From the WSJ Real Estate Archives

Some Unlikely Celebs
Launch Furniture Lines

by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
From The Wall Street Journal Online

In his career, John Elway has passed for more than 51,000 yards and 300 touchdowns and has played in five Super Bowls. This extensive resume clearly has prepped the Denver Bronco quarterback for his latest post-retirement challenge: home furnishings.

Mr. Elway's new furniture line is one of many being rolled out this week at the semi-annual International Home Furnishings Market, which begins here today. The High Point show, one of the biggest furniture-trade shows in the world, is a key venue for product introductions. Many retailers, store owners and interior designers rely on a trip to the show to gauge where the furniture business is headed.

[sofas]
Three-seater sofa from John Elway's furniture line
While celebrities from Oscar de la Renta to Martha Stewart have been launching furniture lines for several years, the trend seems to be moving down the celebrity food chain this season. Names with no apparent connection to style or design have been tethered to some new lines.

Cristina Saralegui, host of Univision's popular Spanish-language "The Cristina Show," has partnered with Virginia-based Pulaski Furniture Corp. to create a "Euro-Mediterranean style" line of furniture named Casa Cristina that targets the Hispanic market. The company collaborated with Ms. Saralegui to do 110 pieces of bedroom furniture (from $1,649 for a painted chest of drawers to $3,599 for a four-poster bed) and dining room items (from $3,149 for a buffet base and deck to $6,599 for a table and six chairs), inspired by the "Latino influence in Spain, Florida, New York," said Jim Kelly, Pulaski's executive vice president for product development and marketing.

[TV]
Hooker Furniture media center with a TV that lifts up at the push of a button.
Grammy Award-winning jazz musician Steve Tyrell is touting "Southern Roots," a 56-piece collection of furniture inspired by the grand Southern homes of his childhood in New Orleans and Memphis, Tenn. The line is being offered by Pennsylvania House, part of La-Z-Boy Inc.

And Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. is banking on Mr. Elway to charm his way into American living rooms. The Virginia manufacturer is rolling out three lines of home entertainment-related furniture. These include birch and cherry media centers, recliners with swing-out snack tables, and sofas that feature three seats with padded arms between them. (The furniture will be available in December.)

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In the wake of steady decreases in annual furniture sales since September 2001, American manufacturers are hoping home theaters can help turn things around. Several companies are putting special emphasis on home-entertainment centers designed to appeal specifically to buyers of digital television products. A study from the Consumer Electronics Association this spring reported that 56% of those who were planning to buy their first digital TV would also invest in a new stand, cabinet or entertainment center at the same time as or soon after their TV purchase.

Among the buzzier pieces to be shown at High Point: Cityscape, a $3,499 Hooker Furniture Corp. media center that looks like a bookcase but contains a hidden flat-screen TV that pops up with the push of a button. There's also a $5,400 Sligh Furniture Co. "multiflex home-entertainment cabinet" that accommodates TVs of varying widths to allow for future TV upgrades. (It has two side cabinets that slide back and forth.)

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[Metal bunk bed]
A Hooker metal bunk bed is among the new entries to the crowded kids' market.
Furniture companies are piling into an increasingly crowded market with several launches of new children's or baby-related lines. Sales of youth bedroom furniture grew 14% in 2002 from 2001, faster than the 8% growth in adult bedroom furniture, according to Kay Anderson, director of marketing research for Furniture Today. Hooker's entry is Smart Kids, a brand that spans four 30-piece collections -- average price: $599 for a bed, $649 for a dresser and $599 to $649 for a student desk.

In a related area, Berkline/Benchcraft LLC is pushing a $599 to $699 "Rock-a-bye recliner" targeted at new mothers that glides, rocks, and offers extra support for the lower back. Borrowing a trick from minivan makers, the chair has a bottle-holder and pouches for food, diapers or baby powder.

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Denim companies doing home furniture? Wrangler enters the home-furnishings fray this season with collections for the bedroom and living and dining rooms. Sofas cost between $899 and $1,499, and occasional chairs range from $399 to $699. As for the answer to the No. 1 question in everyone's mind? "No, there is no denim in the line," says George Weldon, director of licensing for the Greensboro-based apparel company. "Denim just does not sell as a fabric."

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