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Furniture|Today -- 12/24/2001
Bedding Today
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Leggett & Platt product plays key supporting role
Suppliers are among the unsung heroes of the bedding business. They develop new products and technologies that enable bedding producers to better differentiate their products on retail floors. They also help mattress makers offer new levels of comfort, support and durability. Despite the key roles they play, the spotlight of publicity doesn't fall on them too often.
Business Today
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Pier 1 sales rise 12.8%, profits 6.3%
FORT WORTH, Texas— Third-quarter sales for specialty retailer Pier 1 Imports shot up 12.8% as profits rose 6.3%. Same-store sales increased 5.1%. Sales in the latest quarter ended Dec. 1 were $387.4 million, compared with $343.5 million in the year-ago period. Profits were $25 million, measured against the $23.
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Hooker 4Q sales down, but up from 3rd qtr.
MARTINSVILLE, Va.— Case goods manufacturer and importer Hooker Furniture reported sales in its fourth quarter of $59.2 million and net income of $2.5 million, declines of 10.8% and 20.4%, respectively. For the fiscal year, net sales were off 11.9% to $221.3 million, while net income for the year ended Nov.
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Bush anticipates net loss of 37 to 42 cents in 4th qtr.
JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — Ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturer Bush Inds. said last week it expects fourth-quarter sales to be $83 million, down from $118 million in the fourth quarter of 2000. The company anticipates a net loss for the quarter in the range of 37 to 42 cents per share. Included in the net loss will be a net non-cash inventory write-down charge of about $2.
News
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City aims to double sales
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— With its new 660,000-square-foot warehouse, showroom and headquarters complex, City Furniture is poised for a major growth spurt, including four big stores over the next two years and a vigorous push into the home office and patio furniture categories. "We're hoping to double our business over the next several years, and the new facility should be able to handle tha...
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Masin says fire won't stop him
BELLEVUE, Wash.— A three-alarm fire destroyed the Masin's Furniture store here last week, sending some $2.5 million worth of high-end furniture and antiques up in smoke. The 14,000-square-foot facility, which Masin's had occupied since 1990, was destroyed along with five other adjoining businesses.
- Obituaries
Moe Kessler, Outwater Plastics founder
NEW YORK— Moe Kessler, founder, president and chief executive officer of industry supplier Outwater Plastics Inds. and Architectural Products by Outwater, has died here. He was 76. Outwater Plastics, which he launched in 1972, provides plastic mouldings to small furniture and cabinet manufacturers, and is believed to be the first plastics distributor in the furniture industry.
- Obituaries
John Wells, veteran wholesaler
CHARLESTON, W.Va.— John M. "Slim" Wells, a longtime furniture wholesaler, has died here. He was 83. Wells began his furniture career at R.H. Kyle Furniture Co. in 1935. He spent his entire career with the company and was chairman of the board and owner of the wholesale company at the time of his death.
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Cohen named president of Interactive Health
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Former Powell Co. executive Andrew Cohen has been named president of Interactive Health, a producer of massage chairs and related products. Cohen, who was Powell's president when he resigned this fall, is now heading a company whose major retail customers include Sharper Image and Brookstone.
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Natuzzi picks Greensboro, N.C., for flagship store
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The flagship U.S. store of Italian leather upholstery powerhouse Natuzzi is expected to open here by the October 2002 furniture market. Ground is set to be broken in April on the company-owned store, to be located in a heavily trafficked retailing area near the intersection of Wendover Avenue and Interstate 40.
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Sealy helps collect food for charity
ARCHDALE, N.C. — Bedding major Sealy helped the Salvation Army collect about 120,000 cans of food by sponsoring holiday concerts in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, N.C. The concerts, given by symphony orchestras in the two cities, required a canned food donation for admission. "Sealy's commitment to our local community is one we consider extremely important and hold dear to our hearts," s...
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Hamilton & Spill changes reps' titles
RICHMOND, British Columbia— Case goods importer and manufacturer Hamilton & Spill is changing the titles of its sales representatives to territory managers. In addition to better fitting the title to the job, customers will see tangible benefits from the change, said Mick Verjee, president and chief executive officer.
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Ex-Cone execs form Artisan fabric source
NEW YORK— Former Cone Decorative Fabrics executives Burt Kaplan and Susan Ziccardi have formed a new fabric company called the Artisan Group. The Artisan Group, Kaplan said, is a "textile creative marketing services organization that will have offices and a design studio on Madison Avenue in New York.
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OFMA safety group members receive C$350,735 in rebates
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario— Members of the Ontario Furniture Manufacturers Assn. safety group earned rebates totaling C$350,735 from the provincial Workplace Safety and Insurance Board for their collective occupational health and safety record. The factories received the WSIB premium rebate after participating in the board's Safety Groups Pilot Program in 2000.
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SDJ Trucking taps Wade
HIGH POINT— Joseph Wade has assumed the role of president at furniture carrier Shelba D. Johnson Trucking. The company had been without a president since Shelba Johnson died in December 2000. Wade, a certified public accountant with experience in manufacturing and retailing, has worked with SDJ Trucking for the last two years in various capacities.
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Therapedic licensee gets quality assurance award
EDMONTON, Alberta— Bedding producer Therapedic International has presented its certification for quality assurance to Apex Group here, its licensee for western Canada. Monica and John Neumann, owners of Apex, accepted the award from Therapedic President Michael Pino. Therapedic inspects factories to ensure that licensees comply with manufacturing standards for the Medi-Coil, Tri-Tec and P...
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Lessons from the textile industry
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.— To cope with the shift of production offshore, the textile industry had to devise new strategies, including innovative manufacturing methods, blended sourcing and supply-chain collaboration. That was the word from Pete Butenhoff, president of Textile/ Clothing Technology Corp.
Opinion Today
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Recliners: They only begin with Bubba
The recliner industry is really interesting. It's full of names, concepts and inconsistencies. Take the recliner that forms the basis for all that comes after, the "Bubba" chair. A big, fat, comfy chair with a velour cover, it's a classification so well recognized that manufacturers peg parts of their lines by saying simply, "These are our Bubba chairs.
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Why success is much like snowflakes, sort of
Leave it to me to be in balmy Florida and be thinking about snowflakes. Actually, I was thinking about the correlation between snowflakes and individual approaches to success in our industry. In each case, no two are identical. During our Leadership Conference, I got to chat with a lot of the industry's movers and shakers.
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2002 should keep us on our toes
It sure has been one roller coaster of a year! For those of us who thought 2000 was a dilly, it was tame compared with 2001 — with or without the impact of Sept. 11. In furnitureland, the landscape has been changed dramatically this year, especially at retail, where major players have exited the scene.
Special Report
- Youth Report
Bunkbeds meet standards in style
HIGH POINT— Two years have passed since the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission issued its final rule governing safety standards for bunk beds, and most manufacturers have adapted well to the regulations. The standard, passed in December 1999, went into effect in June 2000. A significant portion of the standard involving strangulation hazards followed voluntary standards that the Ame...
- Retail Technology
Technology vendors seek to overcome in dustry obstacles
HIGH POINT— Consolidation, remaining viable in a recessionary economy, getting the customer into the store and increasing profitability are issues the retail technology community sees as affecting its customer base as the furniture industry enters another year. And while those issues affect their customers, the retail software industry has issues of its own.
- Bedding Report
Mattress Mart wins as bedding expert
OTTAWA— Canada's capital city is also one of its most competitive markets. Not only Canada's seat of government and host to its diplomatic corps, it's a university town. It's also Canada's answer to California's Silicon Valley — a high-tech haven that's home to people whose income is substantially higher than the national average.
Store Openings
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Bolotin remodels Pennsylvania store
HERMITAGE, Pa.— Bolotin Furniture has completely remodeled its 25,000-square-foot store here. The Kief-Walls Group redesigned the 95-year-old business. Every internal wall was removed and space between the first-floor ceiling and second floor was opened up to create an atrium. A hospitality center offers coffee and cookies, using bistro sets in a variety of finishes to make it a selling ...
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Warisan brings Asia Lifestyle to Naples
NAPLES, Fla.— Warisan has expanded into South Florida with a new store here. Amanda Reid is manager of the 2,700-square-foot store, which offers an Asian lifestyle in an atmosphere that includes Feng Shui principles, traditional music and carved teak furniture. The Naples store is the third in the United States.
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2 stores add England galleries
NEW TAZEWELL, Tenn.— La-Z-Boy division England has opened Custom Comfort Centers in two stores. Harkness Furniture in Tacoma, Wash., installed a 3,546-square-foot gallery. The store is owned by Dave Harkness. McMillins, in Yale, Mich., is owned by Chuck McMillin. The England gallery is 4,000 square feet.
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L&W opens Best Brands store in Ill.
LITCHFIELD, Ill.— Lee Lazenby and Frank Wildhaber have opened a L&W Best Brands Plus Banner Store here. In addition to furniture and bedding, the 3,800-square-foot store sells heating and air conditioning products, major appliances and televisions. The Best Brands Plus buying group serves over 600 independently owned furniture, appliance and electronics stores, including more than 1...
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Bealls launches third store in Texas
LUFKIN, Texas— Bealls Furniture Galleries has opened a 42,000-square-foot store here, managed by Carey Johnson. The store includes Broyhill, La-Z-Boy and Kincaid galleries. This is the third Bealls store. The first was opened in 1976 in Hemphill, Texas, and is 25,000 square feet. The second, at 35,000 square feet, is in Jaspar, Texas.
Up Front
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Lencioni: Leadership should be simple
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.— Leading effectively is not a complicated job, according to an expert on the subject. "Keeping it simple is the key," said Patrick Lencioni, the author of two popular books on leadership, who delivered the keynote speech at the Furniture/Today Leadership Conference here this month.
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American buys big Kensington facility
PONTOTOC, Miss. — American Furniture Co. has acquired an upholstery manufacturing plant in Houlka, Miss., formerly owned by now-defunct Kensington Furniture. "American is growing so fast we needed the extra facility," said President Gerald Washington. "It will allow us to move on with motion furniture that we planned but didn't have room to do with our plant (in Pontotoc).
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Home office future is integrated
Key Biscayne, Fla.— The home office of the future will integrate furniture and technology into a single workstation, according to studies conducted at North Carolina State University. In a presentation at the Furniture/Today Leadership Conference, two reports on the evolution of small office/home office furniture predicted that computers will be built into furniture by 2020.
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Contract buyers invited to Showtime
HIGH POINT— Exhibitors schedules are filled with appointments for the winter 2002 edition of the Showtime fabric show here, which officially opens Monday, Jan. 7. The International Textile Market Assn., which sponsors the semiannual event, has expanded its invitation roster for the show to include buyers of contract goods.
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Storis software calls consumers with delivery time
PARSIPPANY, N.J.— Storis Management Systems said it is helping retailers achieve greater cost reductions and overcome difficulties associated with telling customers when to expect delivery of furniture and appliances with the introduction of Audra, the Automated Ultimate Delivery Route Assistant.
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El Ran to debut at S.F. Mart
POINTE-CLAIRE, Quebec — Upholstery manufacturer El Ran will debut at the San Francisco Mart for the January furniture market. The Canadian producer will display an assortment of stationary, motion and recliner products in leather and fabric covers. The company's motion sofas in leather/vinyl are priced from $999 to $1,499 at retail.
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Kreson is CCA's top rug buyer
ATLANTA — Dennis J. Kreson has been named senior area rug buyer for CCA Global Partners and will oversee rug-buying strategies for over 2,000 cooperative and franchised stores in the United States, Canada and abroad. CCA's operating units include Carpet One, Flooring America, International Design Guild, Rug Decor, Floor Expo, Stone Mountain and Georgia Carpet Outlet.
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Bush taps Kasprzak as marketing VP
JAMESTOWN, N.Y.— Contract furniture veteran Paul Kasprzak has joined ready-to-assemble furniture maker Bush Inds. as vice president of marketing and merchandising. He served 14 years at Herman Miller in product management, product development and e-commerce-related posts. Most recently, he was Herman Miller's director of e-commerce initiatives, supervising development of the Easy Connect ...
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Palliser showing EQ3 gallery at winter markets
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — An EQ3 retail gallery will be the focal point of Palliser's presentations at both the Toronto and San Francisco winter markets. "Dealers can walk into our showroom and see exactly what an EQ3 gallery would look like on their floor," said Peter Tielmann, vice president of marketing and sales.
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Orders, shipments drop in Oct.
HIGH POINT— U.S. residential furniture factories took a triple whammy in October, with shipments and orders both down 16% and order backlogs off 21% from October 2000, according to BDO Seidman's latest survey of manufacturers. Things looked a little better compared to September 2001. October orders of $1.
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Minneapolis market shortened
MINNEAPOLIS— The Minneapolis Home Furnishings Market has shortened its winter schedule by a day, eliminating Sunday. The market will run from Wednesday, Jan. 30 through Saturday, March 2 at International Market Square here. "For a regional market of our size, we do not need five days," said Lisa Duchene, marketing manager.
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Northwest 2002 show canceled
SAN FRANCISCO — Universal Shows Inc., which operates the Northwest Home Furnishings Show, has opted to cancel the 2002 show and relocate it to Seattle in 2003. The 2002 show had been scheduled for March 9-11 in Portland, Ore. "Although the Portland venue was an easy shopping environment … many of the exhibitors expressed a desire to relocate the show to a larger market base in order...
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Calgary market changed to Aug. 17-19
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Security concerns surrounding a meeting of world leaders has pushed back the dates of the Calgary furniture market to Aug. 17-19, 2002. Market Showplace, operated by Furniture West, the factory association based here, was scheduled for June 22-24 at the Round-Up Center in Calgary, Alberta.
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Baker's Plasman resigns
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Chris Plasman has resigned as president of high-end upholstery and case goods manufacturer Baker Furniture, effective Dec. 31. Plasman, president of Baker since 1994, will pursue other interests, according to Baker parent Kohler Co. A replacement has not been named. Before joining Baker, Plasman was president of Hickory Business Furniture, a former division of The La...
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Rosier joins Blackhawk
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Ryan Rosier has joined case goods manufacturer Blackhawk Furniture here as vice president of production and plant manager. He replaces Luis Bedoy, who left the company in September to pursue other interests. Rosier comes to Blackhawk from manufacturer Boyd Furniture, where he was general manager.
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