Editor's Desk
Ray Allegrezza Editor in Chief Welcome to Furniture/Today\'s latest Web site feature--blogs. Each week in my Editor\'s Desk blog we\'ll take a look at interesting news or events in the furniture industry. The most important part of this whole process will be your input. So, take a look at my posts below and weigh in with what you think by clicking on \"Add Your Comment\" at the bottom of each blog. -- Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief
Remembering Don Marks...
Over the weekend, Don Marks, Badcock’s president and CEO from 1998 to 2008, passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer. For those of you fortunate enough to have known him, you know what an asset he was not only to Badcock, but to the industry at large. Even after his recent retirement, Don played an active role in the company via his position as valued member of Badcock’s B ...... Read More
Comments (3)Ikea May Be Overselling The "In-Store" Experience
Leave it to IKEA. At a time when most retailers are scratching their heads for ways to entice shoppers into their stores, it appears that the IKEA location in Beijing needs to find ways to get customers to go home. Really. There was a recent story in the L.A. Times reporting how scores of shoppers in and around Beijing take day trips to IKEA. Sounds like that would be good news, right? Maybe ...... Read More
Comments (1)Memo to furniture retailers: Facebook is your friend!
Wesley Lee, manager of a Thomasville store, is a man after my own heart. He looks for good news and when he finds it, he is quick to share it. Today, he sent me a note along with a just-issed report from BIGresearch that is worth sharing with you. Recently, BIGresearch polled more than 22,000 consumers regarding their utilization of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, MyS ...... Read More
Comments (2)Hit 'em where they ain't...reach 'em where they are.
At 5′ 4″ and 140 pounds, Willie Keeler had the distinction of being the smallest player ever to play professional baseball. By today’s standards, his 30-inch, 29-0unce-bat looks like a toothpick compared to some of the logs the big boys use today, but even so, Wee Willie had an eight-year run beginning in 1894 that netted him eight seasons of rapping 200 hits each ...... Read More
Comments (3)Furniture frustrations: Time to pay the piper?
While CIT’s latest challenges may not be the straw heavy enough to break the camel’s back, it certainly seems to have the potential to put the darn dromedary in a corset. And with CIT’s future still murky–and credit still tight as a tick–the added stress of an uncertain outcome certainly appears to have shortened the tempers of more than one ven ...... Read More
Comments (9)Furniture execs wonder if it is time to pay the piper?
We all know what they say about payback. Well, if an investigation set to get underway by a fledgling coalition of case-goods importers, Chinese factories and a Seattle-based law firm gets legs, they could come running full speed at the group of domestic case goods makers that supported the now famous antidumping suit. As first reported in our paper, this coalition has hired the law-firm of ...... Read More
Comments (0)Gallery's Mattress Mack Will Win Because Store's Customers Want Him To
Houston’s outpouring of support for Gallery Furniture in the aftermath of that terrible fire, which has now been ruled arson, is an incredible and tangible thumbs up for Jim McIngvale and the relationship he’s built over the years with his community and his customers. And speaking of customers, at a time when most retailers are pulling their hair out trying to lure shoppe ...... Read More
Comments (3)Furniture Wake-Up Call: Please Drop The N'T!
Ron Wanek, head of Ashley and a student of history, is fond of saying “In peace, prepare for war. In war, prepare for peace.” Given the wisdom of that advice, and given the fact that we are in an economic war of sorts, I’m surprised that more of us are not preparing for peace. While none of us can predict exactly when we are going to come out of this recession, it& ...... Read More
Comments (6)The next Kennedy on Capitol Hill?
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of spending time with Chris Kennedy, president of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, you know two things. One is that his company has a major presence in High Point as the owner of the Suites at Market Square, Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza, the National Furniture Mart and the Hamilton Mart building. The other is that he is all Kennedy. He looks and talk ...... Read More
Comments (0)Memo to furniture store owners: Get back into the game.
Earlier today, I had a long talk with a veteran rep. To his credit, despite the spongy business climate, he is still spending a good chunk of his commission dollars to make himself very visible to his retail customers. As a result of spending an above-average number of hours in the stores each week, my buddy, Neil, is way above average in terms of being plugged in to what’s going on in his ...... Read More
Comments (0)Hunter or prey? Can you survive in the furniture jungle?
You know you’re swimming in uncharted waters when good news can also be bad news. Let me explain. If you are reading this at work, and if your company is still making, distributing, buying or selling furniture, that’s good news, because on paper, at least, you’ve survived an extremely long and prolonged downturn. So, how can that good news also bad news? Eas ...... Read More
Comments (4)This old dog is "Lucky" to be headed to the High Point Market
Before each market, the editors of FT and our sister publication Home Accents Today, give a market overview to our respective sales teams to bring them up to date on any and all trends we’ve picked up as we prepare for market. After tell my usual corny “market jokes,” which this year consisted of sharing some off-the- wall headlines that actually found their way into the print ...... Read More
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