Bedroom RTA seduces buyers at High Point - International Home Furnishings market, High Point, North Carolina, ready-to-assemble furniture - includes related article on ready-to-assemble office and home theater furniture

Discount Store News, Nov 21, 1994 by Teresa Andreoli

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Ready-to-assemble bedroom furniture for adults drew crowds at the International Home Furnishings Market held here last month.

New designs and styles dressed numerous showrooms, a sign of the advancing fashion orientation and increased application of RTA bedroom groupings.

Rosalco, a Jeffersonville, Ind.-based bunk bed, armoire and accessories supplier to the mass market, will soon furnish Caldor with--what looks to be its first--queen-size canopy bed. The RTA sku, available in a black finish, is due in Caldor by the first of the year, in time for the Northeast chain's white sale. Rosalco currently furnishes Jamesway with a $99 queensize canopy bed in a white finish, said Robert Glick, vice president, mass merchants for the furniture maker.

Sauder Woodworking introduced its Heritage Hill cherry-tone bedroom collection. Marked with an 18th century, broken-pediment design, the bed set could sell for somewhere between $200 and $229 on promotion, and the five-drawer chest with brasstoned handles could retail for $159, said Kevin Sauder, vp, marketing and sales.

Highlights of Armstrong's boudoir collection include variations of country-style furniture and one very contemporary urban-look line.

In the country collection, light woods, such as Lenoir pine, carried knife-cut detailing and embossing. Some juvenile sets had colored flower designs printed onto the flat surface of headboards and drawers.

Of the urban sets, a high-gloss black laminate with shell brass handles dominated one of Armstrong's bedroom collections. The printed polyester finish is unique to Armstrong, said Phil Miller, the company's general sales manager, RTA sales and marketing.

In addition to adult bedroom groupings, juvenile RTA furniture made its mark on the show.

Fournier, a division of Ladd, may have gotten a handle on the problem of children outgrowing their bedroom environment. The panels of Fournier's Crew Quarters furniture are reversible: white on one side, medium oak on the other. The built-in option allows parents to redo the kids' bedrooms when a change is needed and when cost is a factor.

Crew Quarters storage items include twice the number of drawer handles needed: one set carries primary colors to match the white panels, while the other set of handles comes in a medium wood color.

The RTA futon was another hot item at High Point. When Pilot's American-made futon broke the $100 mark in the late summer, the race for producing the rock bottom-priced futon intensified.

Southern Wood, Sparta, Tenn., has sold its unfinished wood frame with tri-fold futon into Wal-Mart, where it retails for $92. Southern Wood's higher-ticket finished frame futon (with a mattress) could sell at Sam's Club for $299, said David Carpenter, vice president, operations.

Powell, traditionally a jewelry armoire leader, skewed its futon selections toward the juvenile end of the business. Its metal futon bunk beds carry a suggested retail price of $299, but have recently been promoted by Best Products for $199.

Other companies are gunning for the youth-oriented futon market. Rosalco has just finished its first bunk futon, and Southern Wood has produced an Overnighter futon--a child-size mattress, printed with Warner Bros.-licensed animated characters, that folds up into a carrying case. The Overnighter sells for $65 at Toys "R" Us.

Space saving ideas for office, home theater

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Although RTA desks and TV stands may get the shove when the bedroom fixings finally move in, merchandisers should be aware of a few fresh items for the home office and home theater.

First, two office furniture makers introduced "hide-an-office" configurations. Fournier and Ameriwood both capitalized on the space-limitation factors some home office workers face.

The structure looks like a closet, but when opened, offers a Murphy-style foldout desk, storage space and shelf area for the printer and personal computer.

Fournier's oak finish items could retail for $250 at office supply stores.

The Eurospace manager from Ameriwood comes with a built-in surge protector and could retail for $299.

Ameriwood's knack for adding built-in amenities is found in its home theater offerings. By teaming up with RCA, Ameriwood offers a "system approach" that enables retailers to offer a center that can hold a 35-in. TV, video and audio components, plus the option to bundle built-in or stand-alone speakers, or speaker grills.

For $299 (discounted), consumers will be able to purchase left, right and rear speakers with their wall-units, allowing a "surround sound" theater experience in the home.