Ethan Allen focuses on tighter collections
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, November 12, 2001
Danbury, Conn. — More than 500 Ethan Allen dealers checked out new product here and heard about the retailer-manufacturer's ongoing focus on tighter, easy-to-service introductions.
Appropriately, Townhouse, the major introduction at the company's just-concluded retail convention, has a fifth to a quarter fewer pieces than usual.
While attendance did not match last year's record, there were few empty seats.
"We have many of our retailers here not only from the United States, but many other countries," said Farooq Kathwari, chairman and chief executive officer. "It is gratifying to see that in these difficult times we have a full house."
The convention's theme, "Maintaining Our Competitive Edge," revisited several issues from last year's gathering. In addition to tightly edited collections, that included creating lifestyle environments in stores versus merely presenting furniture to the consumer.
"Our focus remains on doing more with less, and carefully developed products," Kathwari said. "That will expand our reach to more consumers and serve them better in terms of their desires and needs. We have to do an effective design job and keep products as focused as possible."
Townhouse, Ethan Allen's most eclectic introduction to date, fits the goal of creating lifestyles versus suites. It blends 18th century European styles, combining English Regency with strong Louis Philippe influences in alder solids, with mixed media, hand carvings, matched veneers of mostly white ash burl and cherry, and delicate moldings.
Upholstery fabrics are reminiscent of menswear, with patterns and textures suggesting classic ties and suit fabrics.
While Townhouse has a rich look, it's priced in the middle of Ethan Allen's line, and prices surprised retailers at the convention. Examples included a $1,799 retail dressing chest in pine, a $1,349 chinoiserie chest and a $1,699 formal dining table.
"This is one of the very few places where retailers might tell you it should be higher-priced than it is, but I don't believe in selling it just for what you could get for it," Kathwari said. "That's no way to bring value to consumers."
The pricing resulted from a combination of a shorter, easier-to-produce collection, more efficient domestic manufacturing, and a mix of imported parts and full pieces that take advantage of Ethan Allen's new relationship with Chinese manufacturer Markorp.
The imported pieces fit seamlessly with domestic, and a look inside drawers, underneath and on the back of offshore product reveals that no corners were cut relative to domestic pieces.
"We've developed product in our own plants at a better price due to this focus on limited SKUs and better technology. Our plants have become more efficient and not stretched out so far," Kathwari said. "Sourced product is made to our specifications. We're mixing imported pieces as well as parts."
Along with assorted additions to existing groups, Ethan Allen added Gazebo to its Home & Garden collection. Gazebo is made from a hand-woven PVC thermoplastic resin that imitates natural wicker with a hand-applied, dark honey finish. The product is completely weather-resistant.
Ethan Allen repositioned and remerchandised Home & Garden with new fabrics, a new in-stock umbrella program, and a tighter selection of pieces to ensure faster service.
| Above, the Townhouse demilune console tells a veneer story in swirl mahogany, prima vera, ebony and maple inlay and kingwood banding. |
| Left, a Townhouse coffee table in Philippine mahogany has tooled leather top inserts, burl paneling around the rosette, solid brass hardware and removable legs for ease of moving. |
