Vendors unveil '90 RTA plans - ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturers - HomeMarket Trends

Discount Store News, Nov 13, 1989

Vendors Unveil '90 RTA Plans

Market climate was bright for RTA suppliers at the International Furniture Market Center in High Point, N.C., due to heavy discount buyer traffic. K mart, Wal-Mart, Sears, Jamesway and numerous others were at the market working on next year's programs.

RTA furniture manufacturers in attendance said 1990 will be a year of investing in at least of one of three aspects of business: packaging, production and product.

These investment decisions were often the direct result of a handful of dominant mass merchandisers, most notably Wal-Mart. These retailers are working closely with RTA vendors to launch exclusive new products and programs during the first half of 1990, according to about a half dozen industry sources. The RTA lines will be exclusive to these retailers at least for a short time after the initial launch.

Vendors developed form and function improvements. Form was altered by using solid wood and wood veneers - a trend begun last year - and by incorporating experimental finishes into standard pieces. Examples include a marbleized finish by Fournier; washed oak by O'Sullivan; honey or "melba" oak by Royal Creation and Armstrong; and burl by both Case/Cassard and Fournier. New twists in furniture function were also introduced. Armstrong RTA, for example, showed buyers a bar with a hinged back that allows the user to conceal the contents by folding it closed, forming an attractive light oak dresser.

Soundesign's Woodsmill Collection additions included a shoe organizer that looks like a two-drawer dresser. "Drawers" tilt outward for shoe and boot storage.

Shielded from view, Soundesign also selectively showed components of its two new collections, the 16-sku Home Coming grouping and the 10-sku Regency grouping. These ensembles take the home office and entertainment center vendor into new areas of the dining room, living room and hallway.

Gearing up for what is expected to be a year of double-digit sales increases for most vendors, enlarged raw material warehouse capacity or plant expansions are underway at many leading firms.

Billy Hughes Jr., vice president of marketing at Rose Hill, said the company is currently constructing a new 165,000-square-foot plant that is slated to be operational by July. Right now production is scattered among 14 separate buildings with a combined space of 150,000 square feet.

Gary Liebscher, president and ceo at Fournier, said the company plans to double the size of its Virginia plant during the next two to three years "due to tremendous receptiveness of customers in the East Coast markets." This same facility, currently 200,000 square feet, just went into operation last August.

Sauder Woodworking has three expansions underway, according to Gene Metz, vice president of marketing. A new 100,000-square-foot warehouse for raw material storage is slated to open January 1990. Late in the second quarter a 96,000-square-foot wood parts division will be opened. A finished goods warehouse is scheduled for the third quarter of 1990. The unit will measure 730,000 square feet.

Jim Kirby at Bush Industries said plant expansions are a consideration for 1990, dependent upon the vitality of the U.S. economy.

New packaging programs, some linked with new fixturing promise to put RTA's best foot forward in fashion appeal.

Jerry Rosenthal, president of Charleswood said, "We plan to upgrade our packaging with stronger graphics and larger product illustrations." Charleswood is aggressively pursuing the reemerging market for black furniture which Rosenthal called "an accent color that can effectively find its way into any room in the home."

Liebscher at Fournier is also working on packaging with, "more descriptive color labels that will enable the consumer to see more of the product... Many retailers are re-evaluating the way they display RTA and some will have new fixturing for the '90s."

PHOTO : Jerry Rosenthal, president of Charleswood, plans to expand his company's black ready-to-assemble lines in '90.