The Kindred Spirit Of Tabletop & Housewares

It is an instinctive reaction, perhaps, by those who recall reverently a time when the tabletop business drew much of its identity and esteem from its formal side, positioned several figurative steps above the everyday dishes and tumblers that shared space with everyday pots and pans.

No Shame

The traditional upstairs and downstairs segregation in tabletop continues to diminish, though. Tabletop and housewares have never been more kindred in their casual lifestyle spirit. Even formal tableware stalwarts have looked for new ways to step portions of their selections down a flight or two. 

There is no shame in that. Nor does it have to presage a cheapening of the tabletop business and an inevitable demise of premium branding and luxurious positioning. 

There is a growing mandate, though, by consumers encompassing more than just the Millennial set— although their votes count for plenty— for more everyday utility from their household accessories, even from tableware that still can and should be savored as a fashionable, personal indulgence.

The repositioning by Lenox of its Dansk tabletop program for housewares departments fittingly syncs the brand’s tabletop and kitchenware strategies while exemplifying the idea that stylish, high-quality, better-priced tableware doesn’t require its own, exclusive merchandising ZIP code.

Merchandising Sense

Combined buying responsibilities and in-store space allocation of formal and everyday tabletop, as some prominent retailers have implemented, might make more merchandising sense than some skeptics think.

The reshaped consumer base is less inclined to follow traditional, two-tiered tabletop shopping customs. 

And so the tabletop market has arrived at a crucial fork. Many of today’s consumers are demonstrating the direction they prefer. That it might not lead to their mother’s Sunday-best dinnerware, however, doesn’t mean they don’t want to end up at something beautiful and well crafted.

A place at the retailing table should always be reserved for formal dinnerware, crystal and sterling. It serves up a distinguished legacy for the tabletop business and an elegant reprieve from the ordinary for those who crave that. It also provides an important reference that has inspired suppliers of everyday tabletop to climb a couple figurative steps of their own.

Self Expression

The tabletop industry has to work harder to keep today’s consumer from losing touch with what historically has made the category special as a form of expression and not just something off of which to eat. But it also has to work harder to keep the business relevant to consumers that demand real value in practical benefits beyond the sparkle of a gold or silver rim.

The housewares business perseveres by raising the esteem of everyday items. So, too, can the tabletop business. Tabletop as housewares: There is no shame in that.