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Furniture Orders Continue To Slide

Salem, US: According to a report by the Winston Salem Journal, furniture orders in the US have continued to slide.
Domestic manufacturers and makers said they have encountered a 24 percent fall in order values, amounting to nearly US$1.5 billion during. This is according to a survey conducted to Smith Leonard PLLC - a financial-services company based in one the largest furniture hubs in the US, High Point, North Carolina.

This marks the fourth consecutive month with an at least 21 percent drop compared with already weak year-on-year sales. The survey discovered that 95 percent of participants reported declines in orders during January 2009, with about 76 percent of respondents saying that business has declined more than 20 percent.

Retailers of home-furnishings also posted the same dismal results. The Commerce Department, US, has reported that furniture sales have dipped 11 percent in February 2009 to US$8.4 billion.

According to Ken Smith, Director of Furniture Services for Smith Leonard, many of the sales in the wooden furniture category were already being sold at big discounts as manufacturers – domestic and international alike – cut prices to clear their inventories.

“Manufacturers and distributors cannot stay in business selling all this stuff at some of the discounts we have heard about,” said Smith, “For the retailer, keep in mind that much of the pieces being bought cheaply now were not selling before. Yes, you can sell because it is cheaper but that means less dollar margins with the same old fixed costs to show, warehouse, advertising and delivery logistics costs.”

Britt Beemer, Chairman of America’s Research Group said, “It’s not surprising that more consumers are cutting back spending on big ticket items such as furniture. The furniture industry will see no positive movement from income=tax checks this year since consumers are spending their refunds on bills and paying down debt rather than making major purchases. Those consumers who are buying want the best deals – big deals and even bigger deals – which are tough on retailers’ profits and margins.”

“One slim piece of good news was that last month’s premarket event was well attended. Premarket is an official event held typically a month before the trade show when retailers can provide advice on new collections before they hit showrooms. Many of those we talked with felt that the retailers were not expecting much improvement in the short term and were trying to gear their businesses at current levels of volume. As one exhibitor at High Point told me – ‘we feel that we have reached the floor, we just hope there is no basement.’”

Lea Division Offers Nickelodeon-Branded Furniture

North Carolina, US: Lea Division – part of La-Z Boy Inc – has announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Nickelodeon/Viacom Consumer Products (NCVP) to develop youth furniture. The new line will feature some of the most popular characters from the Nickelodeon stable such as Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go!, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Wonder Pets! And iCarly, as well designs based on the network’s signature Slime logo.

The licensing agreement will include children’s and teen’s bedroom furniture, home and home office, display cases, armoires and entertainment systems.

Lea Division intends to use children’s imaginations as inspiration towards developing three lines that will be age-related. Under these plans,

‘Nick Jr.’ will be designed for children aged three to seven. This line will focus on Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go!. It will also include classic images from SpongeBob SqaurePants.

‘Nick’ will target ages seven through 11. The line will focus on the Splat logo and the child-like, irreverent spirit that embodies Nickelodeon. This line will be supplemented with more stylized and silhouetted SpongeBob SquarePants graphics.

‘TEENick’ will concentrate on the tween/teen market. The TEENick line will be designed with more sophistication and will be set to offer kids a contemporary setting to gather.

“Nickelodeon gives kids a home base on TV, and our new collections will soon give them a more kid-friendly environment within their own home. Nickelodeon is the leader in kid’s entertainment, has universal appeal among boys and girls, and is trusted and respected by parents. It is an extremely powerful brand that will translate well into youth furniture and we are extremely excited by the opportunity that this new agreement brings to our company,” said Jack Richardson, President of American Drew and Lea.

“The Nickelodeon brand stands for all things kids and Lea embodies this ideal within the furniture industry. Kids have a special relationship with the Nickelodeon brand, and we are excited to bring our audiences’ favourite characters and adventures from the television screen to the furniture in their bedrooms,” said Hal Snik, Senior Vice President of Domestic Licensing, NVCP.

The new line will use higher quality features, such as full extension drawers, and will retail at the middle price points. Retail shipments will begin in January 2010.