2016-2017 Bar & Pub Highlights
Bar season has arrived and hopefully we will have another successful year. There is always something to talk about so here we go……….!!!!!
EAST COAST INNOVATORS
In terms of the overall sales of bars for ECI the 78” Monticello bar and the 65” Guinness bar flip flop every other year in competition for the bestselling bar in our lineup. This year, as of 9/8/16 the Guinness is back in the # 1 spot. We did not have the Monticello on the floor for the entire season as we ran out of stock on it early so that may have attributed to this year’s success of the Guinness. At ECI the Guinness bar is still # 1 but the Monticello has fallen to 4th place and is being beat out by the Gettysburg bar (which we stock) and the Manchester Return bar (which is new for us this season). Overall, we will be stocking this season the top 4 selling bars from ECI. All of these bars are distinctly different in look and price point. I feel really good about our bar assortment this season and we will be showing a wide variety of bars at price points that should fit nicely into most customers budgets. Here is a review of what we currently carry as well as a few new introductions:
The 65” Guinness bar in Distressed Walnut is still $1,449 and has not gone up in price. At $1,449 this bar still has a lot of things going for it like the brass plated Guinness logo, wrap around footrest, stainless steel dry sink, adjustable shelves & felt lined drawers. We are also continuing to stock the matching back bar mirror and matching backed or backless stools that include the Guinness logo.
The 78” Monticello bar at $1,799 is an awesome value which features a stainless steel dry sink, condiment trays, wine rack, one felt-lined drawer and three doors for extra storage along with a laminated bar top. We are also stocking the matching Monticello bar stools for $379 each! Both bar and stools are shown in Distressed Walnut finish.
The 92” Ashton bar is the largest bar we currently stock. This bar retails for $2,299 and will be shown in the Distressed Walnut finish. It will be shown with matching backed swivel barstools at $379 each. The Ashton has an impressive 92” bar top with an antique brass clad footrest and rope twist pilasters. This bar features a laminate bar tending work surface, wine rack, stainless steel dry sink and locking liquor drawer on extra heavy metal glides. It also features two removable adjustable shelves that can be replaced with a wine cooler or refrigerator.
Another success story from ECI is the Gettysburg collection. As I said earlier, the Gettysburg bar has moved into the #2 spot at ECI and it definitely is in the top 5 for us. The Gettysburg is a 72” bar in a heavily distressed Rustic finish and will retail for $1,899. This bar features a wrought iron foot rest, 3 drawers (1 large/2 small), pull out cutting board, laminate work surface, bottle opener (which is the coolest item on the bar), one door for storage and two shelves. The bar will be shown with a matching all wood slat backed barstool for $229 each. This season we are also showing a 50” back bar mirror for $639 which features LED lighting, stemware holders, two small shelves and an antiqued rail bottle holder.
The second Gettysburg piece in our lineup is the Island Bar. This unique item has multiple functions!! It can be used as a serving bar in a dining room, a counter height island in a kitchen or a walk up bar in a game room. This island bar features a full extension drawer, bottle opener, towel rack, glass holders and a large bottom shelf with enclosed sides for liquor bottle storage or miscellaneous items. This bar will retail for $1,099 and is shown with counter height saddle stools with brown bonded leather seats for $119 each. Our customers really love the Gettysburg saddle stools so in addition this year we brought in the 30” bar height stool for our “free stock” barstool program. The bar height version will retail for $129 each.
The last current bar in our ECI lineup is the 52” Lexington bar. This bar is shown in a rustic Jacobian black oak finish and features a canted front with a wooden footrest, large bartending work surface, removable wine rack and doors with shelves for extra storage. It will retail for $1,199 and is shown with matching barstools which feature brown vinyl seats.
We are introducing only one new bar from ECI this season. Our new bar is the 78” Manchester Return Bar that will retail for $1,999 and will be shown in a Distressed Walnut finish. This bar features a fixed return on one side that cannot be changed. This bar is going to compete head to head with the Legacy Sterling return bar. The BIG difference between these two bars is that the return on the Legacy bar is a universal return (which means you can move it to the right or left side of the bar) and the Manchester bar is fixed (meaning it is permanently attached to the left side of the bar). The price on these two bars is vastly different as the Sterling will retail for both the bar & return at $3,059. The Sterling bar itself can also be sold as a separate bar only. The Manchester must be sold as a two piece unit as the pieces are structurally connected.
We will again be stocking a 30” round pub table in Distressed 
Walnut and Rustic Oak finish that can adjust from 36” to a 40” height. This is a great table as it can be used as either a counter or bar height! This table will retail for $249 and the Walnut table will be shown with matching X-Back stools and Ladder Back stools in Oak for $159. The Rustic Oak finish on the 30” table is being discontinued by ECI so once the stock is gone we will switch over to the new 36” adjustable table which is available in Oak. We will review the Walnut sales at the end of this season and see if it also should be switched over to the new 36” table size.
Again this year we will floor the Guinness pub game table. This 36” flip over game table features a bonded leather playing surface, cup holders and a sharp, stylish base. The dining side top features a walnut finish veneer and the leather side features the Guinness logo. The table is shown in the Distressed Walnut finish (which matches the Guinness bar) and will be shown with matching 30” backed barstools. The game table will retail for $719 and the backed barstools for $319 each. We have seen an increase in game tables over the last year and we are moving toward stocking more sets that fall into this category. With the increase in game table sales and the successful rate of the Guinness branding I think this set will continue to be a winner for us.
The last new thing in the ECI program is the introduction of a mix n match barstool program. This season ECI introduced 4 new styles of barstools that have multiple fabrics or finishes and are available in both counter and bar height. We have opted to stock 2 of the 4 stool styles that fit best into our lineup. The first stool is the Caruso upholstered armless backed stool in Distressed Walnut finish in fabric Summers Winds. The second introduction is the Pompano stool which will be shown with a two slat wooden back, warm brown vinyl seat and Black Oak finish. This stool will be available in an arm or armless backed version. The interesting part about these stools is that the buckets and bases are sold individually which allows you to mix an armed or armless seat bucket with either a counter (26”) or bar (30”) height base.
KESTELL
No changes to the Kestell line up this year. We will continue to show a 42” poker table with a brown vinyl top for $249 and a 57” table with a green felt top for $629. Matching Ranch Oak folding chairs in either green or black vinyl seats are also available for $74 each.
LEGACY BILLIARDS
Legacy has come to realize they were simply making too many items. They had too many sku’s in their line and not enough warehouse space. So this spring they decided to slice and dice on their product line and keep only the items and styles that were selling. So when you look at their line now it is significantly smaller then it was before. One of the most notable changes is in finish selection. The # 44 Black Cherry finish has been restricted and is only available on select items now. This finish is the least sold finish in the Legacy line and they will probably be dropping this finish in the next year or so. So when special ordering for a customer or matching an existing purchase double check anything in Black Cherry finish to verify it is still available. They have also discontinued their entire Renegade collection.
I was lucky enough to be able to visit Legacy in May for their Gold Dealer Product show at their Collierville, TN location (just outside of Memphis) and see all of their product, current and new in one location. It was an informative visit and it gave me a better perspective on where Legacy is now and where they want to be in our retail future. From that visit we decided to order a container of product from China which should be arriving to us Early October. A large portion of the new items I saw at the show were in their new Signature Rustic collection. Anything rustic looking (indoor or out) is really hot right now. Legacy has jumped on this band wagon and came out with a Rustic collection that covers all categories of their business. Here is a recap of the two new sets we will be flooring for pub that I was shown at the dealer show:
The first new set we will floor is a rustic bar height pub set. We will be showing a 30” square pub table with two 30” armless backed swivel stools with a brown leather seat/back. This set will be shown in new rustic finish # 61 Smoke on Ash wood. The pub table alone will retail for $599 and stools will be $349 each. This will give you a 3 piece pub set for $1,299.
The second new set is a 2 in 1 Signature Rustic game set. This game table set will included a 43” square 2 in 1 dining height game table with a (dining side/game side) flip top. The table will accommodate 4 players and has chip trays & drink holders with rubber inserts. This table will also be shown with 4 rustic game chairs with brown faux leather seats. Please note that these are stationary game chair that do not have castered feet. This set will be shown in new rustic finish # 62 Gunshot on Pine wood. The set will retail for $2,099 for table and 4 chairs.
The next new item is the Classic Storage Bench. This 60” bench features a storage compartment under the flip up padded seat for cues, balls and racks. It also has a cup holder with a cue stick notch on each end of the bench. We will stock this bench in both # 5 Nutmeg & # 51 Port finishes. This bench will retail for $499.
The remaining Legacy line will stay unchanged. We’ll continue on with the 72” Sterling bar w/return in #51 Port finish. As I mentioned earlier this bar will directly compete with the new ECI Manchester bar but it has the advantage of a universal return. Bar only will retail for $2,199 and bar w/return for $3,059. In addition we still have in stock the 60” Classic bar in #51 Port and # 44 Black Cherry finishes. When I visited Legacy they said there has been a significant decrease in bar sales in the 60” bar category. This is also the trend that we are seeing here. With that being said we will be dropping the Classic bars and putting them on clearance. Legacy says they will have a new Rustic bar introduction in the spring and my hope is to be out of the Classic bars by then and replace them with the new Rustic bar. We still have the 48” Classic game table set in #51 Port finish. The 5 piece game set will retail for $2,599. Please note that the game chairs to this set are swivel castered chairs and not stationary chairs. The last item we are continuing on with is the 36” Sterling pub table set in #51 Port finish. This pub table will retail for $479 and will be shown with matching backed and backless Sterling barstools.
RAM GAMEROOM
RAM continues to be a great source for us for reasonably priced billiard lights, accessory décor and back bar mirrors. Later this fall we will be getting a variety of rustic looking game room signs that are very reasonably priced. They will be arriving just in time for Christmas stocking stuffers. We are bringing in one new rustic billiard light in a new Mica finish. This is a 44” light in Mica finish with stained glass. This light is very similar in style to the Filigree light just in a new rustic finish. This light will retail for $599 and will be shipping to us Mid October.