Las Vegas-- Encouraged by falling electronics prices and wide consumer acceptance of flat-panel TVs, producers of entertainment furniture are headed to this month's market here in an upbeat mood.
Their optimism comes in spite of soft retail business conditions that have plagued the furniture industry for months.
Producers say their optimism is warranted because entertainment furniture, driven by flat-panel TV sales that break records nearly every month, remains one of the industry's few bright spots.
More than a dozen Vegas showrooms have new entertainment products to entice buyers, and dozens more are featuring the category in permanent World Market Center showrooms and temporary exhibit space at the Cashman Center.
Most exhibitors are stressing their product's compatibility with a range of flat-panel TV screen sizes, and several are focusing on convergence -- the consumer electronics buzzword that describes the blending of several once-separate functions.
In the case of furniture, convergence typically involves a meshing of home office and entertainment uses.
"Two of our featured collections incorporate home entertainment and home office options, and some of the new multi-function centers include wine centers and hanging glass racks," said Chris Lupo, president of Parker House.
Still others are addressing the popularity of video gaming, and furniture designed specifically for gamers is becoming an important niche within the entertainment furniture category.
"It is not an inexpensive hobby; it's a middle-class hobby," said Karl Eulberg, vice president of sales at Kathy Ireland Home by Martin.
Ready-to-assemble specialist Bush Furniture also is addressing the gaming niche with items aimed at teens and pre-teens who play video games using smaller hand-me-down TVs.
Jim Schmidt II, vice president of marketing and merchandising, said a top seller has been Game Ball, a stand shaped like a baseball that accommodates a monitor and has storage space for gaming controls and consoles.
"It's fun, yet functional," Schmidt said, noting the piece soon will be available in configurations that resemble a football and soccer ball.
Other key introductions include a major addition to the Lifestyle collection at Legends Furniture, several new entertainment centers at Signature, the expansion of the successful Tribeca Loft collection at Martin, and the expansion of the 4 Seasons collection at Aspenhome.
The new Legends products include five entertainment consoles that have optional hutches and pier walls. The consoles will retail for $299 as a stand-alone item, and at $699 with the hutch and $999 for the console, hutch and pier walls.
All of the new consoles are 64 inches wide, which will accommodate nearly all popular sizes of flat-panel TVs, said Tim Donk, marketing director.
Signature's new products include three entertainment centers with pull-out trays for DVD storage and glass doors for component access, while Aspenhome's newest addition to the 4 Seasons collection is the Bayside entertainment group. It blends contemporary and traditional styling.
In addition, Broyhill is unveiling the transitional Intermezzo entertainment center, which is available with matching occasional tables, and Primo Designs is adding an entertainment center to its popular Havana Bay collection.
Import powerhouse AICO has included an entertainment wall in its new Venetian collection, while Fusion Designs is adding entertainment centers to its existing Nouveau, Bent Creek and Elegant collections.
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