HIGH POINT — HIGH POINT — Across a variety of styles, casual dining sales are increasing for both domestic and import sources.
Importers are driving orders with low price points, while U.S. and Canadian manufacturers are remaining competitive through versatility and innovation.
Selling options
Canadel, the biggest casual dining producer, continues to grow on the strength of its many options. Chairs and tables come in multiple leg styles, tabletops feature multiple materials, and the pieces are available in 125 different finishes.
Cochrane Furniture, another solid-wood dining producer, is taking a page from Canadel's book with its new Design and Dine program. Consumers can choose from leg patterns, tabletop shapes, table edges, bun feet and pedestals with numerous finish and fabric options.
"In today's marketplace, consumers have grown to expect a wider variety of choices," said Joel Cochrane, vice president of sales and marketing. However, "retailers only have so much space available in their showrooms."
The program gives retailers "a powerful new selling tool that appeals to contemporary consumers' growing need to personalize their homes with their own individual sense of style and flair," Cochrane added.
A new domestic manufacturer showed in San Francisco for the first time in January. Dakota Furniture/South Fork Furniture makes solid-wood dining furniture in pine and oak.
The year-old California company, led by President Todd Block, offers high-end pieces with quick delivery to avoid competing with imports. The dining tables are offered in a choice of 55 bases, three tops and four top edges. Dakota/South Fork maintains a big inventory of components so that it can quickly assemble goods, said Block. Orders are processed in seven days, with a 97% on-time delivery rate.
Thinking bigger
Two companies whose casual dining business has grown strongly in recent years are moving into formal dining.
Canadel is taking its same customized approach into larger cases and tables. For the April High Point market, the company will offer tables up to 128 inches long, with all the leg and base options featured in its style book, according to Jean Deveault, vice president of sales and marketing.
The company also is adding four case goods pieces to each series — a server, dry goods pantry, pantry cabinet and 72-inch buffet/hutch.
Canadel is well known for its range of styles and sizes in casual dining, said Deveault. "Now, we want to repeat the same success in the dining room section, always with our palette of options."
Coaster used to be known mostly for imported dinettes, but over the past few years, the company has grown its line to include products in many styles and better price points.
Some of the groups have had a formal design, but at smaller sizes. Coaster has never really pursued master dining before, but will enter the category this April, said Sam Contreras, product manager. The tables and cases for the six new collections will be bigger and grander, he said.
Coaster's strategy is to provide a wider breadth of offerings and become more of a one-stop destination for retailers.
Dining furniture takes up 130 pages of Coaster's catalog and makes up about 20% of its sales.
Universal Furniture, Ital Art Design and Homelegance are other companies that offer small formal sets.
New seating directions
A table can look more or less formal depending on the chairs around it, said Larry Rinaldi, AICO's president. For example, a 48-inch round table can look classy with four stylish armchairs surrounding it instead of inexpensive side chairs, he explained.
Seating is becoming more important to casual dining. Consumers want more look and softness in chairs, said David Wormald, general manager of case goods for Palliser.
Upholstered seating is a definite trend now, said Chuck Zaionz, international sales manager for Dinec. Over the last year, more customers have been gravitating toward fully upholstered chairs or upholstered backs for the fashion and comfort, he said.
Parsons chairs are hot for Douglas Furniture, both fully upholstered and with exposed legs, hitting price points between $69 and $179, said Tom Gates, vice president. The company's new Versatility collection includes four chair styles plus various leg options.
The Powell Co. offered Parsons chairs with three pedestal table sets at the January San Francisco market.
At Pastel, swivel action is a popular feature in seating. Many of the more than 60 barstools in its line swivel, said Lee Honigsfeld, vice president and director of sales and marketing. Stools are a significant part of Pastel's line and one of the reasons why the company's sales were up 12% for the past quarter ending in December.
Color, function in spotlight
The Tupelo market in February was probably APA Marketing's biggest dining launch ever with 17 new groups, said Bob Lephart, sales and marketing manager for the eastern region. Introductions included several metal table and chair sets, something the company's buyers have been requesting for years. Lephart said that APA has stuck a toe in the metal category before, but never developed a complete line.
Many of the tables include a counter-height option. Half of the new groups' sales in Tupelo were in the taller size. APA has several 30-inch kitchen islands in its line and is now planning some counter-height models to match the tables, Lephart said.
Having the tabletop so far off the floor creates room for some innovative function in the design, according to Lephart. One new pub table has wine storage built into the base.
The Fraenkel Co. has added casual dining sets from Malaysia to several new and existing collections this year. At the latest Tupelo market, it expanded its Monet and Sandy Cove collections into dining.
President Ray Crocker said the company has four more casual dining groups in the works for the August Tupelo market.
At Broyhill, casual dining "is a thriving, growing portion of our business," said David Bannister, senior vice president of sales. The company showed several new sets at the San Francisco Market in January.
At Saloom Furniture, "The big trend story for us is color," said Becki Gould, marketing director.
"We introduced a program of 26 new paint colors last October," said Gould. "They were … based on the colors of nature — very soft, complex, livable colors that work with contemporary and country styles.
"Dealers recognize that consumers are using more and more color in decorating their home and are adding it to their store to reflect this trend. The color red was a huge hit and was very well placed in floor samples."
For more casual dining coverage, visit www.furnituretoday.com.
