REVIEW

Las Vegas Market 2010

27.08.2010

Designer Hugh Elliott gives his independent take on the Last Vegas Market....

Las Vegas has several nicknames – ‘Sin City’ being well known but the one that stands out for me is the ‘City of Second Chances’. Now we can all do with those. For me, this was my first chance to visit the bi-annual Las Vegas Market and it left me with some very favourable impressions.

First off, it is a brilliant venue with five million square feet of permanent exhibition space on its downtown site. The World Market Center Las Vegas (WMCLV) is very easy to visit for everyone, whether you are a buyer, journalist or just curious, the layout of showrooms on up to 16 floors makes for really efficient navigation. There is choice and availability of hotels within minutes of the World Market Center and then there’s the Strip and it’s many ‘Sin City’ attractions. But that’s another story.

Bob Maricich the CEO and president of WMCLV felt there was a sense of optimism at this show and a justified optimism too because as he put it “despite the downturn, there’s still a $75 billion market out there.”

Globalisation of our industry is so evident today and what struck me at the Las Vegas show were the overwhelming European influences in terms of style and interestingly for the US, scale, where manufacturers are responding to the smaller or ‘right’ size of new build housing.

The sophisticated eclectic look you might see in Milan or Cologne was in abundance at Vegas with companies like Luxo from Brazil exhibiting gloss wood and glass. South America has become an important trading partner for the US, and countries like Brazil with their robust economies and western tastes are proving to be a lucrative markets for many US companies.

This market featured two areas where business has not been as badly affected by the downturn and in many cases companies have been experiencing growth. Youth furniture – presented at this market as Vegas Kids, and outdoor furniture themed as Alfresco Spaces.

Lifestyle trends are changing in the US with a big move towards casual living and the products to go with it but the emphasis is not just ‘Casual’ - it's ‘Casual Luxury’. This can mean many things from high dining tables to ethnic influenced fabrics. One of the big trends where Casual Luxury, or ‘Rough Lux’, figured strongly was for ‘industrial’ furniture utilising reclaimed or repurposed materials.  Good examples of this came from Californian manufacturer Brownstone (pictured) with their chunky metal end capped trestle dining tables or the more decorative gothic based table from Four Hands

 
The look is versatile and can work equally well in a country or ethnic inspired interior as well as more sophisticated urban settings. The use of recycled materials gives it real green credibility; another market theme and one that is being championed by the Sustainable Furnishings Council. This non-profit coalition is unique in America and has been formed to promote best ‘green’ practices across the furnishing industry and to work alongside existing organisations like FSC.

I felt that some of the older more established companies, Broyhill for instance, were in danger of being left behind as their competitors reach out to younger customers, and I was reminded of what happened to General Motors who saw their customer base literally die on them.

To be fair, Thomasville were making efforts to address this issue by offering younger styled and appropriately scaled furniture with increased functionality – wire management for bedside cabinets and under table storage. Indeed enhanced integration of technology was a big theme and actually why wouldn’t you want to plug in your i-Pod or mobile on the bedside table and how many hotels have you been in recently where you can’t do this?

Perhaps one of the more interesting larger companies was Ethan Allen, which was adopting a more cerebral approach to business development in difficult times. Under the continued leadership of Farooq Kathwari they are focusing on choice and customisation for all and have set themselves the challenge of driving greater sales through smaller, leaner showrooms by the clever use of technology to engage new customers looking for bespoke furnishing options.

The ‘Touch Browse Play’ systems (pictured) being rolled out to their stores allow customers to interact with a touch screen to explore product options through gentle interrogation of their aspirations, eventually drilling down to the details of shape, colour, fabric, finish and cost. The thinking behind this is that whilst the showroom can offer generic ‘looks’ – contemporary, classic, or transitional, you as the customer can have exactly what you want – all you need is a little help, and that’s where Touch Browse Play comes in. They have tried the UK in the past – with global ambitions being already realised it’s only a matter of time before we see more of Ethan Allen on these shores.

A large part of the show was themed Gift and Home and whilst this was aimed at the accessory and gift sectors there was a definite blurring of the boundaries between cabinet and accessory companies. Many of the exhibitors included cabinet furniture as part of a total product offer, the emphasis is on the ‘Whole Home’ furnishing and investing in your home.

A good example of this was Uttermost (pictured) – also an NEC exhibitor – with their eclectic mix of furniture and accessories.

The edgier designs that you might see in Milan or Cologne were far and few between in Las Vegas but one exception was BRC Designs, who showed a number of interesting pieces inspired by everyday objects like the ‘Fencing’ Table. I felt that there was scope for WMCLV to encourage more new designers and smaller design led companies in the same way that Cologne and Milan have done so successfully.

Three days was barely enough time to do this show justice but I was impressed with what the Las Vegas World Market had to offer and in the spirit of the city’s sobriquet I would definitely give it a second chance.

Click here to read Hugh's review of Vegas Kids, the youth furnishings oriented show at Las Vegas.

About the author: Hugh Elliott