Make the connection

By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, December 30, 2001

No retailer can operate in a vacuum. The support of networking with other retailers, drawing on the expertise of service specialists, partnering with strong vendors and tapping the wealth of information that is available — all this serves to make us better at what we do.

Below is a list (by no means exhaustive) of some of the resources available to furniture retailers.

Associations & organizations

Accessories Resource Team

P.O. Box 31813

Charlotte, N.C. 28231

(704) 376-4278

www.accessoriesart.com

AKTRIN Furniture Information Center

164 S. Main St.

High Point, N.C. 27261

(336) 841-8535

www.furniture-info.com

American Furniture Manufacturers Assn.

P.O. Box HP-7

High Point, N.C. 27261

(336) 884-5000

www.afma4u.org

International Home Furnishings Representatives Assn.

209 S. Main St., Suite M1405

High Point, N.C. 27260

(336) 889-3920

www.IHFRA.org

Interior Design Society

P.O. Box 2396

High Point, N.C. 27261

(800) 888-9590, ext. 6122

www.interiordesignsociety.org

International Wholesale Furniture Assn.

P.O. Box 2482

High Point, N.C. 27261

(336) 884-1566

National Home Furnishings Assn.

P.O. Box 2396

High Point, N.C. 27261

(336) 801-6100

www.nhfa.org

Southern Home Furnishings Assn.

305 W. High St.

High Point, N.C. 27261

(800) 274-7432

www.shfa.com

Western Home Furnishings Assn.

500 Giuseppe Court, Suite 6

Roseville, Calif. 95678

(916) 784-7677

www.whfa.org

WithIt

1102 N. Main St., Suite 101

High Point, N.C. 27262

(336) 884-1122

Franchising, licensing

Ashley Home

Ron Wanek, CEO

(800) 477-2222, ext. 6249

dmarks@ashleyfurniture.com

Full-line promotional stores reflecting the Ashley and Millennium product lines.

Bassett Furniture Direct

Michael Satterfield, VP of retail operations

(540) 629-6764

mesatterfield@bassettfurniture.com

Stylish presentation of Bassett's product line. Relatively new player expanding rapidly.

Drexel Heritage Home Inspirations

Will Sharp, senior VP for sales and distribution

(828) 433-3127

wsharp@drexelheritage.com

Design-driven, high-end furniture stores.

Ethan Allen

Ann Zaccaria

(203) 743-8423

azaccaria@ethanalleninc.com

Global network of stores with powerful name recognition.

Expressions Custom Furniture

Lydia James, VP of franchise operations

(504) 812-0720

Lydia_james@centuryfurniture.com One of the pioneers of custom-upholstery store programs is looking to rebuild its store network.

Flexsteel Comfort Seating

Chip Piekenbrock, director of retail development

(319) 556-7734, ext. 187

Pieky@aol.com

Flexsteel is currently focusing on new in-store galleries more than opening additional stores.

Kincaid Home Furnishings

Jack DeBonis, VP of marketing

(800) 438-8207

Another of the newer concepts, offering Kincaid's solid wood case goods and upholstery.

La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries

Kurt Darrow, senior VP of sales and marketing

(734) 241-3067

kurt.darrow@la-z-boy.com

Mature store program helps retailers build wealth one recliner at a time.

Naked Furniture

Thomas Erlandson, director of retail operations

(570) 587-7800

Unfinished furniture franchise program is standing pat for now.

Norwalk –The Furniture Idea

Mike Turbeville, franchise development director

(888) NORWALK

www.norwalkfurniture.com

Norwalk's custom upholstery shops are franchised, not licensed.

Roche-Bobois USA

Michael Lerner, president

(212) 689-6159

ml@rbusa.com

Single-source stores specializing in contemporary furniture.

Slumberland

Michael Larson, director of franchise development

(651) 490-6266

mlarson@slumberland.com

Casual lifestyle furniture and bedding stores serving the communities of the Upper Midwest.

Thomasville Home Furnishings

Mark Cooper, VP and general manager of retail development

(336) 476-2160

mcooper@thomasville.com

Thomasville's store program is growing aggressively, nearly doubling the store count in the past four years.

Verlo Mattress Factory Stores

James Young, director of franchise awards

(800) 229-8957, ext. 101

Jyoung@verlo.com

Craftsman-direct bedding concept includes mattress fabrication as well as retailing.

W.S. Badcock Corp.

Mike Whitten, director of dealer development

(863) 869-7969

mwhitten@badcock.com

Multi-line credit stores carrying a full assortment of home furnishings. Dealers carry no inventory. Southeastern chain is expanding and upgrading to Badcock & More format.

Online resources

Additional resources available on the World Wide Web.

American Demographics magazine

www.demographics.com

Furniture Market

www.furnituremarket.com

Furniture/Today

www.furnituretoday.com

Home Furnishings International Assn.

www.hfia.com

Infurma

www.infurma.es/

International Council of Shopping Centers

www.icsc.org

International Furnishings & Designer Assn.

www.ifda.com

International Furniture Rental Assn.

www.ifra.org

Juvenile Products Manufacturers Assn.

www.jpma.org

National Home Builders Assn.

www.nahb.com

National Retail Federation

www.nrf.com

N.C. Retail Merchants Assn.

www.ncrma.org

Unfinished Furniture Assn.

www.unfinishedfurniture.org

U.S. Commerce Dept.

www.stat-USA.gov

U.S. Census Bureau

www.census.gov

Retailer resources

For advertising and marketing services, business and computer systems, delivery, Internet/Web site development, retail sales training and store planning and design.

Accelerated Management Systems

P.O. Box 1647

Laurel, Miss. 39440

(601) 428-4521

www.amscalc.com

Advanced Delivery Systems

1071 Post Road East

Westport, Conn. 06880

(203) 291-6840

www.adsfurnituredelivery.com

Advertising Concepts of America

1995 E. Oakland Park Blvd., #205

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33306

(954) 630-1995

www.4aca.com

Adworks Group

2000 Linglestown Rd., Suite 106

Harrisburg, Pa. 17110

(888) 850-5777

AKTRIN Furniture Information Center

164 S. Main St.

High Point, N.C. 27261

(336) 841-8535

www.furniture-info.com

America's Research Group

1941 Savage Rd., Suite 300A

Charleston, S.C. 29407

(800) 723-3253

www.Predatory.com

Anderson Unlimited

1900 Preston Rd., #267

Plano, Texas 75093-5175

(972) 964-7143

www.retailstoreplanning.com

Bryant-Forney Associates

1500 Market St., #3

San Francisco, Calif. 94102

(415) 461-0354

CDS Solutions Group

1871 Santa Barbara Dr.

Lancaster, Pa. 17601

(888) 309-8002

www.cdsgroup.com

Connie Post Designs

5839 Davis Creek Rd.

Barboursville, W.Va. 25504

(304) 736-7283

www.conniepost.com

Cory Home Delivery Service

888 Newark Ave.

Jersey City, N.J. 07306

(201) 795-1000

www.corycompanies.com

Cosec International

8141 E. 44th St.

Tulsa, Okla. 74145-4830

(918) 622-3903

Custom Design Software

6580 Ridgefield Circle, Suite 203

West Bloomfield, Mich. 48322

(800) 884-0806

www.furninfo.com/customdesign

Daniel Lynch Sales Co.

161 Ottawa Ave., Suite 300-F

Grand Rapids, Mich. 49503

www.lynchsales.com

Easychair Software

287 S. Marschall Rd., Suite 201

Shakopee, Minn. 55379

(612) 496-1357

www.easychairsoftware.com

F.R.O.G.

4401 Hazel Ave., Suite 210

Fair Oaks, Calif. 95628

(916) 863-5196

FurnitureFan.com

142 North Rd.

Sudbury, Mass. 01776

(978) 371-2590

www.furniturefan.com

Furniture Wizard

1987 Rue Michelle

Chula Vista, Calif. 91913

(619) 482-2613

www.furniturewiz.com

Furnserve Inc.

2020 Logan St.

High Point, N.C. 27261

(888) 495-7876

www.furnserve.com

Gefen Productions

P.O. Box 575

High Point, N.C. 27261

(336) 884-5020

www.gefenproductions.com

Genesis Furniture Software Systems

12929 East Riverside

Spokane, Wash. 99216

(509) 536-4739

www.genesis4windows.com

GERS Retail Systems

10431 Wateridge Circle

San Diego, Calif. 92121

(800) 854-2263

www.gers.com

Griffin Media

3443 Gray Moss Rd.

Charlotte, N.C. 28270

(704) 814-7157

www.griffin-media.com

Ira Associates

21 Cross Hollow Rd.

Woodbridge, Conn. 06525

(203) 389-8193

Jim McDonald Inc.

41-801 Corporate Way #14

Palm Desert, Calif. 92260

(760) 779-5129

Julius Feinblum Real Estate Inc.

175 Central Avenue South

Bethpage, N.Y. 11714

(516) 844-8895

Kief-Walls Group

P.O. Drawer 19

Annapolis, Calif. 95412

(800) 316-9032

www.kwgroup.com

Knorr Marketing

160 E. State St.

Traverse City, Mich. 49684

(231) 947-9707

www.knorrmarketing.com

MGM Transport Corp.

P.O. Box 1823

High Point, N.C. 27261

www.mgmtransport.com

Morry Dickter & Associates

300 Cendar Blvd., #206

Pittsburgh, Pa. 15228-1155

(800) 521-9935

www.morrydickter.com

Myriad Software

10805 Rancho Bernardo Rd., #250

San Diego, Calif. 92127

(800) 676-4243

www.myriadsoft.com

Prescott/Levinson Advertising

2727 Philmont Ave., #110

Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006

(215) 947-4100

www.prescottlevinson.com

PROFITsystems

422 E. Vermijo Ave., Suite 100

Colorado Springs, Colo. 80903

(800) 888-5565

www.profitsystems.net

RGIS Inventory Specialists

500 Grapevine Hwy. S-360

Hurst, Texas 76054-2697

(817) 428-4033

www.rgisinv.com

Routeview Technologies

2999 County Rd. 42 West. Suite 220

Burnsville, Minn. 55306

(952) 746-5590

www.routeview.com

Selling Retail International

2705 E. Skelly Dr., S-306

Tulsa, Okla. 74105

(800) 444-6141

www.SellingRetailInc.com

Selma Lee

P.O. Box 536

Owings Mills, Md. 21117

(410) 363-3410

Shepherd Retail Performance

581 Village Trace Parkway, Building 12

Marietta, Ga. 30067-4067

(770) 541-2400

Storis Management Systems

300 Littleton Rd.

Parsipanny, N.J. 07054

(888) 478-6747

www.storis.com

Strategic Decisions

P.O. Box 2535

Thomasville, Ga. 31799

(229) 226-1438

Tatum Toomey Whicker Inc.

1820 Eastchester Dr.

High Point, NC 27265

(336) 889-3009

www.ttwinc.com

Tropical Survival Productions

118 NE 39th St.

Miami, Fla. 33137

(305) 438-9629

www.tropicsurvival.com

Tyler Systems

4625 E. Bay Dr., Suite 201

Clearwater, Fla. 33764

(800) 237-5913

www.tylerretail.com

Valid Data

1055 Stewart Ave., Suite 13

Bethpage, N.Y. 11714

(800) 238-2543

Warehouse Design

P.O. Box 217

101 S. Urban St.

Thomasville, N.C. 27360

(336) 472-0289