January 10, 1921 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



21 



The Grand Rapids Furniture Exhibit 



Present Market Is Compared with Those of Past Years and lis 

 Significance to the Hardwood Industry Pointed Out 



By Wm. B. Baker, 



Secretary National Council of Furniture Manufacturers 



On Januarj' 3rd the largest exhibit of furniture, in point of number 

 of manufaoturers, opened at Grand Eapids, Michigan, and will con- 

 tinue for three weeks. Four hundred and fifty lines of furniture are 

 on exhibit, which number is about 20 per cent in excess of any 

 previous exhibit. It is worthy of notice that many specialty lines 

 have made an appearance, such as factories making wood beds only, 

 or factories making one, two or three designs of bed room or dining 

 room suits. All of the available space in the several exhibition 

 buildings is crowded with samples and other space outside the 

 buildings, never so employed, is being utilized to show the samples 

 of the lines unable to house their display in the exhibition buildings. 

 The local factories, as usual, are showing their lines at their factory 

 show rooms. These exhibits are very interesting indeed. 



It is stated that during the past two years 

 64 manufacturers of furniture divorced their 

 product from furniture as such, and took on 

 contracts for jihonograph cabinets. Having 

 exhausted that effort, some of .those factories 

 are now reentering the furniture field, and in 

 most eases are devoting themselves to special- 

 ties as mentioned rather than to any general 

 line of furniture. 



The opening week closed with an attend- 

 ance slightly in excess of <)00 retail buyers. 



The situation during this market is is 

 marked contrast to that experienced on simi- 

 lar occasions the past two years, as on those 

 occasions the retail buyer was seeking mer- 

 chandise. Failing to secure all that was 

 needed from regular lines of supply, the 

 buyers pyramided their orders and bought 

 wherever they felt that they could secure 

 shipment. During the past six months the 

 dealers have cancelled all unfilled orders and 

 the manufacturers of furniture have been de- 

 void of new business upon which to predicate 

 the production of their patterns, and as their 

 order books ceased to function the factories 

 have reduced hours of operation and in many 



cases have closed down until orders are received in suflBcient amount 

 to warrant resuming operations. 



Furniture manufacturers the past 60 days have earnestly sought to 

 establish values for their product to be sold the first six months of 

 1921, which values would reflect replacement costs. The buyer at- 

 . tending the Grand Eapids market has found much variation in the 

 price for furniture of similar character. In some cases it is obvious 

 that the manufacturer has established some jjrices which are devoid 

 of any profit, in fact, there are cases where furniture is marked at 

 values which are less than cost of production. If low prices were 

 the sole demand of the retail dealer certain lines would have secured 

 all of the business placed in the Grand Eapids market. If one be- 

 lieved all the reports in circulation such a condition might be ac- 

 cepted as the fact, but that condition has not developed and there is 

 considerable furniture being sold at the asked price, which price is 

 not the minimum in the market. I take the fact to indicate the 

 judgment of the retailersis influenced, when placing orders for mer- 

 chandise actually needed to balance their stocks, to consider quality 

 of merchandise and service rendered the past two years as factors, 

 even regardless of price. Many manufacturers of furniture in the 



Wn 



stress of meeting the abnormal demand shipped merchandise which 

 when ^n the hands of the retailer made an unfavorable impression 

 because of its shoddy condition. 



Tlie average retailer of furniture in going to the Grand Eapids 

 market had an idea that prices would be much lower than w-ere 

 found to be in force. That disappointment will doubtless tend to 

 hold up buying of furniture in anticipation of needs on thj part of 

 the retailer and the speed with which such buying develops depends 

 entirely upon the stability maintained by the manufacturers of the 

 jirices asked for their product. 



There is much talk among the retailers that prices for furniture 

 should be lower because of the great reductions in the price of lumber 

 used in the manufacture of furniture, also the liquidation of labor, 

 both of which items are given much comment 

 in the public press. The manufacturer in 

 practically every case has taken a marked 

 loss on lumber inventoried Dec. 31, 1920, and 

 is using today in his cost computation the 

 lowest quotations obtained on the lumber en- 

 tering into his product. The chaotic condi- 

 tion of the lumber market is such that a man- 

 ufacturer of furniture is hard put to arrive 

 at a figure which would be universally used 

 liy furniture manufacturers. If the prices of 

 Iiardwood lumber were stabilized during 

 December the prices asked for furniture by 

 the manufacturer would certainly reflect such 

 stability much more than is evidenced at the 

 Grand Eapids market. 



There is no indication that the jiereentage 

 of wood used in the manufacture of furniture 

 is going to change materially for the year 

 1921 over what was consumed in 1920. There 

 is evidence of an increase in the amount of 

 decorated furniture now being shown and 

 that will ultimately have a tendency to 

 change the ratio of grades of lumber used by 

 the manufacturers of such furniture. 



A canvass of the stock of lumber on hand 

 with furniture producers shows that 90 per cent have stocks suffi- 

 cient to cover their requirements for six months of normal produc- 

 tion. That means the bulk of the furniture manufacturers of neces- 

 sity must enter the lumber market in March and April in order to 

 secure supplies which will be in dry condition and available for use 

 in the early part of the last six months of this year. The many re- 

 actions, experienced by furniture manufacturers compelled to accept 

 green lumber in the last 12 months, have taught an obvious lesson, 

 and yet it is a question of serious import as to how far the present 

 stocks of dry lumber in the hands of the saw millswill cover the 

 needs of the furniture producer when the bulk of such manufacturers 

 seek to cover their requirements. 



Never in my observation of the previous forty exhibits of furniture 

 at Grand Eapids have I noted a condition of confidence existing with 

 the manufacturers of furniture as to the future or such complacent 

 acceptance of the situation now existing. The determination is very 

 marked that furniture will not be produced in excess of the demand, 

 and that unless the dealers buy as they need there will arise a situa- 

 tion in the early part of the coming sjjring when merchandise will be 

 (.Continued on page 22) 



B. Baki 



