Fine Furniture Eyes New Opening Points

February 27, 2013  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Bedroom on February 28, 2013

Case goods and upholstery vendor Fine Furniture Design is setting new opening price points for its bedroom furniture.

The company will launch four group of value-priced bedroom furniture under the brand Circa at the March 11-12 High Point Premarket. The Circa line will be priced 25 percent lower than Fine Furniture Design-branded products, providing a new price point range that will expand the company's distribution base and demographic appeal, according to Jim Adams, vice president of product design and marketing. Queen-sized beds will be priced to retail at $799 to $899.

"We've been working on this program for about a year," said Adams. "The goal is to offer existing customers and other retailers that we don't currently sell a reliable source for stylish bedroom furniture that would appeal to younger consumers operating on more limited budgets. We decided to test the waters at the October market with one collection, and that was so well received that we knew we were on the right track."

Styling is updated traditional with a hip, casual edge to appeal to a "younger mindset," said Adams.

The new line will be produced at a facility in Vietnam that is owned and managed by Kim Shu, a veteran furniture plant manager who once worked for Fine Furniture Design's founder, Larry Moh. Fine Furniture Design will continue to produce its namesake line at its dedicated, state-of-the-art facility in Shanghai.

"The Circa line will be produced to our standards in Saigon, with its own specifications and price points," said Adams. "We're introducing a range of designs that take advantage of this plant's strengths, working with local woods such as acacia and mindi and delivering very strong values."

The initial Circa line being shown at premarket will include:
* Circa 1310: A contemporary, Arts and Crafts-influenced group in mindi and hand-hewn, quarter-oak veneers with a grayish-brown, textured finish and distinctive, rectangular metal pulls.
* Circa 1320: A soft, casual European lifestyle group in acacia with a sophisticated, multi-tone finish and heavy bale hardware with shaped backplates.
* Circa 1330 and 1331: An updated traditional group in mahogany in two distinct finishes--a deep brown, wire-brushed finish (1330) or rubbed through, transparent black (1331)--with "sandwich" pull hardware in burnished brass.
Circa 1260 and 1261: A transitional whole-house collection in oak solids and quartered oak veneers with two finish options--Straw (1260) and Midnight (1261). Pull and knob hardware in a Sunset metallic finish gives the collection a fresh, contemporary feel.

Each of the new groups features nine pieces, including a dresser, mirror, two chests, two beds, two nightstands and bench. Upholstered headboard options are available, and each group features an "eye candy" chest for additional visual interest, said Adams. Examples include a smaller-scaled bachelor's chest with a unique metallic finish, a metal and wood nightstand with floating drawer design and a stacked, drawer-on-drawer chest with uniquely shaped bun feet.

Construction features include self-guided, full-extension drawers; full-depth cases; solid tops and frames on many pieces; and quality, multistep finishes.

All four of the new groups will be presented in their entirety at premarket, with shipments slated to start in June. The two groups introduced in October--Circa 1260 and 1261--started shipping in February and are now hitting retail floors. The Circa 1260 and 1261 groups also include casual dining, entertainment and occasional.

"If the Circa line takes off the way we expect, we'll look to expand these new bedrooms into other categories at future markets," said Adams, adding that he expects Circa to attract new customers. "Circa offers a range of popularly priced bedroom with a level of quality and style that is much higher than other commodity-type products on the market today. The scaling and woods are designed to fit the lifestyles of younger shoppers as well as consumers looking to downsize."

During the  April 20-25 High Point Furniture Market, Fine Furniture Design also will introduce the 80-piece Biltmore collection. Part of the Biltmore For Your Home program, the furniture collection is Fine Furniture Design's first licensed offering. The line includes 60 bedroom, dining room and accent furniture pieces and 20 upholstery pieces, all inspired by heirloom furnishings in the 250-room chateau built by George Vanderbilt in Asheville, N.C., in 1895.

Fine Furniture Design shows during the High Point Premarket and Market in the International Home Furnishings Center's Hamilton wing, space 800.