Share this on

Ethan Allen sets up retail at WMC

By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, July 6, 2009

LAS VEGAS — Ethan Allen will open a retail showroom in the World Market Center's Las Vegas Design Center in September.

The Ethan Allen Design Center, the Top 100 company's first retail showroom in a design center, will officially open Sept. 14, the first day of the Las Vegas Market.

During the market, however, the store — and all of the WMC's Design Center showrooms — will be open to the trade but not consumers. It will be open to the public on non-market days.

Located in Building C, space 196, Ethan Allen's 10,000-square-foot showroom “will attract prospective worldwide licensees during the biannual Las Vegas Market while catering to designers and consumers visiting Las Vegas Design Center throughout the balance of the year,” according to WMC officials.

Farooq Kathwari, chairman, president and CEO of Ethan Allen, said the new store will be “part of a design-focused destination that fits perfectly with our business model, as well as with our ability to offer our clients in the Las Vegas area design expertise and a diverse and eclectic range of home furnishings.”

November Rawlings, a spokeswoman for Ethan Allen, said the store also will “showcase our various retail concepts to a global audience of retail licensees.”

Danbury, Conn.-based manufacturer and retailer Ethan Allen calls its stores Design Centers to reflect the design orientation of the merchandise and sales approach.

In February, the World Market Center opened its Las Vegas Design Center to the public. It now has 56 showrooms with designer furnishings in more than 500,000 square feet on the lower floors of WMC Buildings A and C.

Randy Wells, vice president of the Las Vegas Design Center, said that “bringing an industry icon like Ethan Allen to the Las Vegas Design Center is very exciting. We are redefining the business model for design centers in a way that emphasizes the value and accessibility of exceptional design and we couldn't ask for a better partner in that regard.”

Ethan Allen set to consolidate plants, eliminate 320 jobs

DANBURY, Conn. — Ethan Allen has announced that it will consolidate operations of two case goods facilities, a move that will eliminate 320 jobs.

The company is consolidating its Andover, Maine, sawmill and dimension mill into its Beecher Falls, Vt., sawmill and dimension operations. It also is consolidating its machining, assembly and finishing operations at Beecher Falls into its Orleans, Vt., plant.

Sixty jobs will be eliminated at Andover and 260 at Beecher Falls.

The remaining operations at both Beecher Falls and Orleans will employ more than 325 workers, the company said.

Ethan Allen said the plants had been operating at reduced schedules, and the cuts will allow them to operate with more normal shifts. The moves do not affect the company's case goods plant in Old Fort, N.C.

Chairman and CEO Farooq Kathwari said he regretted the effects on employees, but said the moves will help the company remain competitive as a domestic producer.

“Currently, about 65% of our products are made in the U.S. This realignment provides us an opportunity to maintain a competitive advantage from manufacturing in the U.S.,” Kathwari said in a statement.

The moves will result in a pre-tax restructuring, impairment, severance and other related charges of $12.9 million to $13.5 million, the company said. Most of the charges will be non-cash in nature, and after taxes will amount to $8.2 million to $8.6 million, or 28 to 30 cents per share. Most will be recorded in the fiscal fourth quarter, ended June 30.

Share this on

Ethan Allen opening showroom at World Market Center in Las Vegas

Jun 23, 2009

Also by this author

Also by Clint Engel

Featured Company

Wright Labels

Bill and Tom Wright founded Wright of Thomasville in 1961 on the idea that printing was a creative medium and the belief that "a promise made is a promise kept." The Wright brothers focused their attention on providing exceptional printing for the... more

Related Resources

Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market

Here is a selection of products shown at this month's International Gift & Home Furnishings Market here.

Networking at the 13th annual F/T Leadership Conference

NAPLES, Fla. — Industry executives and guests took the opportunity to network and play golf during down time at Furniture/Today's 13th annual Leadership Conference here this month.