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Retail fairy tale: Kid-furniture sales are booming

By Seattle Times news services

	CHARLES V. TINES / THE DETROIT NEWS Children’s furniture is one of the fastest-growing segments of the home-furnishings industry, with major furniture retailers such as Ethan Allen, above, and Pottery Barn offering collections.
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Imagine the sleepovers a kid could host with Ethan Allen's Jamie sleigh bed. For $999, the extra-long twin bed comes with a trundle drawer that tucks away when overnight guests have gone.

And budding geniuses would love the Hayden desk by Pottery Barn Kids. With a 58-inch work surface, four drawers and four shelves, the $698 desk and hutch is a homework haven. Plus, it's tip-resistant, so little people are protected.

Both precious and pricey, children's furniture has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the home-furnishings industry. As a result, retailers you might not expect are rolling out aggressive expansion plans for the near future.

Finding kids' furnishings • Isabella collection by Young America; dealers at www.stanleyfurniture.com, 276-627-2000. • Pottery Barn Kids; store locations, catalogs, online purchases at www.potterybarnkids.com or 800-430-7373. • Ikea 2004 catalog; www.ikea-usa.com; 800-434-4532. • BombayKIDS; store locations, catalogs, online purchases, www.bombaykids.com or 800-829-7789. • P.J. Kids youth furnishings; dealers at www.pjkids.com. • Ethan Allen Kids section within Ethan Allen stores; locations at www.ethanallen.com.

"People are willing to spend money to make their kids' rooms look good," says Michael Pierce, spokesman for the National Home Furnishings Association, an industry group in High Point, N.C.

Last year, the top 20 kids' retailers sold $9.4 billion in children's furniture and accessories, a 4.3 percent increase over 2001, according to Kids Today, a market research group that studies the juvenile furnishings industry.

Shirley Pritchard contributed to that. When she was looking for a chenille rocker for her 3-year-old granddaughter, she found just what she wanted in a catalog.

"I couldn't have done that years ago," said the Kennett Square, Pa., interior designer. "I would have had to special-order it through one of my vendors. Now, it's readily available," she said, evidence that the market for well-designed youth furnishings is burgeoning.

Creativity unfurled

Retailers are leapfrogging one another to become the dominant player, hoping their designs will appeal to parents looking for safe yet stylish kiddie decor.

Stores including Ethan Allen and Pottery Barn Kids feature the latest looks and biggest brand names. Other chains are establishing or acquiring children's chains, including Bombay Co., Crate & Barrel and Pier 1 Imports Inc.

The Isabella collection by Young America, a division of Stanley Furniture, features white painted furniture with sophisticated European styling, an optional toile-covered headboard and pieces to house electronics.

In the BombayKIDS catalog, you'll find everything from appliqued animal pillows to dinosaur-fossil drawer pulls to froufrou mini-lampshades. Would-be princes who want a Camelot-inspired bedroom can find the fixings, or they can just play-act at royalty behind a theater screen with pull-back curtains.

In Ikea's catalog, a chartreuse girl's bedroom features a frondlike canopy over a bed whose frame can extend. Snuggled in a seat hanging from the ceiling is a little girl, reading.

"This year, we're really trying to capture the child's imagination," said Todd Steele, North American commercial manager for Children's Ikea. Furnishings "can be interactive or go after the child's needs and dreams." Several pieces, such as a little swivel armchair with pull-down hood, promote activity.

All the products reflect the evolution of kids' rooms.

"They're not just a place to sleep in anymore," said Vasso Unks, marketing director for manufacturer P.J. Kids. "Children entertain there and have their video games and television sets and computers there, and study in their rooms with full desks, and many have multiple sleeping (options for guests) and more storage to put all their stuff."

Price ranges vary

You can bring imaginative furnishings into your child's room at various price points. A roomful of Isabella pieces, including a low post panel bed (twin), a vanity bench with cushion, a nightstand and an armoire can run to almost $2,500. The chartreuse ready-to-assemble bedroom from Ikea, including a bed frame, canopy, hanging seat, chest, padded stool, floor mat, and quilt cover set, is about $275.

And, although its high-end rivals have had a head start, Wal-Mart is busy grabbing its share of the market. Kids Today ranks Wal-Mart as the largest in terms of revenue with $2.8 billion in sales of children's products, a 7.6 percent increase over 2001.

The main distinction between children's furnishings of today and those of their parents is the scale. But while the furniture is smaller, the prices are about the same for fine materials, classic construction and attention to detail. For example, some Ethan Allen furniture features Tuffstuff protective coating, which helps its tables and chairs look like new despite the abuse they might take.

Greater availability of cool, affordable furnishings for kids reflects the growth of the youth category, said Pat Bowling, director of communications for the American Furniture Manufacturers Association, and shows that manufacturers are responding to all ends of the market.

"You can see it," she said, "in the way they're paying more attention to function and to what kids do in their rooms, and are responding with creative ways to store things and bring more function into a space that in most homes is, by definition, smaller."

A trend toward later-in-life parenthood, which creates more disposable income, also is fueling the youth category, said Jane Kitchen, editor of Kids Today, who added that grandparents make plenty of these purchases, too. Stores are betting the trend will continue. People are staying closer to home, so decorating has become a national obsession. And no matter how the economy fares, many parents tend to sacrifice their own needs to fulfill those of their children.

This story includes information from the Detroit News and Knight Ridder Newspapers.

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company