Interviews conducted for the lamp and lighting Business Update that ran exactly one year ago revealed an industry-wide commitment on the part of manufacturers to remain positive, in spite of rising production costs and slowing retail and housing markets.

Twelve months later, lighting manufacturers still maintain that times are tough, yet they're finding some solace in the fact that nearly everyone else is struggling too. The variable is how each company is handling it. Some see it as an opportunity for a time out — a chance to study and shore up their business fundamentals and improve quality control. Others are looking to new markets in hospitality, contract, licensing and international venues. And, just as the past few years have seen several of the larger accessory vendors diversify into portable lighting, a growing number of lamp makers are growing their collections with complementing accessories.

Jan Orr Shaffer

To all outward appearances it was business as usual in Kichler's Dallas showroom last month, where the company introduced 31 new lamps and three new families of Tiffany. “So far, we're weathering it well,” Shaffer said. “We continue to introduce products in good-better-best categories. Also in families that coordinate with accessories.”

Joel Kent

Kent said it's important to keep things fresh, be there for the customer and maintain a positive outlook. “We're a 25-year-old company. We sell to mom & pop stores, big box, contract and hospitality. Lately when I talk with our customers I sound like a psychologist instead of a marketing director, telling them to keep a positive outlook, don't commiserate with customers about how 'bad' things are. … But some of them have called back to tell me I was right.”

Litesource has also chosen to maintain its pace with new advertising and product. “We brought 59 new products to Dallas and 129 to High Point last market, so we've introduced 200 new products just over the last six months,” Kent said. Litesource has 87 reps promoting hospitality and design and about 40 who do nothing but the lighting stores. “Each size customer has different needs,” Kent said. “We cater to and service each and have added transitional and traditional to our contemporary lines to provide our buyers a one-stop shopping experience. There are fewer people shopping the markets in a shorter amount of time these days. We all benefit by being sensitive to their time and needs with a well-prepared selection.”

Bryan Williams

Williams said the challenge today isn't so much the economy as that the last five years have seen a number of companies diversify into lighting. As a result, there's more competition. “Everybody has diversified, and retailers have followed,” Williams said. “Some buyers come in and respond better to our lamps displayed on shelving, the same way they sell in their lighting stores. Others want to see the item in the decorative context of a vignette. We show the item both ways.”

Robert Cooper

“Twice a year we bring at least 60 to 80 intros to market. We brought 80 to Dallas this time, including lighting for the contract market, which is getting big for us,” Cooper said. Cal started out 25 years ago with mainly traditional styles and added contemporary and transitional through the years. “Lodge is our forte, though, what the company is best known for, and we'll continue to introduce accessories to go with it.” Strong gains in the company's Internet business are also helping to keep sales numbers steady.

It appears to be a different story at the higher end of the market. Pamela St. Martin, vice president sales and marketing for the Alexander-John lighting division of John-Richard, said that although they haven't been as affected by the economy, she's noticed more caution and selectivity on the part of customers. “They're looking for more confidence in their purchases, and something unique — not a 'me too.' It absolutely must have the wow,” she said.

St. Martin said it's a working business model that keeps the company in search of new applications -- finishes, for example, that it finds by going to other sources and using techniques completely outside the home furnishings industry. The designers are also interpreting the green movement with lifelike renderings of nature's best, in the form of lady slipper orchids, tree-of-life, palm leaf fronds and celestial-themed fixtures and chandeliers. “Green for us is not just about energy efficiency but how we feel indoors surrounded by nature and organic themes that provide comfort,” St. Martin said.

Dirk Wald

Like most of the lighting companies, Wald said Schonbek

sells more traditional but the company has also done well with contemporary, including its Geometrics line which led to a just-completed installation in Planet Hollywood-Las Vegas.

The rising cost of materials, though, is having an effect. “All of our shades are made domestically, in Michigan, and everything is designed in New York, but the costs of crystal and steel have gone up dramatically,” Wald said. “We remind our dealers that they have an investment in crystal which fortunately holds its value as prices go up. We're also offering promotions to help them out.”

Prior to the recent retirement of Murray Feiss founding family, Murray and Dorothy Feiss, Robert and Andrea Greene, and Ron and June Hersh, president Greg Vandia organized several committees to take a closer look at the company's product and business strategy going forward.

Creative development director Jody Crow came out of it with a focus on “delivering wonderful product in new styles and different sources.” Vandia's main focus is quality. “He just spent 21 days in China looking at ways to improve quality, cut costs, make installation easier,” Crow said. “Greg even practiced taking product out of the box just to see how much was involved in final assembly … even the electricians were considered in the equation.” As a result, the company is evaluating the feasibility of bringing in more assembled product. “It's one of those things that could cost more up front but in the long run would save on damages and returns,” he said.

Murray Feiss may also consider options in the hospitality and contract market and will be doing more cross-merchandising with its licensed Martha Stewart and Bob Mackie lines. “We used to do more bath and vanity but haven't so much in recent years,” Crow said. “Our customers have continued to ask about it so that's something we're considering a return to.”

He's also looking to more sources for inspiration, evidenced by Murray Feiss' new Parker Place collection which represents one of the company's new directions in an industrial, retro style. “We're seeing a trend toward cleaner lines, less is more, a move back to smaller,” Crow added.

Troy Lee

Savoy House sells specifically to lighting specialty showrooms in the mid- to high-end price range. “Our European-inspired and manufactured product is at an all-time high and we're actively distributing in Europe,” Lee added.

Savoy House is also proactive with Dark Sky and Energy Star products, a focus it shares with Sea Gull Lighting, a major supplier of fixtures to national and regional residential home builders.

Jody De Vine, director of Sea Gull's brand and channel marketing, said Sea Gull is very committed to what Energy Star stands for. “In the area of green, we're not trying to catch up because we've been doing it for a long time.” De Vine said the company also offers incandescent products along with Energy Star, a pin-based system.

De Vine said trends in her market tend to follow plumbing fixtures and cabinetry hardware which for now is polished nickels, chromes and silver.

It's also a look found pretty much across the lighting industry, as well as geometrics, metallics rendered in hand-painted porcelain and bases made from sustainable products.

Traditional remains strong, as do contemporary and lodge looks. More importantly, the manufacturers are remaining strong at a time when, according to Litesource's Joel Kent, “You can put your head in the sand and hope it blows over, or stand up in the storm and accept that you'll still get some sand in your face.”