Bull Market in Chicago

ICFA Preview shoots to win

Nicole Crews & Cinde W Ingram -- Casual Living, 8/1/2012 2:00:00 AM

CHICAGO - The International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market Preview Show was held July 17-19 at the Merchandise Mart. The annual event serves as a sneak peak for the Casual Market held each fall. This year, the event that showcases casual indoor and outdoor furniture, umbrellas, grills, accessories and more grows to 350,000-plus square feet and takes place Sept. 20-23.
     Marked by a steady stream of attendees and a positive vibe, the Preview Show was packed with product introductions, a fresh and diverse embracement of color and an interesting assortment of modern looks marketed for the Millennials and Gen Xers entering the marketplace.

	Whitecraft’s Montecito Collection shone in sun-drenched colors, featuring Bella-Dura’s Coconut Grove fabric with accents of Sunset Grove and Dreamsicle Grove Vanilla.
Three Birds Casual’s Riviera line of folding chairs and loungers expanded to eight color options. “We feel good about the amount of interest we’ve had,” said Tad Varga, president of Three Birds Casual. “We’re having a lot of success with our discount structure and we started writing early buy orders last week.”
	Pride Family Brands President Steve Lowsky said its expanded fi re features prompted strong response. The new Monterey Collection, constructed of cast and extruded aluminum, drew attention with its fi re table along with overstuffed cushion comfort and single button tufting that repeated design elements.
The Avanti Collection at Gensun Casual Living features deep seating loungers showcased in exclusive Richard Frinier fabric.
	OW Lee introduced four new collections – two iron and two aluminum – this market. Gios and Pallisades are the latter and Laredo and Marquette, shown here, use iron with a large amount of white space in the design to keep the prices competitive.
Telescope Casual mixes fl oral and stripe on a new woven introduction, La Vie – a fabric trend seen throughout the show.
	Loft by Lloyd Flanders is a concept the company is still shaping, but the idea is to attract the younger buyer with a modern sensibility and affordable price point.