by Case goods, upholstery resources will have a mix of new and inline goods to show retailers that still plan to attend
LAS VEGAS — Case goods and upholstery resources showing here next week are hoping for the best as concerns over the Omicron Covid-19 variant continue to upend travel plans.
Some resources say they are returning to Las Vegas for the first time in two years, having cemented plans in recent months before the variant became a major issue.
“This will be the first time we have opened our Las Vegas showroom since January 2020,” said Jamie Collins, executive vice president at case goods and upholstery resource Homelegance. “We have very loyal dealers on the West Coast, and we have a West Coast sales force that has not been able to meet with customers in the Homelegance showroom in two years. We felt like it was time to host our reps and our retailers in Las Vegas. We don’t know what to expect, but we want the opportunity to be with our customers.”
Collins said the company’s product mix includes both new and inline product in case goods and upholstery.
Also showing for the first time in two years is RTA specialist Walker Edison. It will be showing about 50 new items in bedroom, dining room, occasional, home office, home entertainment and outdoor and even pet furniture, said Lance Ferguson, senior vice president, global sales and partner growth at Walker Edison.
While slightly smaller than a typical January introduction, he noted that most of what is in the showroom — both new and inline product — will be new to dealers the company hasn’t seen in some time.
“We do expect a little lower than normal attendance with the new spike,” Ferguson told Home News Now. “However, we are very excited to be back at market again and to be able to see some of our partners for the first time in two years.”
Another company showing for the first time since January 2020 is International Furniture Direct. It will be showing several new wood collections, including one focused on small space living that includes bedroom, office furniture and some dining, said Miguel Ochoa, general manager. The smaller space collection was designed — with input from some of the company’s younger workers — for smaller urban dwellings such as apartments or condos.
He added that the three other introductions include a mix of bedroom, dining and occasional. Altogether there are about 25 new pieces on the wood side, compared to 10-15 at a typical market.
“With some of them, we are expanding collections,” Ochoa said. “Plus we have a lot of new accent pieces and consoles.”
Hooker Furnishings is making its Las Vegas debut at market in an 8,500-square-foot space that will showcase some of its wood lineup along with upholstery featuring pieces from its domestic Sam Moore and Bradington-Young lines.
“Our objective in Las Vegas is to give a broad representation of what we call our Hooker Legacy Brands, which are Hooker case goods and upholstery and Sam Moore and Bradington-Young,” company president Mike Harris told Home News Now in early January, describing the space as an enhanced version of what it presents in Interhall in High Point. “So what that will be is an eclectic presentation of all those brands together, giving this really curated feel to what the Hooker Legacy Brands represent. It’s really an attempt to be more prominent with our West Coast interior design community, many of which don’t even travel to High Point. That’s really the intention of going out there, to get closer to that channel as well as our other customers that are on the West Coast.”
For some resources, the market will be a chance to showcase line extensions. This includes a mix of new product from new source countries and some representing new categories altogether. For example, Steve Silver will be having a soft launch of its new outdoor collection at market, which features dining, occasional and upholstery.
Sunpan also is expanding its outdoor lineup in Las Vegas, which will be seen by many accounts for the first time that hadn’t seen the initial launch in High Point.
“That is our big launch for Las Vegas,” said Carl Lovett, national sales manager. “We have had outdoor for a year, and it has been shipping. But it has never been shown at a Las Vegas Market for our West Coast customers.”
The company also will be showing some of its Mexico-sourced bedroom and dining room for the first time in Las Vegas, Lovett noted.
Coaster Fine Furniture, which typically sources from Asia, is showing new bedroom pieces sourced from Mexico. This is part of a strategy to diversify its global mix at a time when retailers are still seeking goods with quicker deliveries.
It also is reshowing its Blank Canvas collection, which features a few hundred pieces across multiple categories, including bedroom, dining room, occasional, accent furniture and upholstery, said Don Deeds, executive vice president, sales and marketing. The line is expected to ship in the middle of the first quarter, meaning dealers that haven’t ordered it already can start receiving goods in the weeks ahead.
Case goods manufacturer Horizon Home will be expanding its assortment from Mexico to include upholstery. First launched in October with three frames, the company also is showing four new upholstery groups this market that include sofa, loveseat and chair combinations.
Featuring wood trim on the bases, the sofas are targeted to retail from $899 to $999. There also will be three new sectionals retailing from $1,399 to $1,499.
“The dynamics are in place for us to get into the category and get a foothold, which is what we are doing,” said Felipe Orozco, vice president, sales, adding that freight rates and lead times are more competitive than on product coming out of Asia. “It is a category customers have been asking us for.”
He added that reaction to the line in October was positive, which encouraged the company to expand its offerings in Las Vegas. In addition to a three-week turnaround on product, dealers also have been receptive to the mix of fabrics and mixability of items on a truckload.
“Even though it is not a special order program, you can put a large enough mix on a truck,” he said, noting that there will be a shared truckload program available. “Anyone can buy a half a truckload of upholstery if they have a mixability option.”
The company also is showing about 20 new accent and occasional pieces that mix stone and metal, materials that are indigenous to Mexico where its wood and accent furniture line also is produced.
Furniture of America is expanding its North American lineup with new upholstery produced in both the U.S. and Mexico and bedroom produced in Mexico, a first for a company that primarily imports its case goods from Asia.
Retails on sofas from Mexico range from $1,399 to $1,499 and four-piece bedrooms are targeted to retail from $1,499 to $1,999. As most of this product is in stock, dealers can place orders at market and expect to receive it soon.
Domestic offerings also will be available from resources such as Legends Furniture, which is showing a dozen new home entertainment, home office and occasional furniture pieces produced in its Arizona plant. The company typically brings about 20 or so to a January market, but decided to go a little lighter this time as it has brought the line into sharper focus of late, offering items that the factory can produce quickly and efficiently for its customers.
“This is about half of what we normally come out with,” said Tim Donk, senior vice president, sales. “We have gotten rid of a lot of the slower moving stuff, and right now everything is kind of working.”
Solid wood case goods resource A-America is also bringing out some bedroom and dining room furniture from Mexico and will be showing a mix of samples and sketches at market, said Christian Rohrbach, vice president, merchandising.
“We are pretty excited about it,” he said. “It seems like everybody is going to Mexico now — it is the new place to be.”
He added that the company also is showing a couple of new bedrooms from Asia. Four-piece groups featuring a bed, dresser, mirror and nightstand are targeted to retail around $2,499.
“We are hoping for the best,” he said of the Asia product. “It is hard to get interest on something that is six months out in terms of shipping. Some are a little longer and some are a little shorter.”
With Covid-19 having resurfaced, it’s hard to predict what attendance will be like at market. Some exhibitors say that fewer reps plan to attend since some of their accounts have canceled their own travel plans.
Still many are keeping their hopes high.
“We are looking forward to a good show,” said Orozco, of Horizon Home. “All the markets we have had during the pandemic have been very strong for us. We never stopped showing. It comes down to the business that’s being done, not the head count.”
Chris Pittman, vice president, sales at sister companies Powell and Linon, said that the company plans a strong market with some 50-100 new items, including outdoor furniture, a recent addition to the line.
“We plan on building that category for sure,” Pittman said of the outdoor line.
He said that the company also expects good attendance and plans to have a full staff on hand for the event.
“We are preparing for a regular market this time,” he said, noting that the company also has revamped its entire showroom with a new layout, lighting and wall art placements. “We will have all hands on deck.”
Watch for Home News Now’s bedding preview next week.
