July 25, 1921 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



35 



Grand Rapids Does '* Normal" Business 



Orders Booked by Furniture Manufacturers on July Market Will Keep Majority 

 of Plants Running with Full Crews Full Time for Months 



The close of the third week of the July furniture market found 

 an official registration of buyers numbering 2, 1 63. With still one 

 week more to go it was the belief that a new high record for 

 buyers might be established. The present high record is 2,244 

 made in the big riot market of July, 1919. 



This attendance has been somewhat of a surprise. A large 

 number of buyers was expected but it was little thought it would 

 run above the 2,000 mark. It may be added, too, that the buying, 

 the actual placing of orders, has been in excess of what was 

 expected. 



All Grand Rapids factories have done a large business in the 

 market, enough to ■warrant a resumption of full crew, full time 

 schedule and with the outlook that this situation will continue up 

 to the opening of the next January market. Indeed, a few of the 

 Rapids plants are sold up if all the orders placed are confirmed 

 and no untoward disturbance occurs to bring about cancellations. 

 TTie situation is so vast an improvement both in concrete terms 

 and in atmosphere over last July and last January that all branches 

 of the industry are feeling entirely hopeful that the return of 

 normal conditions is close at hand. 



Outside manufacturers as a rule did not do as well as those of 

 Grand Rapids and vicinity except in spots. The reason for this 

 lay entirely in the matters of design and price. The Grand Rapids 

 factories led the way by bringing out entirely new lines in which 

 in many instances not a single old design was shown and in all 

 cases the vast percentage of designs was new. Added to this the 

 Grand Rapids manufacturers placed most unheard-of low prices 

 upon their lines. It is charged by some that in some instances 

 these prices are below cost. The manufacturers deny this, but 

 admit that the margin of profit has been placed at a minimum 

 because they were anxious to start furniture moving, to keep their 

 factories running at full time with full crews and on the theory 

 that the overhead is no greater with full production than with part 

 time and with small margins of profit and large volume they will 

 be able to make money even at the exceedingly low prices they 

 are charging. 



Some outside manufacturers caught the idea and did likewise. 

 The result was that these, too. did a good business but the manu- 

 facturer who had only his old designs and did not get his prices 

 down is entirely "out of luck." Buyers were admittedly shopping 

 in this market. They have said frankly that they can sell furni- 

 ture only that is startling in design and a bargain in price and so 

 they have been demanding that of the manufacturer. The result 

 i.*i that probably more buyers visited more lines this market than 

 ever before in its history. They were around "looking" and they 

 looked in upon almost every line, many times not buying until 

 after they had made a pretty general survey and then went back 

 to place the orders where they could do so most advantageously. 

 The result is, too, that many lines have many strange names upon 

 their books because their designs and their prices have attracted 

 buyers who never before bought from them. 



Prices Considered at Bottom 



That prices are now just as low as they ever will be and that 

 the next move will probably be a raise in price seems admitted by 

 almost everybody, dealers included. Even during the second week 

 of the market lumber operators here announced advances in the 

 price of lumber and some of them without making announcement 

 declared that unless they could get a better price for their product 

 than they have been getting they would close down their mills 

 and wait until the demand forced the prices up to a profit paying 

 basis. Manufacturers quite generally have considered this a good 



time to buy lumber and one made the statement during the first 

 week of the market: "1 think these are the bargain days for lum- 

 ber. 1 shall buy all I can swing now for 1 don't believe we will 

 ever get good lumber at anything like the prices now asked." 



An interesting development from the lumberman's standpoint 

 in the new designs is the greatly increased use of oak. Almost 

 every line in the market which did anything of consequence that 

 was new produced at least one fine suite in oak. Many of these 

 suites were of very rare beauty. The old idea that oak means 

 golden oak was gotten so far away from that the thought of the 

 wood was limited very largely to the durability of it. More than 

 this, too. Many manufacturers have discarded the mahogany and 

 walnut interiors for their finest suites and have put in quartered 

 white oak drawers and interiors. These being beautifully finished 

 have really been drawing cards to the buyers. 



The designs, too, have turned very largely away from the period 

 design so popular in the last several years. Designers are a little 

 puzzled as to what to call the new designs but are inclined to say 

 when asked: "Well, that is an American design." They lean 

 strongly toward the old colonial much simplified and less massive, 

 but what really has happened is that while the Heppelwhite, or 

 Adam, or Chippendale motif has been preserved, each individual 

 designer has added so much of his own thought to his work that 

 one really must look for the motif. The age of individualism 

 in design is here and it is predicted that before long the design 

 will be known by the name of the American designer or by the 

 factory name rather than by the name of Chippendale, Adam or 

 anybody else. 



The Italian designs wh! h came strongly a few seasons ago is 

 more pronounced in this n arket than ever outside those "Ameri- 

 can" designs spoken of above. But even the Italian designs have 

 taken on some wonderful shapes and hues for the polychrome has 

 been used unsparingly In some instances and the massive, sombre, 

 severe Italian furniture has been lighted up with some extremely 

 bright and glaring colors put on In most inconceivable wrays. 



The old fashioned painted furniture also showed up strongly in 

 the July market. Almost every line contained no small amount 

 of this. Some of this looks exactly like that our grandmothers 

 rejoiced in while others were very daintily decorated by Japanese 

 artists and other decorators and is expensive and very dainty and 

 beautiful. Under this painted furniture may be found all manner 

 of woods such as maple, birch, elm and, in the cheaper grades, 

 poplar. 



The outlook for the retail trade as taken from interviews with 

 dealers from all parts of the country indicates renewed activities 

 in the furniture Industry. In the south conditions are at their worst 

 and worse there than in any other section of the country. But 

 even there dealers are managing to dispose of some furniture and 

 In the market were buying rather liberally. With them it is a 

 case of keeping the stores stocked anyway for in their efforts to 

 unload and because they have bought practically nothing for a 

 full j'ear they are now right down to the bare boards in most 

 instances. 



In other sections, however, the volume of business is reported 

 by the dealers to be about on a par with normal times. This by 

 comparison with the big boom year of I 91 9 and the first half of 

 1920 seems rather tame but the dealer who takes the trouble to 

 go back over his books finds that the last two months have brought 

 his first half year's total up to practically a normal basis. In as 

 much as they did almost nothing during the first three months of 

 the year, the Increased buying in May and June is taken as an 

 Indication of returning good business for the furniture dealer. 



