Canyon to expand distribution of four Disney bedroom groups

High Point— Canyon Furniture is looking to expand the distribution of a line of licensed Disney furniture that retailer Rooms to Go introduced about four months ago.

Canyon Furniture, in which Rooms to Go has a stake, showed the four collections during the October High Point furniture market. Worth Oelschlager, president of Canyon, said the manufacturer is looking for Top 100 retailers that are outside of Rooms to Go retail areas.

"We are looking for retailers who have enough floor space to really show the line," he said.

The line is composed of four collections — Princess, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse and Lizzie McGuire. Oelschlager said the Princess group, a white girls' group with carved ribbon and bow details and rosette-shaped drawer pulls, has the most SKUs with between 50 and 60. That group has also been the best selling at Rooms to Go, followed by Pooh, Lizzie McGuire and Mickey Mouse.

"Girls' rooms sell better than boys," said Henry Fox, sales manager at Canyon.

One of the most stunning pieces in the entire collection is the Princess carriage bed, which has a metal frame shaped like a carriage from Disney tales. The bed has a white gold finish, and a twin retails between $499 and $599. The Princess collection also contains five other bed options, including twin bunk beds and a day bed with cast iron posts and acrylic finials.

The Winnie the Pooh group is solid pine with a rubbed timber finish and log cabin styling. Many of the case pieces feature colorful, whimsical panels of Pooh and his friends that can be flipped around to reveal the timber finish as a child grows. The group also includes a loft bed that can be combined with colorful fabric panels and an optional slide to create a play fort. Other accents include "hunny" pot finials and a hutch corkboard featuring a map of Pooh's forest.

The Mickey Mouse group also skews younger and features some natural finished cases with blue laser-cut silhouettes of the mouse that can be flipped to the natural side as well. The collection also includes dark blue cases with natural finish tops and wooden drawer pulls with metal inserts featuring a cutout of Mickey's famous head and ears.

The Lizzie McGuire group features modern shapes, bright colors and chrome accents — all designed to appeal to tweens. Many of the pieces are available in both bright red and vibrant white polyester lacquer finishes. Customers can choose either a round or square headboard and footboard, both available in twin and full. Other pieces include a flower-shaped mirror, an armoire with a frosted door and a nightstand with a silkscreen flower design.

"It has 'Laugh In'-type graphics," Fox said. "This is a look that can grow with girls."

To promote the collections, retailers will receive a variety of material such as signage, pre-produced ads and colorful handouts describing each collection, Fox said. Retailers will also receive novelty items such for giveaways.

Canyon is producing the Pooh group in Mexico. The other three groups are being made by manufacturers in the Far East, the executives said. The collections will begin shipping in December.

The Winnie the Pooh collection features log cabin styling and colorful panels that can be flipped to reveal the timber finish.

The Princess collection has been the top-selling Disney group since the initial launch at Rooms to Go in the summer.