Ensembles key to housewares - Discount Industry Annual Report: Part 2: Merchandising & Productivity

Discount Store News, July 17, 1989

Ensembles Key to Housewares

Growth in housewares this year will come from the same types of products that fueled sales in 1988: decorative accessories, tabletop merchandise, and closet storage. The major trend that will continue this year is the development by retailers and vendors of fashion-oriented, coordinated ensembles of goods.

An example of this trend was K mart's innovative marketing program to include a wide range of home-related products under its Martha Stewart label. Other retailers, working from suggestions offered by the Center for Homewares Design, also played variations on this theme. And, more and more makers of lamps, clocks, flatware and other home goods are now licensing dinnerware patterns to create an ensemble of merchandise.

Even within individual manufacturing companies the trend toward promoting a coordinated look is evidenced by new packaging campaigns. An example is the CROSS program launched last year by Anchor Hocking glass which grouped the various pieces into collections and stimulated add-on sales by picturing the completed ensemble on the back of product boxes.

Like the patterns Tea Rose by Pfaltzgraff and both Heartland and Marmalade by International China, Corning has begun licensing its motifs. Regent Sheffield staged its first presentation of Corning licensed flatware during the San Francisco Gourmet Show last April.

Closet organizers are echoing the patterns found among tabletop lines; most new patterns are florals. Geometrics and the incorporation of solid wood and wood veneers that were introduced to the trade last year are expected to catch on in popularity this year, according to vendors.

The newest offshoot of closet organizers are those that take the category outside of the housewares department and into the hardware department. Garages and home workshops represent the next frontier to be put into order through modular shelving, pegboards and racks, manufacturers said.

Some retailers, like Target, have introduced a private label program to its closet organizer category, working with several vendors to produce a coordinated collection. Many retailers are planning to increase their commitment to the category including Rose's, Harts and others.

Conversely, ready-to-assemble furniture is still selling strong, but not as ensembles. The ensemble presentation is not the hot selling point in the category; consumers still tend to buy each piece according to function, not because they plan to create a unified look with additional ready-to-assemble purchases.

The exception, however could, be found among home office RTA where coordinated pieces are almost mandatory in order to serve this function. Home office furniture units are frequently designed to work in concert with other units in order to be effective. The workstation will have an uneven surface if the printer stand, desk, corner unit, bookcase, file cabinet, etc., are not made with identical height and width specifications. Home office continues to be singled out by both retailers and manufacturers as the growth segment of the RTA furniture business.

Black was the main attraction among appliance introductions. The allure of a high-tech black/chrome decor for the kitchen appears to be catching on, perhaps due to the growing number of men who are finding their way into the kitchen when their wives work late. Black is also returning to popularity among personal care appliances.

The year's hottest new products fell under the broad heading of health: water purifying systems, massage aids like those from Clairol's Family Practice division and new innovations like the denture cleaning appliance from Denta Plus.

Microwave oven sales continue to be sluggish due to lack of demand. The sales upswing, sparked by replacement unit sales, is expected to be as much as five to 10 years down the road. Early indications suggest replacement sales--when they materialize--will be for upgraded models that offer a wider spectrum of capabilities.

Changes influencing the growth of the housewares industry last year and into the 1990s will not only be the much spoken of market consolidation through mergers. As discounters and specialty stores continue to go nearly head-to-head on all but very upper-end goods, dollar store operators are likely to fill the void for commodity housewares merchandise sales.

Full-line discounters will face increased competition on housewares merchandise, not only due to specialty stores, catalog showrooms and membership warehouse clubs. The burgeoning manufacturer-operated factory outlet stores have become increasingly popular. The high-end china, glass and flatware vendors are no longer the only ones running these types of off-price stores.

Serious Inroads in Sales

Discount store housewares suppliers like Corning and Remington are now selling their own products and have the potential to make serious inroads on discounter sales, even if caution is taken in positioning these stores far from the K marts, Wal-Marts and Targets they supply. Consumers are willing to travel many extra miles to go to a factory mall, based on customer shopping surveys at these malls.