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Youth: Can it go on forever?

Staff -- Kids Today, 11/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

HIGH POINT -- Manufacturers of youth furniture reported strong sales at market, with major retailers stocking up -- and lesser ones staying home.

"We did really well," said Glenn Prillaman, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Young America, a Stanley division. "On the street we heard that attendance was down 20 to 25% in the building. But our orders were great."

The trend in youth was for furniture intended to last from childhood forward, to be reconfigured for use through adolescence and young adulthood. One hit at Young America was a crib in the Built To Grow line that comes with parts to convert it into a toddler bed and eventually to a full-sized bed.

"We already had the concept within several pieces but we didn't have it in a crib," Prillaman said. "Once we had it in a crib at this market, that just opened everyone's eyes on how it could be effective and how it could be executed on a showroom floor."

Prillaman said he believed the new Las Vegas market affected attitudes in High Point.

"People here kept things upbeat and they are willing to change and improve," he said. "I had a few retailers tell me that people seem to be more willing to go the extra mile, which is nice. Las Vegas could be a wakeup call for them but there is still a long way to go."

Gary Bryant, vice president of sales for A.P. Inds., agreed that High Point is paying attention to Las Vegas, but he attributed lower-than-usual attendance here to other factors, including a soft economy and hurricanes.

But he said retailers responded well to A.P.'s products. The company offered six new styles with a narrower range of choices than the company's main Generations line, meaning both lower price points and an opportunity for dealers to sell up.

Bryant said the market did hold a big surprise in that the introduction of two pieces — a writing desk and a dresser — boosted sales sharply for the Mary-Kate and Ashley collection.

"We grew a number of placements on Mary-Kate and Ashley and it's like the old corn flakes commercial, 'try it again for the first time'," he said.
At Rivers Edge, managing partner James McCloskey said the company's approach of taking ideas from adult furniture and adapting them to youth in five new collections worked well.

"We saw all the customers we had anticipated seeing," he said. "We had a good market, good turnout, and we are excited about the next one.

"The buyers who came, came for a reason," McCloskey added. "They're optimistic on business and business is going good and they want to fuel the fire, make decisions quickly, commit to (product) and go on with life."

Lee Boone, general manager of Legacy Classic Kids, agreed. He said his showroom saw every major customer.

One surprise, he said, was what a difference paint can make. Legacy Classic Kids took a light blonde pine bedroom suite and painted it black — and found there was a tremendous demand for it.

"We don't typically have more than one color on something, as an import company," he said.

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