Thayer Coggin Courts Modern Market With Classic Designs
September 20, 2001
HIGH POINT – Consider this: It is the 1950s when playing it safe with mid-priced traditional and colonial upholstery means you will most likely succeed in the home furnishings industry; but, taking a chance on – say – higher-end modern or contemporary designs will likely result in failure. For most business people, this scenario is a "no brainer." But Thayer Coggin, a craftsman himself, became passionate about wanting to present unique design in an industry of sameness.
Coggin, who has since retired, said that when he was a child, he built his own bedroom suite and loved the process of creating furniture. He paid his way through college making rocking chairs and cedar chests. After WWII, he and his older brother went into business making sleeper-sofas, rockers, and chairs.
Coggin knew that he wanted to create dramatic designs, but he was unsure of what approach to take until his first trip to Europe where he saw contemporary upholstery.
"It hit me like a ton of bricks," he said. "There was nothing like it in the United States."
In 1953, Coggin teamed up with furniture designer Milo Baughman, a member of the mid-century California Modern Movement. Baughman was seeking a company to produce his upholstery designs.
"My designs were not like anything these manufacturers were seeing at that time, and a lot of people turned us down," said Baughman. "As a last thought, we went to see Thayer. For about an hour, I showed him my designs. He suddenly stood up and said, 'This isn't like anything I've ever seen before, but I like it. Let's do it.'
"We were true pioneers in contemporary furniture," Coggin said. He is proud his company never succumbed to producing traditional goods. "When we started, we figured (contemporary) was maybe 5 percent of the market, but as we added on we kept growing."
New Players, Same Rules
Coggin and Baughman have since split, but Baughman still provides designs occasionally to debut at an International Home Furnishings Market in High Point. Today, director of design Guy Hill, designer Ransom Culler, sales manager David Mahood and chief operating officer Royal Wiggin, (Coggin's daughter) tour the country – and the globe – seeking inspiration at furniture and fabric shows, and retail shops.
Because Thayer Coggin upholstery is high-end, it is important that the company tailor its offerings to consumers' tastes. "Our goal is to determine a color story, a fiber story, or a texture story. Our customer wants luxury and beauty, so these are our guidelines."
In choosing fabrics, the team also uses a "good-better-best" grading system. "Our fabrics start at around $6 a yard, and that's difficult to find because we really have to give our customers a lot of look and hand," said Hill, who has been selecting fabrics for Thayer Coggin for 20 years. Fabrics at this price point are typically a little too casual lifestyle oriented. The highest we usually go is $34 a yard."
Although full-faced rayon chenilles are still at the top of the list, Hill said the company will go out on a limb to debut innovative fabrics. Last year it was a luminescent fabric imported from Europe by Gilman Enterprises that featured the warp in one color and the face in another color so the effect changed depending on which way you looked at it. It has become a hit with urban retailers.
"Those fabrics don't run the factory, but they bring excitement and sometimes they really catch on. I like to work with a mill to develop an exclusive color, design, or construction." In the lineup of at least 500 fabric offerings, 60 of which are new each season, Thayer Coggin introduces about 10 new leathers as well. Hill said that leather accounts for about 25 percent of the company's business. Thayer Coggin's primary leather supplier is Arcona, based in Hickory, North Carolina. Top fabric suppliers are Sunbury, Weave, Quaker/Whittiker, and Mastercraft. "But we do a fair amount of business with importers who supply European goods," said Hill.
Consistency is Key
After almost 50 years, Thayer Coggin continues to operate from the same complex. Its 350,000 square feet include a showroom, factory, and headquarters. And while some contemporary manufacturers have marketed designs that Baughman calls "rather pretentious and a bit too glitzy," Thayer Coggin has stuck to classic modern designs. So far, it has paid off. "We have a very solid and true identity as a contemporary upholstery company," said Mahood. "We've never needed to rediscover ourselves. And retailers who might go elsewhere for a while usually come back to us because they know they can count on us to provide great quality and design."
Wiggin said that the company's sales have steadily climbed but wouldn't disclose figures. Mahood said the company's growth is also attributable to a crop of more educated and sophisticated consumers who aren't afraid to buy contemporary. "Everywhere we travel we find retailers either expanding their contemporary offering or adding contemporary for the first time."
Although most of Thayer Coggin's retail client base is domestic – contemporary specialists such as Design Studio in Chicago – the company has begun to capture the attention of such international heavy hitters as David L. Jones, a top home furnishings retailer in Australia.
"We don't even try to compete in Europe because they do contemporary upholstery so well," Mahood said, "but we are getting interest from Australia, South America, and the Middle East.
Coggin, who has since retired, said that when he was a child, he built his own bedroom suite and loved the process of creating furniture. He paid his way through college making rocking chairs and cedar chests. After WWII, he and his older brother went into business making sleeper-sofas, rockers, and chairs.
Coggin knew that he wanted to create dramatic designs, but he was unsure of what approach to take until his first trip to Europe where he saw contemporary upholstery.
"It hit me like a ton of bricks," he said. "There was nothing like it in the United States."
In 1953, Coggin teamed up with furniture designer Milo Baughman, a member of the mid-century California Modern Movement. Baughman was seeking a company to produce his upholstery designs.
"My designs were not like anything these manufacturers were seeing at that time, and a lot of people turned us down," said Baughman. "As a last thought, we went to see Thayer. For about an hour, I showed him my designs. He suddenly stood up and said, 'This isn't like anything I've ever seen before, but I like it. Let's do it.'
"We were true pioneers in contemporary furniture," Coggin said. He is proud his company never succumbed to producing traditional goods. "When we started, we figured (contemporary) was maybe 5 percent of the market, but as we added on we kept growing."
New Players, Same Rules
Coggin and Baughman have since split, but Baughman still provides designs occasionally to debut at an International Home Furnishings Market in High Point. Today, director of design Guy Hill, designer Ransom Culler, sales manager David Mahood and chief operating officer Royal Wiggin, (Coggin's daughter) tour the country – and the globe – seeking inspiration at furniture and fabric shows, and retail shops.
Because Thayer Coggin upholstery is high-end, it is important that the company tailor its offerings to consumers' tastes. "Our goal is to determine a color story, a fiber story, or a texture story. Our customer wants luxury and beauty, so these are our guidelines."
In choosing fabrics, the team also uses a "good-better-best" grading system. "Our fabrics start at around $6 a yard, and that's difficult to find because we really have to give our customers a lot of look and hand," said Hill, who has been selecting fabrics for Thayer Coggin for 20 years. Fabrics at this price point are typically a little too casual lifestyle oriented. The highest we usually go is $34 a yard."
Although full-faced rayon chenilles are still at the top of the list, Hill said the company will go out on a limb to debut innovative fabrics. Last year it was a luminescent fabric imported from Europe by Gilman Enterprises that featured the warp in one color and the face in another color so the effect changed depending on which way you looked at it. It has become a hit with urban retailers.
"Those fabrics don't run the factory, but they bring excitement and sometimes they really catch on. I like to work with a mill to develop an exclusive color, design, or construction." In the lineup of at least 500 fabric offerings, 60 of which are new each season, Thayer Coggin introduces about 10 new leathers as well. Hill said that leather accounts for about 25 percent of the company's business. Thayer Coggin's primary leather supplier is Arcona, based in Hickory, North Carolina. Top fabric suppliers are Sunbury, Weave, Quaker/Whittiker, and Mastercraft. "But we do a fair amount of business with importers who supply European goods," said Hill.
Consistency is Key
After almost 50 years, Thayer Coggin continues to operate from the same complex. Its 350,000 square feet include a showroom, factory, and headquarters. And while some contemporary manufacturers have marketed designs that Baughman calls "rather pretentious and a bit too glitzy," Thayer Coggin has stuck to classic modern designs. So far, it has paid off. "We have a very solid and true identity as a contemporary upholstery company," said Mahood. "We've never needed to rediscover ourselves. And retailers who might go elsewhere for a while usually come back to us because they know they can count on us to provide great quality and design."
Wiggin said that the company's sales have steadily climbed but wouldn't disclose figures. Mahood said the company's growth is also attributable to a crop of more educated and sophisticated consumers who aren't afraid to buy contemporary. "Everywhere we travel we find retailers either expanding their contemporary offering or adding contemporary for the first time."
Although most of Thayer Coggin's retail client base is domestic – contemporary specialists such as Design Studio in Chicago – the company has begun to capture the attention of such international heavy hitters as David L. Jones, a top home furnishings retailer in Australia.
"We don't even try to compete in Europe because they do contemporary upholstery so well," Mahood said, "but we are getting interest from Australia, South America, and the Middle East.
