Uttermost is the latest indoor furnishings brand to break into the outdoor space, and they will show a complete collection of casual products at the spring High Point Market.
In business on the indoor side for nearly 50 years, the company has thrived on design-driven furniture that constantly changes to keep up with the times. Founded by Bob and Belle Cooper in 1975, Uttermost continues to thrive as a family-owned and -managed company under the leadership of Mac Cooper, president and CEO. We caught up with Cooper to find out more about the new outdoor line.
He tells Casual News Now that the company has considered getting into the outdoor category for years but wanted to wait until everything was in the perfect place. They pulled the trigger last year and started designing a sizable collection.
“It’s about 175 pieces, with a concentration on furniture,” Cooper said. “Our outdoor collection will fall under the Uttermost brand, but stand on its own as far as a complete line of products.
“We wanted to have our debut cover a nice range of designs, but also be a very coordinated, complementary collection. Our color range is tight, so much of the product can be mixed and matched and still coordinate.”
Like many manufacturers that start indoors and work their way out, Uttermost has an upper hand when it comes to the design. Many of the products reflect their indoor looks, but are tailored for an outdoor space.
“As with all of our indoor products, the quality must be right, yet outdoor is more challenging,” Cooper explained. “To withstand the elements, our products must be extremely durable, well-grounded and quick-drying. At the same time, we have emphasized fresh design at strong values. There seems to be a void in great outdoor furniture that still represents strong value. We are using high-quality quick-dry foam, solution-dyed acrylic fabrics like Sunbrella and durable PU and powder-coated finishes.”
The company manufactures primarily in Indonesia, Vietnam, India and the U.S., and its plan to release outdoor to the industry this market is to focus on their current retailer and designer partners.
“Ultimately, we’ll also look to retailers who focus only on outdoor, but this isn’t our primary target at the moment,” Cooper said. “We plan to grow the product line rapidly in all product types. Our initial debut is strong, but not nearly as complete as we want to eventually be. For example, we have no lighting fixtures in our debut, but we have many in development now. We also are working on wireless lighting for outdoor that also didn’t make this debut. Furniture will remain the biggest part of the outdoor category for us, but we are emphasizing all product types, even wall decor.”
