Telescope Casual exec sees tailwinds boosting outdoor segment in 2025

The Leeward cushion sectional from Telescope Casual. (Image courtesy of the company).

Casual furniture industry leader sees bright spots on the horizon for domestic manufacturers despite tariffs and economic uncertainty.

HIGH POINT— For the casual furniture segment, winter is typically a period of planning for peak demand in the spring and summer months, but heading into 2025, one outdoor manufacturer already sees sun in the forecast.

Telescope Casual President Henry J.W. Vanderminden IV, who was recently named the 2025 chair of the board of directors for the International Casual Furnishings Assn., said his company sees increasing consumer confidence, a strong domestic supply chain and greater year-round interest from buyers as major upsides in the new year.

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Optimistic outlook

“Telescope’s business has come full circle,” he told Furniture Today. “We’re way beyond the COVID-era, 12-month-a-year level of demand when we couldn’t get enough raw materials to fill orders, but now we’re settling into a much broader season.

“While the majority of our demand is still going to come in the spring and summer months, we’re noticing that our customers are special ordering in colder months of the year, especially some of retail clients.”

Another force providing positive momentum, according to Vanderminden, is improving consumer confidence, especially with last year’s election now in the rear-view mirror.

“Every four years, consumers are just kind of hesitant leading up to an election, but after, they’re like ‘okay, this is where we’re at,’ and they start spending again,” he explained. “I think that a combination of those two factors, and the fact that the casual category really grew a lot as we settled into our human habits of building great outdoor spaces, bodes well for our industry and the upcoming season.”

A strong domestic supply chain

Vanderminden says that Telescope is planning for increased tariffs coming down the pipeline, with a strong and almost entirely domestic supply chain providing significant insulation from their impacts.

“We’re kind of expecting nominal inflation, just a couple percent in materials,” he predicted. “Certainly, tariffs could (increase the demand for) domestic materials, and those prices may go up, but Telescope’s focus has always been making a domestic product out of domestic raw materials. A high 90% of our raw materials are domestically sourced, and all of our fabrics are domestically sourced.”

Vanderminden observed that tariffs specifically targeting China may even have upside potential for domestic manufacturers, if past experience is to be any guide.

“We saw more demand for domestic product eight years ago when a 25% tariff was put in on imports from China,” he said, noting that if additional tariffs are put in, combined with increasing container costs, demand may increase further still.

Supply chain uncertainty is another potential tripwire that Telescope has taken into account.

“We are not expecting any issues in getting raw materials, but we are expecting high demand for our product,” Vanderminden said. “With some of the unrest that’s going on the ports, our strength is that we only use containers for shipping our sold products overseas; we bringing in any product on containers.”

Market matters

Telescope will show at this month’s Las Vegas Market, where Vanderminden says the company aims to attract buyers unique to that event.

“We have a beautiful showroom there that is very conveniently located on the ground floor of Building A, which is very convenient for designers,” he said. “It tends to be a different group of design, commercial and a few retailers that shop the West Coast show.”

Although the company sees great value in Vegas, Vanderminden said the two Atlanta casual markets remain the mainstay of Telescope’s sales strategy.

“September is the larger show, but July is still a major factor. The sales breakdown is maybe 60/40, and you’ll have some overlap,” he observed. “Some top retailers will come to both shows to buy, to network and to refine their program for the next year. I think that the July show is the first step, especially for those retailers for whom it’s much easier to get away from their store in July, with the September show more of the main event.”

Vanderminden said this market approach is informed by healthy demand for outdoor furniture from consumers throughout the calendar year, which has created a broader base upon which Telescope can expand its sales footprint.

“The category has matured so much in recent years, and I think our retailers and other buyers are seeing that,” he concluded.