by Company ‘pleasantly surprised’ by market attendance
Last week in High Point, Hooker Furniture introduced 45 new pieces in its Melange accent furniture collection and entered the upholstered occasional table category with a new program from its Sam Moore division.
Overall, Hooker Vice President of Sales Mike Harris said the long, appointment-driven market was a success, and that he was “pleasantly surprised” by the attendance.
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“We had a disciplined appointment policy that we communicated to our customers in advance; they were excellent in responding to the plan so we had a sense of what we might expect,” Harris told Home News Now.
The company also had a plan for dealing with potential new customers who showed up without an appointment.
“Fortunately, we were able to accommodate many of those while maintaining the strict capacity limits we imposed on ourselves,” Harris said. “Our number one goal was to maintain safety and minimize the exposure threat. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome given the challenge that effort required.”
Harris said the reactions to this season’s introductions were very encouraging. “We saw a lot of designers this market. Melange, which continues to be an accelerator for our business, really speaks to the needs of this very important customer base.”
The 45-piece Melange introduction marks the 10th anniversary of the accent furniture collection’s release and celebrates its ongoing ability to “resonate with consumers year after year, generating more than a quarter of a billion dollars in retail sales” to date, according to Tim O’Hare, senior vice president of merchandising and design for Hooker’s case goods.
“Ten years ago we identified a niche in the marketplace for high-style accent pieces with luxurious looks at affordable price points,” O’Hare continued. “Our retail and design trade partners appreciate the quality and distinctive looks the collection provides, along with the variety of styles that can easily transition from traditional to contemporary settings. With an assortment that can provide that ‘finishing touch’ or interject a bold ‘jewelry’ piece into a space, the Mélange collection will certainly continue to be a key focus in the accent furniture category within our product portfolio.”
New pieces are inspired by four consumer lifestyle personalities:
Traditionalist – Classic forms with eccentric flare, an assortment that features rustic wood, travertine, silver leaf motifs, nail head accents and onyx details. The statement piece of this group is the Jessamine Door Chest, trimmed in an organic vine motif in silver leaf and glass knob hardware.
Collector – Inspired by world travels, this group combines bold color choices and a mix of global styles, and features wood pieces in medium tones on a variety of rustic and distressed veneers including pecan, mango, maple and oak. Additional materials include travertine, hand-hammered wrought iron and cane. Statement pieces include the Trobe Stool, with Kuba Cloth-inspired fabric on a wrought iron base, and the Lane Credenza which pays homage to mid-century modern style with geometric texture and bright white on an oak perimeter and ebony metal base.
Individualist – This edgier, fashion-forward style mixes marble, metal accents, terrazzo, bone inlay, jute rope and bold black and white color palettes with touches of gold. A highlight is the Russell Credenza, which combines linear and circular forms with mango wood, bone inlay and metal accents for a striking contrast.
Sophisticate – Positioned for the high-end “glam” consumer, the pieces pair black, white and gold tones with high sheen lacquers, acrylics, faux horn details and marble accents. The Ortino Bar Cabinet of black high-gloss lacquer sits on a stainless steel base and features a large marble accent.
Sam Moore, Hooker’s domestic upholstery division, introduced the Cocktails & More program of upholstered cocktail tables and trays with custom finishing, upholstery and nail head trim options on eight designs, offering retailers and designers a domestic resource for custom occasional options.
Priced to retail from $1,200 to $1,499, the exposed beech wood frames are manufactured in North Carolina and hand-finished and upholstered in Bedford, Virginia, by Sam Moore employees.
“The program brings what Sam Moore truly does best – great design, intricate, multi-step hand finishes and on-trend fabric offerings – to the occasional furniture category,” said Sandi Teague, vice president of sales and merchandising at Sam Moore.
“Utilizing our custom finishing and upholstery capabilities — which include more than 20 finish options and 650 fabrics — the program offers our partners a 100% made in the USA resource with a six- to eight-week lead time, a competitive advantage over imported products that typically carry longer lead times and offer minimal customization.”
Available in round, square, oval or rectangle, the upholstered cocktail ottomans are available standard in a choice of more than 650 fabric options, tufted or non-tufted, eight finishes and feature complementary solid wood serving trays. The trays are crafted to nest on the cocktail ottomans’ bottom shelf when not in use, locked in place with wooden positioning pins.
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