by Mix includes options in both domestic and imported upholstery, plus stationary and motion frames
HIGH POINT — Whole-home furniture resource Universal Furniture is launching its largest upholstery introduction in the history of the company at the April High Point Market.
The launch includes a mix of both imported and domestically produced frames produced at its company owned/operated factories in Vietnam and Conover, North Carolina.
The mix includes about 25 introductions on the import side and about 20 on the domestic side, covering sofas and sectionals, plus accent and swivel chairs. In both segments, pieces will be available in fabric and leather, offering a mix of fashion-forward looks and color palettes.
Typically the company introduces about a quarter of the number of items being offered this season.
On the domestic side, upholstery frames retail from $1,899 to $2,499 and on the import side, sofas start at $1,699 retail, while sectionals and accent chairs start at $1,999 and $799 respectively.
Marking the 10th anniversary of Universal’s entry into the category, it represents the vision of where the company sees the category moving forward. The project was spearheaded by industry veteran Rick Lovegrove, who joined Universal about 11 months ago as vice president of upholstery.
In a recent conversation with Home News Now, he shared his thoughts on this latest foray into the category.
“I was able to do some initial work on the textile direction and tweaking of some of the product that was already in the pipeline,” he said of his initial efforts with the line, which ultimately developed into the broader assortment buyers will see at market. “But this has a large stamp of newness and what’s to come from the refreshed direction.”
The work also includes an analysis of perceived gaps in the line from both a piece and design perspective, creating full collections of sofas, chairs and sectionals both in fabric and in leather.
“We approached both channels very deliberately and very strategically, so we have divided up the new introductions pretty equally,” he said of the imports and domestic product.
He noted that accent and occasional and swivel chairs were another important part of the mix and that the new pieces also fill voids in the line.
In creating the new pieces, the team also developed additions that were slightly smaller in scale than the existing lineup, while creating designs that reflected a more urban and soft modern aesthetic.
“One of the things that became obvious to me is that a lot of our current assortment was quite large in scale, and we were really missing out on that smaller-space, more contemporary customer who just couldn’t fit some of the existing Universal pieces into their homes,” Lovegrove said, noting that some of this aesthetic is more prevalent on the import side. “So we tried to do some smaller-scale footprints for sectionals, sofas and occasional chairs that really fit into that urban living type of genre.
“And we have even gone, I would say, quite soft sculptural in terms of design, with a lot of cleaner lines, tight seats and tight backs, with more of a European look, but still very comfort-driven and very soft and inviting.”
While both domestic and imported goods are available in fabric and leather, including more than 1,000 fabrics domestically, plus COM, the company also has brought more leather into the mix, including some performance leathers from Italy, Lovegrove noted. In total there are more than 50 leathers available domestically, including the new Italian performance leather.
He also noted that the company has committed to having the import line in inventory and that it will hit retail in time for the summer and early fall selling season.
Domestic products ship in about six weeks from the time of order, meaning they will hit retail floors soon after market. The company also stocks some of its domestic line in select fabrics, meaning it can ship within days of the time of order.
“We have really ramped that up for the spring market, where we have added additional frames,” Lovegrove said. “And instead of limited fabrics, there will actually be 45 fabrics available at one price.”
“The advantage that Universal has is that we do have two direct business channels,” he added. “We have our domestic manufacturing footprint that is continuing to grow and that we are investing heavily in. And we also have our Vietnam manufacturing that we own, meaning we are vertical versus other importers that are buying from a third-party factory.”
He added that the introduction also signifies the type of growth trajectory the company anticipates in the upholstery category over the short and long term.
“This is the kind of velocity that we see as we aggressively try to grow the business and our market share over the next 12-24 months,” he said. “We are getting very aggressive in our product launches and our design direction, so we are really excited about it.”
Company President Sean O’Connor is also pleased with the direction the company is taking in its upholstery segment, a category he introduced for the company about 10 years ago.
“I am excited for the company and for our growth and for the opportunity we have in the way we are approaching it,” he said of the company’s hybrid import and domestic manufacturing footprint.
He’s also pleased with the level of energy that Lovegrove has brought to the category, which not only includes living room seating, but also dining chairs, bar stools, beds and accent seating.
“Seeing it get started in 2015 and now where it is 10 years later is super exciting,” O’Connor said. “It is the evolution of our brand and who we are.”
The line can be seen at the company’s High Point showroom at 101 S. Hamilton St.
