there were more downs than ups,” he said. “Most retailers around the country were singing the blues, and that is reflected in business. There were accounts where we grew dramatically and places where we lost some ground. It wasn’t because of what we did—it was because consumers weren’t buying.”
However, he is optimistic moving into a new year. “We are incredibly hopeful having this political situation behind us now, and we are all about pro-business and pro-growth. … We think ‘Made in America’ still has a nice ring to it, and Amish-made has a nice ring to it.”
Klaussner Home Furnishings reported some of the strongest growth in the bedroom and dining categories. It expects to finish the year with double-digit growth, a factor that Geoff Beaston, senior vice president of case goods, attributes to its licensed collections that include William Mangum and Thsha Yearwood. “Bill Mangum’s Carolina Preserves continues to be a great partnership,” he said. “We guangzhou office furniture have introduced five collections under this brand, and the styling has covered country, cottage, lodge and transitional. This has allowed the collections to have appeal nationwide. “Trisha Yearwood has been strong from the start; and with two collections representing traditional and contemporary, the appeal is broad as well,” he added. “All of our price points are in the medium to upper medium price points, and this seems to be an attractive place to be.”
He noted that both bed room and dining are doing well in these collections, although consumers tend not to buy bedroom and dining “to match as a general rule. However, when you have a bedroom with a complementary dining room, China conference desk manufacturer the style has more validity on the sales floor.” Licensing also continues to do well with Hooker’s Cynthia Rowley line and Lexington Home Brands’ Tommy Bahama Home line. Standard Furniture, whose Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines division hit retail this spring, also introduced new additions at both the April and October markets in High Point. Major retailers have devoted significant floor space to the collection and Gaines and husband Chip, both of HGTV Fixer Upper fame have drawn crowds with their appearances.
Legacy Classic’s licensed Rachael Ray line was a hit at the April High Point Market, with three whole home case goods collections plus coordinating upholstery offered by sister upholstery resource Craftmaster.
“The biggest thing we did was Rachael Ray, “ said Don Essenberg, president of Legacy Classic. “It placed very well, and more importantly, it is retailing very well.”
As of mid-November, Essenberg said, the line had placed on 350 retail floors representing some 100 individual accounts that include a mix of Top l00s and single store operators. That along with aggressive introductions of three to four collections each market—and strong response rates on those collections—over the last few years, is helping to shape 2016 into a strong year with anticipated growth in China negotiation desk provider the high single to low double digits. “We start with a focused consumer and determine the lifestyles and work backwards to develop furniture for that consumer and how they live, the cars they drive and the music they listen to,” Essenberg noted. “We also use great designers and great designers design great furniture.” He noted that this isn’t to say that retail wasn’t a challenge in 2016. In 2017, he thinks it will “be more of the same minus the election. “There seems to be a disconnect between home purchases and the furniture business. It is not as directly related as it used to be.”
HIGH POINT—Case goods vendors said 2016 remained another challenging year, particularly for bedroom, a category that continues to be a tough sell as it populates the least visible area of the home. Combine that with an migeof extremely negative election year, and it’s no small wonder that resources saw any growth at all. Still, some said they expect the year to be up, thanks to a stronger than expected second half that materialized In mid to late August, buoying their sales toward Labor Day and beyond. They expect some of this momentum to continue in 2017 as introductions begin to hit or gain traction on retail floors. Furniture Today projects 2.8% growth in the wood category that includes bedroom, dining—formal China office desk manufacturer and casual—and youth bedroom. This boosts the segment to about $29.1 billion in sales, or 28% of industry sales overall.
Among of the biggest news-makers of the year was Hooker Furniture, whose early January announcement it was buying Home Meridian International marked one of the biggest growth opportunities in its more than 91-year history. The purchase, China office partition manufacturer according to Hooker Chairman and CEO Paul Toms Jr., will afford the company growth outside Hooker’s realm of upper and upper middle price points.
“The acquisition of Home Meridian was very time1y,” he said. “It came at a point where we were seeing more pressure in case goods in the upper price points and more retailer attrition.” He said the Home Meridian purchase is getting the company into more diverse channels of distribution such as larger retailers including national department store chains and national wholesale clubs where Hooker has not done much business previously.
“Those channels seem to be growing more quickly than the traditional full line furniture store that has dominated Hooker’s distribution,” Toms noted. He said Hooker’s case goods business was down in first half, while Home Meridian’s was up. But he expects some improvements by calendar year end, particularly as the companies saw improvements during most recent quarter. “The second half I expect to be better than the first half,” Toms said, adding that he sees the opportunity for Hooker to grow at boutique types of retailers as well as designer channels.
“We believe we can grow Hooker Furniture,” he said. “We just don’t believe we will grow as fast as Home Meridian. He is also optimistic based on Hooker’s business with a number of large Top 100 accounts. “I think it varies by size of the retailer,” he said. “The single store independents have been under more pressure and where we have seen the most attrition.”