This gathering pub height table is part of A.R.T.’s Architrave collection. It is made with pine solids and veneers and retails at $1,299.
HIGH POINT — Furniture suppliers participating in the February edition of First Tuesday used the lightly attended event as a way to spend quality time with existing customers and start building relationships with new ones here to shop for new and inline goods.
As with previous events, case goods introductions in particular were light, as most companies are planning to show new goods in the spring, most notably at the April 25-27 premarket.
A.R.T. Furniture did not show any new product this time around. However, it was a chance for the company to meet with customers including a retailer from the Midwest that is not currently buying the line.
“I walked them through and it was good for them to see the breadth of products we offer,” said Jason Foy, senior vice president, sales and marketing, of the company’s broad assortment of case goods and upholstery, including case goods collections available at sharper price points. “It is merchandised from a price point and an aesthetic that allows us to reach a wider variety of customers than we had in the past.”
He said also said the company’s year round presence downtown makes it easy to serve customers whenever they are in town.
“We are here and will accommodate them; we have the benefit of being local,” he said, adding that participating in the event on a regular basis also helps the company be market ready on an ongoing basis. “We can have market tomorrow, and we will be OK.”
Universal Furniture also has used its year round showroom to host customers on an ongoing basis, and First Tuesday was no exception. During this week’s event, it wrote a half a million dollars in orders primarily for inline goods.
“That is nothing to sneeze at,” said Chris DeLisa, vice president, sales. “They are ordering deep. … They want to make sure they have this incoming inventory because retail is not slowing down anytime soon.”
And as its management team is local, it also plans to continue to remain open not just for First Tuesday, but also other times as dealers are in town.
Klaussner Home Furnishings said it saw a few customers and said it plans to continue opening at the event in the future.
“It should not be considered a temporary fix; it should be permanent going forward,” said Len Burke, vice president, marketing, adding that for the event to grow it needs continued support from the industry.
“It gives us an opportunity throughout the year that we didn’t have before,” he said of the ability to show new and inline product at times that are convenient for new and existing customers. “It gives us the opportunity not only to get interest, but also feedback.”
Sunpan said it saw seven accounts by midday Wednesday as well as some designers from different parts of North Carolina.
Roland Maddrey, key accounts manager, said that this was the busiest of the First Tuesday events it has participated in so far.
“Yesterday was encouraging,” he said of attendance on Tuesday. “It seemed like there were more feet on the ground walking around. It is still not the traffic we would love to have, but word will spread among customers, and they will probably have good stories to tell about it about the availability of showrooms and the quality time they spent in those showrooms.”
Like many others, the focus at Sunpan was on inline goods that customers can receive sooner vs. later.
“The biggest questions are about lead times and are you in stock,” Maddrey said, noting that while not every single piece in the line is stock, the warehouse remains full and goods continue to arrive from overseas.
Manwah had around 14 appointments over First Tuesday’s three days and made provisions as well for buyers who took a pass on coming to High Point in person.
“This time we had reps come in to have a virtual presentation with their customers showing new products,” said Director of Communications Kevin Castellani. “Some retailers still can’t travel but they want to see new products. So it has been an interesting little market and again everyone is expecting more for March and April.
“Business at retail still seems good, which is adding to the backlog across the industry. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of months.”
Technology made First Tuesday was a success for motion furniture resource Master Motion despite ongoing travel issues.
“In two days we had nine hour-and-a-half appointments,” said President and CEO Michael Nanni. “We did all our meetings virtually, and all of the customers were either in their house or in their office.”
Progressive Furniture said it saw three accounts, including one new account. While most of the products on display — with the exception of some new entertainment consoles — were inline goods, the event gave the company a chance to showcase its capabilities in solid wood case goods and accent furniture from Mexico.
For many customers, Mexico is becoming more important largely because of its sharper lead times when compared to Asia. Progressive, for one, has been manufacturing solid wood furniture from there for many years.
Senior Editor Powell Slaughter contributed to this report.
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