Focused on basics: Amid major challenges, Las Vegas exhibitors look for high notes
Despite light showroom traffic and a host of negative issues impacting their business, furniture and bedding exhibitors remained largely upbeat ...
By Larry Thomas, Contributing Editor
LAS VEGAS — Despite light showroom traffic and a host of negative issues impacting their business, furniture and bedding exhibitors remained largely upbeat at the summer furniture market here as they helped retailers tweak their merchandising and marketing strategies for the remainder of the year.
Exhibitors said major retailers shopped the market, as usual, but they saw few, if any buyers from small and mid-sized stores east of the Mississippi.
Product launches were more subdued than usual, as many exhibitors chose to focus on special orders or goods that were in stock and ready for quick shipment.
Factors such as surging ocean freight costs, stubbornly high interest rates and the November election — all of which are out of the industry’s control — are continuing to hurt retail business, particularly brick-and-mortar operations, exhibitors said.
“It’s hard to tell which direction the industry is headed,” said Jamie Collins, executive vice president of whole home resource Homelegance. “So, we just have to hunker down and focus on basic blocking and tackling.”
That means making sure orders are processed and shipped promptly, inventories are at appropriate levels for current business conditions and customer service, in general, is top notch, he said.
“The good news is that (retailers) are still buying and staying focused on what they are going to need through the end of the year,” added Carlos Bosch, president of leather upholstery importer Violino USA. “They’re really focused on what will move the needle forward.”
Buzz about freight rates, Conn’s
Bosch and several other executives said some of their biggest headaches are caused by ocean freight rates, which are continuing to rise even though furniture demand has declined.
Importers often must pay a premium price to be guaranteed space on a cargo ship, causing some companies to add freight surcharges to dealer invoices.
Legends Home, however, took a different approach at market. The domestic producer and importer took “an anti-surcharge approach” by offering dealers a 5% discount on goods ordered from its Phoenix warehouse.
“We’re in a battle, and we felt like we needed to give our reps a new sword to use,” said Tim Donk, vice president of product, pointing out the promotion applied to domestically made and imported goods.
He said the effort, dubbed “Take 5,” was well-received at market and should help the company get additional floor slots with existing customers.
“If they buy it out of our warehouse, they don’t have to deal with ocean freight, and it ships immediately,” Donk said.
Another issue raised by some retailers at market was the recent bankruptcy filing by Conn’s and the impending shutdown of all Conn’s Home Plus and Badcock stores.
Exhibitors said retailers that operate in the same markets as Conn’s are concerned the market will be flooded with deeply discounted merchandise during their going-out-of-business sales. Such sales make it difficult to compete, especially if the bankruptcy court allows Conn’s to bring in additional close-out merchandise to help pay creditors.
“It’s bad for our industry anytime (a retailer) like that goes out of business,” said Collins, of Homelegance. “It gives everyone a black eye.”
Categories for business
While youth and dining room are among the strongest categories at resources such as Homelegance and Furniture of America, special orders are driving business at upholstery producer Best Home Furnishings.
“Special orders are what’s keeping us going,” said Greg Sicard, vice president of sales and marketing at Best. “The consumers who are out there shopping are not looking for deals. They want what they want, and since we can put all of our fabrics on all of our frames, we feel that gives us an advantage.”
He said Best did not launch any new products at the summer market, choosing to keep the focus on special orders and in-line goods.
Cozzia USA, a massage chair and zero-gravity chair specialist, did unveil a new massage chair at market, but also focused primarily on its existing lineup of upper-end chairs, said Bob Bruns, president.
“We’re going to be down a little bit this year, but we’re very optimistic about what’s going to happen in 2025 and 2026,” Bruns said. “We’ve got a lot of exciting things in the pipeline that should propel us forward.”
Executives at Furniture of America also were optimistic about the future, noting that the company’s recent push into medium and medium-high price points is resonating with existing dealers and attracting interest from retailers who don’t currently carry the line.
“We had a really good market. Our new lineup was well received,” said Jodi Brookshire, corporate vice president of sales and marketing. “We want people to know we’re not just a promotional house, and we haven’t sacrificed quality.”
A robust market was also reported at Armen Living, a contemporary furniture resource that unveiled an expanded showroom and an array of new products concentrated in the dining room, living room, bar and outdoor categories.
“I think we were the exception to the rule, but we had a great market,” quipped Reb Nicholson, national sales manager.
Bedding arguably has been the hardest-hit category in the recent home furnishings downturn, but executives at Bedding Industries of America said the company has been able to weather the storm due to a large stable of brands such as Eastman House, Aireloom and Hemingway.
“We have been very fortunate. Our business has remained strong,” said BOA founder and senior advisor Stuart Carlitz.
He said the company’s recent merger with Saatva, an upper-end line sold through e-commerce, has helped drive sales since its customer base is less price-sensitive than man other brands.
“That was a very timely move for us,” Carlitz said of the Saatva merger. “The demand for luxury brands like Saatva hasn’t slowed down much since the pandemic.”
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