by Attendance, product selection bolster spirits regarding business prospects in the year ahead
HIGH POINT — Last week’s Interwoven show here offered a glimpse of the wide mix of patterns and colors that combined with value-driven price points could help drive business in the upholstery category next year.
With thousands of new patterns and colors, domestic producers and importers alike also offered a diverse palette of materials and textures aimed at providing the most comfort possible in seating that will debut next April in High Point and possibly as early as the January Las Vegas Market.
The hope is that retail will improve once these looks start to appear on retail floors over the next year to 18 months, depending on when retailers order various samples for their floors.
Importer J. Allen Fabric showed several new collections featuring some 60 SKUs in a variety of price points ranging from $3.65 to $5.95 per yard.
“We have customers making decisions for Las Vegas and some making decisions for the April market,” said Mike Willoughby, senior vice president of marketing, adding, “I have never seen so many who are working on big projects for big retailers that have nothing to do with market.”
He noted that business has been strong the past two months, including a record October in terms of shipments as retailers have narrowed down inventories and have been ready to start buying once again.
“I think there is more of a positive outlook with retailers and consumers,” he said.
While much of the volume is still in neutrals, the company’s recent introductions showcase a trend toward earthen, clay, russet and spice tones that signal the market’s willingness to embrace new options that add a layer of visual depth and comfort to the mix.
Richloom had its largest upholstery fabric introduction in about eight years, featuring some 30 patterns each in around eight different colorways. It also offered more product at starting price points, featuring as many as 10 body cloths under $4 per yard compared to two or three typically.
The sharper price points offer values, including on import lines out that face tariffs president-elect Trump has promised to implement — and in China’s case increase — right as he takes office.
“Because of the customers we sell, we always have to be competitively priced,” said Jeannie Corey, director of merchandising/retail sales, adding that because of challenging business conditions, “China has sharpened its pencil, which allows everybody to be sharper.”
Still, she noted, some accounts have been asking about the availability of domestic capacity, including its High Point manufacturing facility.
“Some customers want to look at domestic right now because of the unknown of what’s going to happen,” Corey said.
That leaves Richloom and other domestic producers such as Sunbrella along with Revolution Fabrics and its Brentwood/STI divisions in competitive positions with their core domestic operations.
While some fabrics are higher priced than offerings from China, Vietnam, India and Pakistan, the domestic facilities offer a quality and value story of their own, not to mention speed to market.
“I can’t beat China just on price,” said Anderson Gibbons, chief marketing officer at Revolution/STI. “Where we gain market share is on added value and speed to market. … Through our stocking program on bestselling fabrics, I can deliver large yardages in a very short amount of time.”
However, fabrics available in its Revolution Express stocking program, for example, also are priced competitively around $4.50 and below.
Sunbrella also produces domestically, in both its Burlington, North Carolina, plant and in Anderson, South Carolina. It also has a plant in Suzhou, China, that produces for the local market along with some export business.
At Interwoven, it showcased some 25 new patterns available in multiple colorways, offering a range of updated traditional to contemporary styling that also feature a mix of neutrals for body cloths and a broader color spread for accent patterns. With its diverse manufacturing footprint, the company has capacity and flexibility to produce for stock as well as custom orders.
Officials noted that the mood at the show was largely positive, even if the subject of tariffs was on the minds of many buyers.
“It’s been mixed,” said Amy Gillam, design director. “Everybody is ready to move on into a more positive atmosphere, but nobody has a crystal ball. People are still in the cycle of adding and bringing new introductions to the April market. Cautiously optimistic is the continued phrase. … You have to have something new to bring people in.”
Iv Culp, president and chief executive officer at Culp, described the mood at the show as mostly positive. “Interwoven is always an important show for us, but I actually find this more encouraging than shows in recent history,” he told Home News Now. “ I think we have a higher quality appointment and that most of our customers are looking for introductions right now. It’s been busy and very positive.”
Others agreed with his assessment, despite challenges with business inconsistent at best of late.
“I think there was some slight optimism in the summer and then some apprehension around the election that pulled things back a little,” said Mary Beth Hunsberger, president of Culp Upholstery Fabrics. “We do hear people consistently saying that 2025 does appear to be the time that we might see a return to normalcy.”
The company said it is well positioned with a diverse sourcing network that will help it navigate the uncertainty with anticipated tariffs in the year ahead. It also had a larger than normal introduction featuring more starting price points and a wide introduction featuring styles ranging from menswear, tweed and woolen apparel-inspired to multicolored boucles. It also reintroduced its LiveSmart fabric line as a total performance line that offers “features ranging from specialized yarn systems to diverse protective finishes.” The company also developed new logos, point-of-sale and marketing materials to support its refreshed brand.
Jim Ennis, owner of Vision Fabrics, said that his company had very strong traffic the first two days of the show, with a mix of furniture manufacturers, retailers and jobbers along with some e-commerce and contract accounts. He is hoping that this is a sign that the business will improve heading into 2025.
“What we all really need is foot traffic at retail,” he said, noting that there appears to have been a lot of pent-up demand in recent months.
However, he noted that this also requires new designs to appeal to those customers coming through the doors.
“As a fashion industry, it forces you to stay up with the trends and bring out new product,” he noted, adding that price remains a factor in the competitive landscape.
“Price is very important because it’s important to the end consumer,” he said, noting that its mix this market included more product at starting price points of $2.95 to $3.50 per yard.
On the leather side of the business, Moore & Giles launched introductions in its Vienna, as well as its Mont Blanc and Tribeca collections, the latter two of which it markets as 100% carbon neutral leathers. It also introduced a new better priced Sonoma collection which features leathers starting around $3.50 per yard, placing it in the better priced portion of its line.
“Our goal was to create value,” said Bo Gravely, director of sales for the company’s residential manufacturing segment. “We focused on expanding our entry-level and mid-level price points and also telling a sustainability story with our 100% carbon neutral Mont Blanc and Tribeca introductions.”
Sourcing primarily from tanneries in Italy, Germany, New Zealand, Thailand and India, the company also has the ability to pivot should tariffs become an issue in the year ahead.
“Imports are what imports are going to be,” Gravely said, noting that potential tariffs are “something we as an industry will have to deal with together.”
He also noted that the industry will be looking for increases in housing sales spurred by lower interest rates, combined with a further decrease in inventories to continue moving the needle at retail.
“Our business is OK and we saw some pickup in October, but nothing that has turned the corner,” he said, adding that home additions and renovations have been a bright spot that have spurred some consumer spending.
Jay Carlson, president of Nice Link, said that traffic was strong at the show, with attendance from both manufacturers and retailers.
“I think everyone felt the market was positive,” he said, noting that this was in contrast with the October market where attendance felt low largely tied to the late October political environment. “The key players were here and I believe they were looking to buy. … That’s an improvement so I think people came into Interwoven with the attitude that things are going to change.”
He said conversations at the show also were focused on new designs and colors with trends moving away from many of the gray tones that have dominated the market in recent cycles.
“So it has been very product focused this time,” he said, noting that discussions about tariffs were not alarmist “because we are all in this together. There is no way to cheat the system.”
“Fabrics are coming from China no matter what,” he added. “You are still going to need Asian raw materials … whether it is materials coming from China to Vietnam or whether it is materials coming from China to the U.S. to build your products. We just don’t have all those components to build everything.”
He said that while this may raise some prices for the industry in general, “I am an optimist. It would be nice if we had a little inflation in the furniture business and if some of our top lines were a little higher as an industry in general because I think we are always the ones that have been at the low end of the totem pole in terms of inflation.”
He also believes the industry has faced pent-up demand because many consumers did not always get their top choice of products during the Covid spike in business. Thus, many could still be in the market for furniture they actually want versus need.
In addition, he thinks that millennials will soon begin to benefit from more competitive interest rates that will result in them moving into homes and of course, buying furniture.
