by Company also is entering new categories at market, including convertible sofa-sleeper units
HIGH POINT — Following a banner year in 2022, Palmetto Home, which offers a licensed case goods line under the Panama Jack brand, is also expecting double-digit growth this year due to a targeted strategy that includes expanding beyond its core markets.
In an environment of high retail inventories that limited many industry shipments, the company had 60% growth in shipments last year. Company President Stephen Giles attributed this to the strength of its product mix of 10 inline case goods collections and the addition of major retail accounts around the country.
This year, the company is looking to achieve another 20% to 30% growth on top of that as it further expands its product mix and sales representation.
In the last few months, Giles said, the company added a half dozen reps in the Midwest, Texas and the Northeast, bringing the roster to about 20 in total.
While Florida remains its top market because of the casual, cottage and coastal looks that dominated the line, Giles believes the designs will resonate in other areas too as more and more people gravitate toward casual lifestyle furniture in their homes.
Roughly half its mix is offered under the licensed Panama Jack line, and the other half is offered under Palmetto Home. In addition to bedroom, dining room and occasional furniture, the line also offers home entertainment and home office. It added office to the line last spring featuring a mix of desks, file cabinets and lateral file/hutch units for added storage.
This spring it is adding upholstery with several new sofa/sectional seating groups that convert into sleeper units. The Siesta by Panama Jack program offers five different frames that feature married covers. Several models also offer storage ottomans.
Giles said that the company tried upholstery in the past but said it had little success in the marketplace. This time he believes the added functionality will resonate with buyers based on the soft showing of the category that it had last market.
“There’s a demand for it,” Giles said of the convertible upholstery footprint. “We showed some with a soft launch in October, but we are going big with it this April.”
In addition, the company is showing two new casual contemporary collections that include Meila, which offers bedroom, dining room and occasional furniture made with pin knotty oak veneers in a natural washed oak finish, and a two-tone group called Linen, featuring bedroom and dining room furniture made with oak veneers and featuring wood and upholstered elements on beds and dining chairs.
With the new upholstery category and expanded offerings that expand the company’s design palette, Giles is optimistic the company will meet its growth targets this year, particularly as dealers continue to lower inventories and begin to seek new looks for their floors. “It’s what we’re targeting,” he said of the anticipated 20% to 30% growth.
“We are proud to have weathered Covid and the excess inventory levels,” he said of the challenges that have faced the entire industry these past couple of years. “Now that things are back to normal, we expect another great year.”
