ALPHARETTA, GA.—The Refinishing Touch has released a three-year snapshot of furniture asset management and refinishing trends from 2011 to 2013 as it prepares for growth in 2014.
“Our proximity to brands and institutions through many completed refinishing, upholstery and remanufacturing projects and a broad client base gives us the opportunity to analyze furniture asset management trends and to ensure we maintain a strong vision as we head into 2014 and our 37th year in business,” said Mario Insenga, founder and president of The Refinishing Touch.
Key trends from January 2011 to 2013 that emerged from data analyzed by The Refinishing Touch, which included thousands of individual standard and color changing refinishing, upholstery and remodification projects for an estimated 30,000 rooms and more than 165,600 single pieces of furniture, include:
• A significant reduction in landfill waste and carbon emissions due to an increased investment in refinishing services. An estimated 9,200 trees saved by refinishing existing furniture within the three years, and 99 percent carbon footprint reduction.
• A 35 percent increase in refinishing-only projects from 2011 to 2013 across hospitality, education and government clients, resulting in an average cost savings of 80 percent compared to the cost of acquiring new furniture.
• A nearly 33 percent increase in large-scale refinishing projects from 2011 to 2013, reflecting signs of positive growth in the hospitality industry following the industry’s downturn in 2011 to 2012.
• An increase in demand for color-change services. This increase highlights trends within the hospitality, university and government industries of embracing a more modern feel within facilities by completing darker color changes to the furniture and applying new decorative hardware.
• An increase in upholstery projects by 24 percent in 2013 compared to 2011. This steady increase mirrors the demand for practical and elegant furniture upholstery and the growing breadth of The Refinishing Touch’s upholstery services and the materials available via its Touch Textiles division; a nationwide fabrics distributor that offers a complete line of functional, durable and decorative quality fabrics.
• A steep decline in armoire modification projects by 67 percent in 2013 compared to 2011, reflecting the completion of modification projects as hotels have adopted flat-screen televisions.
During 2013 The Refinishing Touch completed many high profile projects with long-term partners including Georgetown University, University of Wisconsin, Hilton Hotels, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, WorldMark, Omni Hotels and Resorts, Belterra Casino and more. These successful high-profile projects were complemented by recognition for its quality management with a new ISO 9001:2008 certification.
“As I look to 2014, I’m excited for our team, our clients and our industry,” Insenga said. “Although the global economy remains fragile, this fragility creates the need to spend budgets wisely, which has helped brand owners and facility managers in education, hospitality and government to look at new ways to innovate, be creative and to maximize existing spend on assets. To me, preserving and protecting bottom-line assets and creating new and beautiful pieces of furniture without the need to destroy trees or burn unnecessary budget is a win-win situation: a win for the budget holder and a win for the environment.”
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