AT THE MARKET — Most Las Vegas Market exhibitors said this week that given the still-shaky state of the economy, their results at the venue’s first September show were better than expected.

Lean retail inventories and the expectation of at least a modest rebound in the coming months led to decent orders, particularly for new introductions that hit the mark in value and style.

A number of exhibitors also reported good reaction to product that had been introduced in High Point in April and was shown for the first time to an audience that was largely from the West. At the same time, some Midwest and East Coast retail majors also came to Vegas.

Others, however, chose to go to High Point’s premarket or split their staffs between the two venues. Because of a switch in dates to September from July, the Las Vegas Market went head-to-head with premarket for the first time.

But in Las Vegas, some exhibitors praised the change in timing.

“If this was in July, the results would have been 50% of what we’ve had now,” said Chris Lupo, president of Parker House, a specialist in home entertainment, library walls, home office and occasional that shows only in Las Vegas.

Lupo said his showroom’s attendance in the first two days of market was up 45% from July 2008. He said that right after Labor Day, a strong furniture sales weekend, retailers were in more of a mood to buy than in July, after a couple of slow sales months.

And this year in particular, he said the economy has had more time to heal and the stock market has rebounded somewhat, offering a glimmer of hope.

John DeFalco, executive vice president of Primo International, said the show “was far from a bust” even though it overlapped High Point’s premarket and fell a week after the China furniture shows.

“While we saw majors including El Dorado, Value City and others, my sense was that this show was less well-attended by many of the larger East Coast retailers,” DeFalco said. “But again, when you have three major venues running head to head, it makes it tough to have a knockout show.”

Coaster said it was inundated with key buyers early in the show who were not afraid to write orders for multiple containers.

“In terms of pure order writing, this was our best show ever, despite the fact that attendance seemed down a bit,” said Scott Cohen, executive vice president. “We got lots of response to the new items in our Generations program and based on the heavy order writing we experienced during the show, I can’t help but feel that retail is starting make a turn for the better.”

Bob Maricich, CEO of the World Market Center, said he was “exceptionally pleased” with the show.

“We exceeded expectations in terms of attendance. It also appears that the venue exceeded expectations in terms of order writing and without question, we exceeded all expectations for optimism,” he said.

Also pleased was AICO’s executive vice president, Martin Ploy.

“We introduced three new collections and took orders on each of them. The response was immediate and it reinforced our sense that since Labor Day, retail has continued to improve,” he said. “While we are a long way from a full recovery, recovery is a process and the economy is taking steps in the right direction.”

Lexington Home Brands saw a slight drop in attendance from the most recent Las Vegas Market in February, said President and CEO Phil Haney. But he said he was encouraged by the number of large East Coast and Midwest accounts in town.

“I do think it’s a national show,” he said, adding that he was impressed with the efforts the World Market Center made to get national accounts to the show. “Their outreach program was very effective.”

Karl Eulberg, vice president of sales and marketing at case goods and occasional source Martin Home Furnishings, said the market was “30% to 50% better than expected.”

Leggett & Platt’s Consumer Products Group, which includes metal beds specialist Fashion Bed Group, saw 400 dealers the first two days of market, up 26% from July 2008.

While many accounts were from the West, a number of East Coast majors also stopped by, including Jordans, City Furniture, Boscov’s and Macy’s. Consumer Products Group President Rob Woods said that compared with previous Las Vegas shows, “This market has been as diverse (geographically) as any market we’ve had.”

Woods said order writing was brisk, a factor he attributed to low retail inventories.

Lexington’s Haney also said it was a strong order writing market, which he attributed to the “beautiful product” in Lexington’s lineup and an anticipated uptick in business between this fall and early next year.

“There is a sense they need to get the retail floor fresh and dynamic for this anticipated increase in consumer traffic,” Haney said.

At LaCrosse Furniture, President Chris Podschun said attendance was off but orders “were flush” with the market here last July, which was a good show for the midpriced upholstered furniture maker and importer.

“Everyone’s who came in here has said that business is a little better – not bad, not great. When it’s a ‘little better,’ they’re buying because they have no inventory,” he said.

One reason Las Vegas Market officials gave for the switch in dates was the weather. It wasn’t cool here last week, but the low 90s felt better than midsummer’s 110 degrees.

September also offered another advantage, according to an exhibitor – school has started, so there were fewer kids to deal with in the showroom.

Source: Furniture Today