Las Vegas, NV, July 10, 2006--A rapidly evolving category in home furnishings is the area of juvenile furniture and accessories. Recognizing added interest in youth-related merchandise, Las Vegas Market has expanded its juvenile furnishings offerings.
Buyers at the July Las Vegas Market, running July 24-28, will have the opportunity to check out a multitude of juvenile furnishings at two venues: Vegas Kids--a 20,000 square foot showcase on the ninth floor of World Market Center’s Building A, as well as an expanded juvenile section at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which opens on July 25.
Vegas Kids presents a comprehensive destination for buyers shopping juvenile products. Vegas Kids tenants include: Berg Furniture, Creative Images, Khoury Inc., Levels of Discovery, Comfort Research, Mary Mayo Designs, Vermont Precision Woodworks, KidKraft LP, Camelot Furniture, California Kids, My Room, and One World.
Catherine Willey of the Barrington, N.J.-based Berg Furniture says, “The cooperative atmosphere between the manufacturers is well-received and it is extremely helpful for our buyers to see products cross-merchandised as they might present them to consumers in their retail locations.”
Dana Pretner, director of marketing and public relations, said grouping many of the juvenile furnishings together makes buying more convenient. “Vegas Kids offers buyers an excellent opportunity to take a broad look at what's new in the category,” she said. Pretner added, “Vegas Kids is also right for the times, because key manufacturers are taking large steps to increase their offerings in the juvenile category.”
Industry leader Broyhill, for example, is planning a major introduction at Las Vegas Market called Broyhill Kids Ready, Set, Grow, including both unisex, girls' and boys' collections. Mike McCollum, senior vice president of merchandising, bedroom and dining room for the Lenoir, N.C.-based Broyhill, said the company’s new kids program is designed to be both dealer- and consumer-friendly. “We are offering pieces that move across different style and finish categories,” McCollum said. “A few years ago, we were building youth offerings by working off master suites, now we build directly to that custom youth market, so the product is no longer an offshoot of master suites. We are now offering better price-pointed goods and styled-up finishes. We are making it easier for customers and consumers to buy, offering a broader variety of styles and values.”
And more retailers are now considering expanding into the juvenile category. For example, Jill Anderson, a mother and owner of Texas-based Anderson’s Creative Expressions, said she has previously only touched upon the juvenile furniture category for her four stores. But she is bringing her whole crew of buyers and designers to Las Vegas in July with one of the main goals of identifying new products to offer.
Anderson says, “Having products grouped together in categories makes it much more convenient for us.”
Julie Smith, Editor of Furniture Style, says “Some of the reporting we have done reflects that parents accept that kids are not just influencing the furniture purchases but the accessory purchases as well.”
America’s children are having a huge influence on their parent’s purchasing decisions about everything from minivans to sofas. In fact, our nation’s youngsters are often determining on their own what their parents are buying. No longer do parents assume that they know best. Instead they may take their children to the car lot to make sure junior is happy with his leg room and that the cup holders are where he wants them.
Children and teens influence $600 billion a year of their parents' money and spend $20 billion a year of their own, says Georganne Bender, a retailing analyst in Algonquin, Ill.
