by HIGH POINT — HL Home Furnishings, which introduced 10 different styles of sofas and chairs at the market designed specifically for small spaces, left market with a host of generously sized compliments from buyers.
The company also debuted three small dining sets with unique and highly impervious tops. The surface of the tables features a hybrid MDF that is sealed under tremendous pressure.
According to HL Home Furnishings’ Tom Erdman, “The buyers we saw liked the new introductions very much,” he said, adding, “The only thing that would have made it even better is if there had been more buyers.”
Erdman confirmed that buyers came to his showroom starting the Tuesday before market and observed that “for many exhibitors, the show was pretty much over by the opening day.”
When asked about order writing, Erdman explained that since the company’s primary channel of distribution is with online retailers, the company does not typically write orders at the show.
“When you do business with e-tailers, they in a sense don’t buy,” he said. “Rather, they commit to page spaces for lack of a better term. The items show up on their websites and then, within six months or so, we know if we have something.”
Erdman, along with other exhibitors contacted by Home News Now, saw the bulk of traffic well before opening day, but in his case, the remainder of the show gave the company a chance to chat with suppliers and plan, which he observed, “is also extremely valuable to a company.”
While encouraged by the large-scale reception to his lineup of furniture targeted for small spaces, Erdman did get a sense that the combination of a challenged economy, cautious consumers and the presidential election had everyone looking for a safe harbor.
“We are all reading what we are reading in the newspapers, the politicians are taking up all the air space on TV, and people, at least for the near term, are looking to play it safe,” Erdman reported.
But despite that, the statistics all point to a growing need for smaller-scaled furniture. “Homes are changing and getting smaller,” Erdman said, “so we are suggesting a sofa and two chairs or a sofa and chair instead of a traditional sofa, loveseat and chair.”
“There are 127 million households in the U.S. Just for fun, let’s say 20% are small-living spaces. That’s 25 or 30 million small households not being serviced,” Erdman said.
A host of other statistics back his premise up. According to Realtor.com data, homes are rising in price while shrinking in square footage. The median-sized U.S. home has shrunk from 1,996 square feet to 1,868 square feet in the past five years, the company says.
And, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 34% of occupied housing units are occupied by renters, which accounts for 45,221,844 total units.
“Those statistics indicate that the market for furniture designed for small spaces is growing, and we’ve positioned ourselves to meet the demand for that growth,” Erdman concluded.
