Furniture that follows both form and function - ready-to-assemble furniture

Discount Store News, May 1, 1995 by Teresa Andreoli

HIGHPOINT, N.C. -- Ready-to-assemble furniture makers will be hawking multi-functional wares, new colors and newly sized products at the Spring 1995 International Home Furnishing Market held here April 27 to May 5.

"RTA is not just furniture anymore; it's function and fashion," said Kevin Sauder, vp, sales and marketing for Archbold, Ohio-based Sauder Woodworking.

A rising interest in the hide-an-office concept, on display at Sauder, Ameriwood and Bush showrooms, typifies the growing trend among manufacturers to please the space-conscious, function-hungry consumer. Essentially, the product allows users to fold up desk components into an armoire or cabinet.

The Sauder model has bun feet and an oak finish and retails from $130 to $380.

Ameriwood, Dowagiae, Mich., introduced its hide-a-desk last fall ($299) but will introduce a mass channel version priced at about $149, said Scott Kearney, director of marketing.

Bush, Jamestown, N.Y., has introduced the patent-pending Hide-A-Chair Office Armoire. The unit can conceal a steno chair behind two bifold doors, along with storage space for related hardware, software, a hide-away return and file folder storage.

The price points of chair-concealing skus range from $199 to $399, said Kurt Gelke, vp marketing and strategic planning.

Function changes: CD-ROM storage is increasingly becoming a standard feature; built-in speakers for both the computer and home entertainment centers are growing; and expanded space for the bigger monitors and televisions are just coming onto the market.

Stipple-colored gray and black furniture, designed to match the latest consumer electronic items, has also shown potential as a trend, showing up in new pieces from Ameriwood and Armstrong.

The other color trend is a small diversion away from the medium oak, but lighter wood finishes seem to have finally establish themselves. Armstrong has also taken its high-gloss black finish, introduced last year in bedroom furniture, and adapted it to audio cabinets and TV/VCR stands.

Hunter green still plays a winning role, especially in the kitchen/dining area, with bakers racks and accents on butcher block dining tables.

The sales of baking racks, ranging from a Powell minirack (Kmart, $69) to the topline product that can sell for $149 in other national chains, have yet to plateau.

"We started in baking racks about two years ago, and it continues to explode," said Buddy Resnik, executive vp, Powell.

Solid woods and veneers are capturing just a small percentage of the RTA makers' business, but more and more real wood has been stealing the spotlight from the paper oak finishes.

Bush's Gelke said its veneer slice of the business was holding steady at less than 5%, but he'd like to see that percentage rise.

A spokesman for Southern Wood, supplier of futons to warehouse clubs, said it is considering combining solid wood with particle board for some products.

Upholstered unassembled furniture, still somewhat a sleeper in the discount channels, seems to be having better luck in office supply chains. Ameriwood will expand its line from last fall's major debut, and Rose Hill, Orkolona, Miss., (known for minidinettes and multi-functioning storage chests) will join in the fray this year.