Home entertainment furniture a strong seller

By Lynn Petrak

aspenhome’s European Memoirs Reveal wall unit has pull-out component drawers for stereo, sub-woofer and DVD storage; video connectors for electronic gaming devices; interchangeable glass or grid panels; and three-way touch lighting.

Laredo home entertainment wall from Sligh is adorned with classical design elements , yet the distressed finish fits a casual approach to decorating. Shelves in the center unit combine both decorative and television display in a single area; ample concealed storage hides electronics and media.

Rose Valley entertainment center is an ideal-sized take on the Mission look. The finish (Abbey Oak), however, is softer than those typically associated with the style period; meanwhile, the hardware is a more diminutive pull ring reminiscent of the era. From Sauder Woodworking.

Notice the angled piers on Legends Furniture’s new DV8 Collection. An aluminum frame outlines the primary storage areas of the unit; brushed steel rod hardware balances the effect.

BDI’s Cassini credenza has adjustable shelves for flow-through ventilation and sliding back panels offer easy access to components. Richly grained walnut top and sides, and recessed, gray-tinted glass are distinguishing design elements.

Golden Oak’s Villa Tuscano 76-inch console and hutch are constructed from solid woods and wood veneers with a natural solid oak finish. Special features include storage for components and media; interchangeable wood, glass or mesh console doors; and cut-aways for wire management. The unit accommodates plasma, DLP or LCD TVs, specifically 60-inch models.

Old Hickory’s new entertainment center creates a Lodge-specific frame for flat-panel televisions. It’s a pine veneer case framed in bark; legs crafted from hickory sapling support the cases. The wall unit consists of four pieces and can be accented with other natural materials, such as birch bark, cowhide, leather, copper or woven rattan, for a truly rustic look.

Creative Elegance’s Strata Collection measures 155 inches wide, with a TV display space totaling 70 inches wide. Halogen lighting is strategically placed to illuminate decorative accessories; meanwhile, a mix of open and concealed storage ups the decorative display potential.

While other categories may be fuzzy right now, the home entertainment sector is in high-definition. Indeed, a clear picture is emerging, if not quite soaring, of respectable sales of home entertainment furnishings, accessories and electronics at a time when words such as “gloomy” and “dismal” have become a part of the everyday business vernacular.

“Home entertainment is still strong,” according to Richard Gallagher, Vice President of Merchandising for Atlanta-based Havertys Furniture. “Other segments are much like you would expect—when homes aren’t selling, bedrooms aren’t selling.”

The big picture for home entertainment is comparatively brighter for various reasons. The upcoming conversion to digital broadcast signals is one factor, driving a significant block of consumers who otherwise would not shop for such pieces to home electronics and furniture stores.

“Holidays are a natural peak in the sales of TVs, and we should have a corresponding peak in furniture,” predicted Bob Price, Vice President of Merchandising for Warren, MI-based Art Van Furniture, adding that the more affordable cost of certain types of televisions has helped fuel interest in recent times. “Then, we have the digital signal change in February 2016. All of this leads us to believe that more TVs will be sold.”

Retailers already are using the conversion as a hook. “It’s going on now—we’re gearing up for it and putting our best foot forward,” said Gallagher, who noted that his 80-year-old mother just bought a 37-inch flat-screen television.

Somewhat paradoxically, the sliding economy is another driver in the home entertainment category. Echoing a similar pullback after the September 2001 terrorist attacks, the latest round of uncertainty is causing many consumers to stay at home. Although this reality is not often used as a direct merchandising strategy for reasons of restraint and good taste, the trend is resulting in sustained or even increased traffic.

“From what we’ve seen with the economy, there are a lot more people choosing to save money and spend more time at home, turning their family rooms and basements into theater rooms,” according to Michael Langland, a home entertainment furniture sales associate at R.C. Wiley, headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT.

Vanessa Rodriguez, Marketing Director for the Tamarac, FL-based City Furniture chain, agreed. “As the economy gets worse, people are eating out less, renting more movies and buying video on-demand,” she said.

GADGET LOVERS

Beyond changing signals and shifting financial circumstances, the fact that Americans love their bells and whistles—in the form of the latest electronics—can never be discounted when merchandising home entertainment elements.

For instance, as sales of flat-panel TVs have been anything but flat, Gallagher said that the way such pieces are displayed in a home is changing. “We’re finding that consumers do not want to cover these TVs,” he noted. “A generation before, people wanted to close the doors on their TVs because they believed they were ugly, but now everyone is proud of the fact that they have a certain type of TV. People will ask them ‘What kind is that?’ ”

The variety of home electronics means that retailers often tout their ability to build around their customers’ viewing, music and gaming habits. Although brackets and frames for flat-panel and plasma TVs do move well, larger wall units are, in many catalogs and showrooms, the focus of assertive merchandising efforts.

“As the category has grown, the breadth of product we can carry has grown,” remarked Price, who said that sales can be maximized by encouraging add-ons based on the capacity of customers’ existing electronics.

“The purchase of a new TV can trigger a purchase of a console,” he said, “all the way up to every piece of furniture in that room.”

Although many customers want to show off their prize televisions, they don’t want their living space to look impersonal or resemble an electronics store, with dangling cords and a lot of visible components. This, too, has spurred retailers to highlight more integrated units.

“People want the ability to put in all of their home electronics, but in a way that is stylistic, such as lowering the walls and having the ability to put in cool things to hang the TV,” Rodriguez said.

Retailers also need to be aware that covering up some electronic pieces isn’t as easy as closing a door or drawer. “Consumers want to hide components, but they need to know that infrared sensors will go through only glass,” Gallagher explained. “And you also have to be conscious of the fact that many customers want a place for a center speaker.”

Those who specialize in home entertainment also indicate that consumers respond well to pieces that offer entertainment options beyond television. “We have an iPod docking station in one of our units, and another thing that is pretty cool is a gaming drawer,” Gallagher said. “We find that consumers want to plug and unplug a gaming station, and hide it when it’s not in use.”

ENTERTAINING THE OPTIONS

The styles of home entertainment pieces, whether individual consoles, simple panels or large wall units, are as diverse as the electronics they support.

In keeping with marketplace trends, many retailers find themselves selling more contemporary and transitional styles. “There is still a customer out there buying entertainment who needs a traditional cabinet, but there is a definite movement to the transitional look,” Gallagher reported. “We’re seeing clean lines, dark finishes and brushed nickel hardware.”

At City Furniture, Rodriquez noted similar patterns. “In modern and even Coastal, casual looks, the folks want cleaner lines, and we’re also finding cleaner lines in traditional,” she said, adding that this doesn’t mean that the traditional pieces are gathering dust. “Some of our traditional wall units are selling well in an Old World furniture look.”

Beyond offering a range of styles, retailers are promoting silhouettes that are anything but basic. “Most of my customers say that if they are really going to buy, they’ll go all out,” reported Langland.

To that end, merchandisers reported that they are having success with higher-end home entertainment furniture, which, in turn, enables a store to turn a better profit. One example is the emergence of powered chairs and sofas, along with motorized systems in which flatscreens can emerge and retreat with a simple click.

Price surmised that interest in home theaters has driven an increase in powered furniture and that the buying audience has a lot of potential. “You have two ways to sell it: First, for older purchasers, the mechanism makes it easier to move the chair,” he said. “Second, for younger consumers, it’s about technology. They want the latest, greatest gadgets.”

On the floor at R.C. Wiley, Langland said consumers are wowed by such whiz-bang extras. “I sell more power chairs than non-power ones,” he said, agreeing that the appeal spans multiple demographics. “The younger generation likes it because it’s young and cool, and the older generation likes it because it’s easier for them to recline.”

CHANNEL SURFING FOR SALES

To secure business interest, retailers are using several merchandising tactics to move home entertainment elements in addition to traditional advertising and on-the-floor pitches.

City Furniture, for example, has created a display aimed at those with outmoded televisions. “We’ve done some displays where we put an old and a new TV next to each other so the customer can see the difference,” Rodriguez said.
Langland, for his part, said that R.C. Wiley recently offered the new “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull” movie and a popcorn machine with the purchase of a certain unit. The response, he added, has been strong.

Taken from http://www.furniturestyle.com/