Upholstery options grow in casual dining
By Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, May 5, 2008
High Point — "Pop" and "pizzazz" are the words that come to Alan Mintz's mind as he describes how his company, casual dining specialist Reflections, employs fabrics to distinguish its mixed-media looks.
Over the last three decades, the company has shopped hard to find vibrant fabrics and vinyls for its chairs, said Mintz, vice president of sales and marketing. The company now offers 60 different covers, a selection that is constantly being updated.
With table colors that range from dark brown chocolates to pewter and nickel, and table materials that include marble, veneer and glass, fabric selection plays a large role as a fashion accent.
"The comfort of an upholstered seat and back along with the metal work is what pops out for the consumer," Mintz said.
While also important for steel specialists like Johnston Casuals, which started offering upholstered chairs last fall, a number of other casual dining sources, including wood producers, are using upholstered chairs and custom covers as a way to grow their business.
For some sources, offering custom fabrics is a logical step since they already have custom work at the center of their business models. Custom fabrics offer these sources another way to distinguish themselves in the highly competitive world of dinettes and bar-height seating.
Bernhardt began offering a custom chair option two years ago as part of its new Bar Essentials program. The Bar Essentials program merged into the company's Social Hour lifestyle program at the October 2007 High Point Market. Social Hour offers a range of pieces designed for entertaining at home, including pub and gathering height tables and barstools.
Bernhardt's dining chair program now features 70 fabrics for 12 of its stool frames, which range from 40 inches for counter stools to 46 inches for barstools.
Keeping current
Bernhardt's merchandising team works closely with its product designers to continuously update its fabric selection, said Heather Eidenmiller, director of brand development. Bernhardt also offers a COM, or customer's own material, option.
"Consumers often have different looks in their homes, and we want to give them the option to match décor," Eidenmiller said. "If they have a more contemporary or transitional home, this gives consumers a lot of flexibility. People like options."
Since its beginnings, Canadel has offered the choice of custom upholstered casual dining chairs. The company tries to change its patterned fabric selection at least once a year or at a maximum once every 18 months. The dining specialist also accepts COM orders.
The company offers about 150 patterned fabric options and 50 microfiber solids. About one in two Canadel chairs is sold with a fabric option, with 35 fabrics accounting for the bulk of sales, said Jean Deveault, executive vice president of sales and marketing.
Targeting upscale consumers
Customers also can choose from 50 different frame models, not counting legs, he added. A wide fabric selection is appealing to consumers for whom price is less of a concern, Deveault said.
"When you have a higher price point, the choice of fabric can be more important than anything else. If you're paying $995 for a table, you don't expect a great fabric," Deveault said. Canadel's price points for tables start at $1,599 retail.
Bermex offers 14 upholstered chair frames with more than 150 fabric choices. The company's adds about 10 to 20 new fabrics to its line every year.
Purchasing fabric requires the company to keep a constant eye on what's in fashion, said Denis Darveau, vice president of commercial operations. Designers especially like the COM option, he added.
"I've seen everything — from really formal rooms to (very) casual rooms," Darveau said."When they do a décor in a room, they (like that) they're not forced to select one fabric."
Bermex offers stain protection as an option on all fabrics.
At the April High Point Market, Hooker Furniture and its custom upholstered chair division Sam Moore Furniture debuted a dining chair program with a wide range of custom choices to a very positive response.
One of the reasons for its success, according to Mike Moldenhauer, president of Sam Moore, was that most major wood manufacturers do not offer special-order dining and accent chairs.
Sam Moore took a dozen of Hooker's best-selling dining and accent chairs and made them available in 25 finishes, more than 800 fabrics and 100 leathers.
In the past, Hooker has offered accent chairs, but usually in just one finish and one fabric. Dealers now can maximize floor placements because several orders can be taken off a single chair, the company said.
"Sometimes chairs are nice but they're offered in the same finish. This is an eclectic mix of things," Moldenhauer said, adding that "chairs don't always have to be so matchy matchy."
At last October's High Point Market, Best Home Furnishings launched a medium-priced custom barstool program. The company began with four frames and added two new styles this April.
The company offers 130 different patterned fabrics with a range of up to 700 color combinations, plus 25 leathers and a COM option.
The COM option has helped Best, already a custom specialist for products like occasional chairs and sofas, differentiate itself from other importers.
Best assembles its chair frames domestically. Customers get quick delivery, usually three to four weeks or less, Lange said.
The company typically charges one price for all custom fabrics in the barstool program. Leather options are priced differently.
"Most importers give you (just) one offering, black or brown leather — that's all they have to offer. There's a consumer that wants choice, and we're going to bring that to market for that customer," Lange said.
"Our goal is (to do) anything as far as chairs are concerned. We thought it was a natural fit and our customers have a one-stop choice to fit their house," Lange said. "The program is doing very well."
