Thursday, January 6, 2011 | Edited by Daniel Moores
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Home Theater Gear is a Booming Business Retailers Getting Ready for Post-Holiday, Pre-Super Bowl Sales Activity Stores are selling more big-screen TVs and projectors for movies and games, creating a boom in sales of home theater furniture, a surprising bright spot for the hard-hit furniture business. Revenue from sales of projectors for movies and games is expected to increase from $406 million last year to $421 million in 2011, says the Consumer Electronics Association. Berkline, which makes home theater recliners, saw double-digit growth last year after 15 years of making the $600-$1,100 chairs. And home theater-related retailers are bracing for a post-holiday, pre-Super Bowl bump. The Super Bowl is the "top driver" of HDTV sales, and sales of home theater-related furniture go "hand in hand," CEA spokeswoman Megan Pollock says. CEO Rob Burch says Berkline often sees a sales increase this month. He attributes that in part to the Super Bowl and those updating furniture in the rooms that will house new TVs, projectors and gaming equipment that they received for the holidays. La-Z-Boy, which doesn't break out sales by product, says the home theater trend has led to demand for sectional sofas with chaise lounge seating, power recline functions and cup holders. Where it started The trend's roots extend to 2009, when the TV market did "shockingly well," thanks in part to great holiday deals, says CEA chief economist Shawn DuBravac. As with TVs, the prices of projectors are dropping, down from an average of $1,401 in 2009 to $972 last year, CEA says. The global market for home theater technologies and services is expected to grow from $1.9 billion in 2006 to $2.9 billion in 2013, a compound annual growth rate of 6.9%, according to Electronics.ca, an industry research company. Home theater products include sound systems, display systems, players, media storage devices and theater-in-a-box systems, which are seeing the fastest sales increases, says a Global Industry Analysts study. Some of the uptick in home theater furniture is a response to all the upgraded TVs people bought in 2009. Now they want better furniture for watching. DuBravac says it's also due to the increase in empty nesters with room to spare and doting parents who want to keep their teenagers at home. "If you have the best hangout, then you're the house everyone will want to go to," he says. Some also say it's a response to high movie ticket and concession prices. Last year was the worst year for movie ticket sales since 1996, says a new study by Hollywood.com. Cathleen McCloskey of Blauvelt, N.Y., is considering upgrading from a 42-inch television to a 60-inch one "to be able to enjoy football and baseball and movies in more of a theater-like setting." She says she hates going to the movies anymore. "The people are rude, talking and munching during the movie, the parking is crazy and the snacks are expensive and not healthy," says McCloskey, 46. Burch says the argument for more theater-like chairs includes optional trays for popcorn and candy, lighted cup holders and technology that vibrates your seat so that you "feel" gunshots or thunder from the movie. Going all out Jeff Berens of Royal Oak, Mich., says he priced sectional sofas and found he could get six Berkline seats for about the same price. Besides, he says, "A bunch of adults sitting elbow to elbow on a couch is not the most comfortable thing." The home audio and video engineer also built a lighted "riser" to elevate the second row of seats so everyone can see the screen in his new home theater. Anne Morrissy, 31, of Chicago used to think home theaters were a "completely frivolous indulgence that the very wealthy put in their homes to show off just how wealthy they are." But that changed after she went to see This Is It at the movie theater three times last winter because she liked the feeling of "standing on stage" with Michael Jackson. "I have since become a little obsessed with, if not actually having a home theater of my own, at least dating someone who does," Morrissy says. (Source: USA Today, 01/05/11) |
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Restaurants Not Afraid of the Cold Now that the feast-heavy holidays are over and Old Man Winter has arrived over much of the country, restaurants will use special promotions, gift cards, and even a reduction in customers' taxes to help heat up first-quarter sales. The quarter, which typically stretches from Jan. 1 to March 31, has long been considered a tricky period for restaurants given the lack of major holidays and the cold weather that makes potential diners stay home. "Traditionally, January and February are among the slowest months for restaurants in the nation as a whole, so restaurant operators are typically prepared for lower traffic levels compared to the rest of the year," said National Restaurant Association chief economist Bruce Grindy. But for 2011, several factors could help provide a boost to winter sales: 1. Consumers get a tax cut A 2-percentage-point reduction in payroll tax withholding will put a few more dollars in consumers' wallets on a regular basis, Grindy said. Those dollars can be used for small luxuries like a morning cup of coffee, a lunch out or a take-out dinner from the restaurant down the street, he said. The reduction went into effect on Jan. 1 and the government has mandated that employers make the withholding change by Jan. 31. 2. Valentine's Day Despite the dearth in major holidays during the first quarter, restaurants will find one special occasion on their side. Valentine's Day -- considered the second most popular dining out holiday behind Mother's Day -- falls on a Monday. "This will provide a solid boost in restaurant traffic on a Monday, which is typically the slowest day of the week for restaurant sales," Grindy said. 3. Restaurant Week Many cities are helping restaurants bring in customers by offering Restaurant Week deals where diners can visit a restaurant and get special pricing at lunch and dinner. Washington D.C., for example, is hosting a restaurant week from Jan. 17 to Jan. 23, in which a three-course lunch will cost $20.11 and a three-course dinner will cost $35.11. The week is being sponsored by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and Destination D.C., a private tourism and marketing organization. A New York Restaurant Week is set for Jan. 24 to Feb. 6. California is taking Restaurant Week a step further and hosting its inaugural Restaurant Month where diners can find deals for the entire month of January. Discounts include two-for-one entrees, percentage discounts and special pricing on meals and about 20 cities or counties across the state are participating. 4. Holiday gift card redemptions Gift cards can also be a sales driver during the first quarter of the year. Although the NRA's Grindy said data is scarce for when gift cards are redeemed, he offers that "many gift cards are still burning a hole in people's pockets from the holidays." This holiday season, gift cards could have provided a bigger boost for restaurants than in years past. In an annual consumer survey last month, digital gifting support vendor CashStar Inc. found 67 percent of respondents who said they planned to buy gift cards were set to buy one for a restaurant, up from 59 percent in 2009. 5. Special offers Some restaurant chains are also planning to offer special promotions at the start of the year. In a conference call with investors in December, Darden Restaurants Inc. chief financial officer Brad Richmond said the company may introduce several new "moderately priced but highly satisfying dishes to the menu in the $15 range" to drive traffic at Red Lobster. Others are looking to the typical consumer weight loss resolutions, and offering special diet menus. Bob Evans is advertising "resolution solutions" in the form of its Fit from the Farm menu, for which each item contains one-third or less of the recommended daily value for calories, sodium, fat and saturated fat. (Source: Nation's Restaurant News, 12/30/10) |
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Craft Beer Popularity Soars While spirits barely edged out beer as the most popular alcoholic beverage enjoyed by consumers in 2010, the market has hardly fallen flat. According to the latest research from Mintel, domestic beer is the clear favorite, followed by imported varieties; but 33 percent of all beer drinkers aged 21 and up are drinking more domestic craft beer. Only a modest percentage of beer drinkers (13 percent) say they prefer domestic craft or microbrew beers (compared to 43 percent for domestic and 22 percent for imported), but an impressive 59 percent say they like to try them, and 51 percent would try more craft or microbrew beers if they knew more about them. "Craft beers have increased in popularity in the past five years, and enjoyed a boost in their consumer base," said Garima Goel Lal, senior analyst at Mintel. "Craft beer is most popular with the 25-to-34-year-old crowd, so manufacturers would be wise to target this demographic and educate them more about artisan beers." While craft brews are gaining an edge in popularity, price is a deterrent for some drinkers when it comes to trying or purchasing them. Forty-one percent of drinkers only enjoy craft/microbrew beers as a treat because they are expensive. Meanwhile, 29 percent report drinking less craft beer than they did a year ago because of the price. However, the market is showing some resilience as 29 percent of consumers who report drinking more beer than they did a year ago say they are drinking more craft/microbrew beer as an affordable luxury. "The recession hit many industries hard, and the beer market was no exception," Goel Lal said. "The good news is, it appears that the influence of the recession is becoming less pronounced on the beer market in terms of losing volume. The number of beer drinkers who are drinking less beer has decreased since 2009." Mintel's research also found that the package their beverage of choice comes in is just as important as the beer itself for the consumer:
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