by While some said traffic seemed light, others said it was steady during event. They also were optimistic demand will pick up for products to be shown during the fall market cycle
HIGH POINT — This week’s Interwoven show here offered a window into what type of interest and demand manufacturers are seeing for some of the the latest in fabric designs during a period of huge uncertainty for the industry.
Despite some positive early reactions, there are still unknowns in an environment of tepid retail sales and still-lingering inventory issues that have limited demand over the past year or so.
That said, many fabric suppliers believe that their latest introductions will do well in the coming weeks as manufacturers prepare for the fall market season.
For one, they said, retailers and wholesalers alike are seeing inventories coming down, reversing some of the huge amounts of product that kept orders on hold in recent months. Secondly, they are hearing from their upholstery partners that retailers are seeking newness on their floors, a theme also heard at the recently concluded April High Point Market.
“Traffic has been steady and people are excited about seeing new things,” said Amy Gillam, design manager at Sunbrella, which was showing in a new 5,000-square-foot space at Congdon Yards that featured lots of windows that not only allowed plenty of natural light into the space, but also provided a front-row view of the new baseball stadium downtown.
She said that buyers seem a little cautious as many are still trying to see what happens in the market, a complicated scenario given that many were here to see fabrics that could appear on product as early as the fall market cycle.
Michael Saivetz, president and chief operating officer at Richloom, said that the general sense is that overall business is soft among its customer base. However, he said there also are significant pockets of growth and noted that buyers were eager to see its new designs.
“Our customers are always excited to see not only trend direction, but how we marry our various lines into one Richloom offering,” he told Home News Now. “Customers were also eager to see our upholstery offering woven domestically in our backyard at Richloom Weaving, and our statement prints and embroideries from Richloom’s Platinum Collection.”
Introductions thus addressed various styles and price points as manufacturers sought to serve many different aspects of the market.
For example, Nice Link introduced 33 new body cloths, slightly higher than a typical show, said Doug Henderson, vice president of the company’s fabric segment. He noted that the mix included starting, midpriced and upper-priced fabrics that incorporated elements such as texture and a broader color mix, with some of the new colors and textures leaning toward the higher price points.
“The other thing we did was focus on our pillow patterns,” he added, noting that the mix included both contemporary prints and globally themed designs that tie back to a few different body cloths. “We’ve gone back to what people look to Nice Link for.”
Crypton’s mix offered 31 new domestic fabrics that included seven new performance fabrics featuring a mix of Belgian linen and other materials including recycled cotton and polyester. Response to the looks and textures was extremely positive, officials noted. In addition, the company showed five new imported fabrics, as well as seven bestselling fabrics in new colors.
Color was also a big focus at Trevi Fabrics, which introduced about five new patterns this market, bringing its 3-year-old line to roughly 60 fabrics featuring a range of flora and fauna prints along with Asian-inspired themes.
“We are all about being different,” said Steve Yow, president, noting that its color story aims to stand out from the sea of neutrals in the market today. At the same time, he said, the company is trying to manage its assortment to not overwhelm the marketplace with too many options.
Jim Koeniger, director of EuroLeather’s contract division, said that the company brought out new leathers addressing various price points in its line, including a mix from its entry-priced Brazil assortment to its more upper-priced Italian and Newton, North Carolina-produced lines. Altogether it showed about 15 new leathers.
“We have a story to tell on each level,” he said.
Culp offered some 170 new fabrics, which officials described as typical for the show. This included a mix of new product from its stocking program of cut yardage fabrics, about 90% of which remains in stock, shipping in six weeks or less.
While retailers and wholesalers alike are still working through inventory, reaction during the show was positive, said Tammy Buckner, senior vice president, marketing and design at Culp. However, she noted that people are also being more selective in what they buy, particularly at the retail level, a theme also heard both at the April High Point and January Las Vegas markets.
Manufacturers also addressed the indoor and outdoor markets with some selections tailored to both segments. For example, in addition to 20 new patterns for its indoor line, Milliken & Co. showed 14 new patterns in its indoor/outdoor line, bringing that segment to about 158 total SKUs.
Sunbrella also offered several new collections that spanned various price points and aesthetics. Although most of its customer base here this week are indoor furniture resources, its mix also included both indoor and outdoor fabrics, as some of the lines are blurring between the two segments in terms of style.
Culp said that it has been receiving strong response to its LiveSmart Solutions performance fabric line, which provides the look of indoor fabrics — both patterns and textures — for outdoor use as well.
While some said that traffic was a little slower than normal, particularly from walk-ins, most said it was steady through the show, from Sunday through late afternoon Tuesday. The show ended around noon on Wednesday.
“We got more traffic than the November show,” said Henderson of Nice Link, noting that people are more comfortable gathering in the post-pandemic environment.
Culp also was pleased with attendance overall.
“We have had the most attendance we’ve had in the last few years,” Buckner told Home News Now, of the many accounts that came by over several days.
Because of high inventory levels over the past year, some accounts, she noted, just hadn’t been attending previously as they were trying to sell through product.
“This is getting back to normal for us. Some customers we haven’t been seeing are coming back.”
