|
This is an
article written by Jayne O'Donnell,
USA Today
Home theater
gear is a booming business
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 (CEA).
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. |
