High Point, NC–Furniture manufacturers from the United States and Canada are having a very good business year and the Spring High Point Furniture Market just added to their success.
Most domestic manufacturers are reporting record sales in 2021 as consumers have spent disposable income upgrading their living arrangements. COVID restrictions have kept people home and they want new furniture.
These manufacturers have reaped the benefit of COVID lockdowns interrupting supply chains for many import companies. Products from China and Vietnam are delayed 16-24 weeks and consumers do not want to wait so they seek out retailers who have inventory.
These retailers and designers came to High Point recently to see product, check availability and buy. Most exhibitors who opened their doors were successful.
Virginia-based Vaughan-Bassett (VB) Furniture has increased sales more than 30 percent in the past year as they focus on bedroom groups made from solid Appalachian Hardwoods and engineered veneer over solids. Their suppliers have kept pace with their demand for lumber.
“We certainly have an advantage over the import companies because we can deliver in days if our trucking partners do their part,” said VB President Doug Bassett. “We have retailers coming to us now who need product and that has been great.”
VB had $62 million in sales in 2019 and is on pace to top $99 million in 2021. They shifted 70 workers from a particleboard plant into the furniture factory and have hired another 35 people to meet demand.
“Like everyone else, we could be doing more if we had more workers but we are really good right now,” Bassett said. The company has reduced the number of product groups from 19 to 11 and is focused on profitable manufacturing.
Hard Maple was the top species for VB in 2021, but an introduction at the market was Dovetail, a bedroom collection in rustic Appalachian White Oak with three finishes. The groups feature 6”X6” blocks in the footboard and use of character marked lumber.
Hard and Soft Maple were the leading species at Country View Furniture, based in Millersburg, OH. One of the few Amish companies that exhibit in High Point, the company has found success with both traditional and contemporary designs.
Two bedrooms groups were unveiled in Hard Maple and consumers had a choice from six-drawer front designs and three stain colors. The pieces were well-received, said a marketing representative, as well as new dining room groups in Hard Maple and Elm.
Durham Furniture of Ontario, Canada showcased Hard Maple in two groups at market. Officials said retail buyers liked brown and gray finishes and were focused on availability. “Our customers want to know what we have and when they can receive it,” one marketing person said.
Simply Amish President Kevin Kauffman agreed that retailers and designers are busy finding furniture that is available. The Illinois company was working overtime to meet the demand and did not have introductions this market because they did not need it.
“The live edge dining continues to be popular and people want the solid wood furniture in Maple, Oak and Cherry,” he said.
Furniture importers said they were extremely concerned with the short supply of containers and the costs of freight. Furniture Today reports that Ashley Furniture Inds. is the fifth-largest importer of containers to the U.S. market for any sector, trailing only Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s, according to the Journal of Commerce. Even with that buying power of shipping some 290,000 containers a year, Ashley remains exposed to ocean-freight price volatility.
“We have the contracts, but that doesn’t mean they’ll get it to you,” said Ashley President of U.S. and Canadian Sales Rick Coppola. “And now they just want to drop (containers) at the port, so it’s hard to get them inland since they don’t want to do the complete fulfillment.”
Those factors should continue to help domestic manufacturers.
The next High Point Market is scheduled for October 16-20, 2021.
Learn more at www.highpointmarket.org.
