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Furniture|Today -- 01/31/2005
Appreciating the sacrifices of those in harm’s way
I’ve always felt blessed to have a job involving interesting travel. As a child, I dreamed of traveling to distant lands, and my work takes me to places I couldn’t go on my own dime.
Sealy’s ISPA departure makes devastating point
Sealy’s departure from the International Sleep Products Assn. offers a devastating assessment of the value of its ISPA membership.
Bedfellows make strange politics
It is said that politics makes strange bedfellows. However, based on the member exodus taking place at the International Sleep Products Assn., it seems like bedfellows are making for some pretty strange politics. Bedding Today
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Sealy's ISPA departure makes devastating point
Sealy's departure from the International Sleep Products Assn. offers a devastating assessment of the value of its ISPA membership. Sealy's reasons for leaving ISPA are very different from those first offered by Serta, which resigned from ISPA late last year. Bob Sherman, president of Serta International, has been criticized in the industry for giving this reason to leave ISPA: "We have assessed...
Editor's Desk
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Bedfellows make strange politics
It is said that politics makes strange bedfellows. However, based on the member exodus taking place at the International Sleep Products Assn., it seems like bedfellows are making for some pretty strange politics. I'm talking about the latest flammability issue — but not about California's new mattress flammability law that just went on the books.
Industry Numbers
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Sears Canada 4Q earnings up 3.1%, revenues dip 6.1%
Toronto— With strong performances in its home goods businesses, Sears Canada said net earnings in the 13-week period ending Jan. 1 rose 3.1% to C$99.9 million from C$96.9 million in the previous year's comparable 14-week final quarter. Total fourth-quarter revenue dipped 6.1% to C$1.9 billion from C$2 billion in the prior period.
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O'Sullivan posts loss despite sales gain
Roswell, Ga.— Despite a $17 million net loss, O'Sullivan Inds. management said the ready-to-assemble furniture producer made progress in its latest quarter with a 1.5% sales gain and a nearly $10 million improvement in cash flow. Sales of $66.2 million in its second quarter ended Dec. 31 also were up 5.
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Furniture Brands sales slip 5.4% in 4th qtr.
St. Louis— Furniture Brands International said its fourth-quarter sales dropped 5.4% from a year ago and net income slipped 1.2%. Earnings per share, however, beat Wall Street estimates and rose 5% for the quarter, partly because the company bought back another half million shares. For the full year, the largest U.
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Tempur-Pedic 4Q sales up 45.1%
Lexington, Ky.— Tempur-Pedic International, maker and marketer of visco-elastic mattresses and pillows, said fourth-quarter sales jumped 45.1% as net income surged 106.1%. Sales in the quarter were $198.4 million, compared with $136.8 million in the comparable 2003 quarter. Quarterly profits were $23.
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Rowe 4Q shipments, profits sag
McLean, Va.— The Rowe Companies said shipments and gross profits increased in its year ended Nov. 28, but sagged in the fourth quarter because of manufacturing problems. The company, which owns upholstery maker Rowe Furniture and retail chain Storehouse, said problems with its Enterprise Resource Planning computer system continued, reducing productivity.
News
- Bedding Benchmarks
Bedding independents share outlook
High Point— Leading bedding independents and second-tier producers are somewhat less optimistic about business prospects this year than their bigger brethren. Furniture/Today's Consensus Bedding Forecast, issued last month, sees a 1.9% increase in the volume of bedding shipments this year, and a 7.
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Solutia exits acrylics
St. Louis— Solutia, producer of Wear-Dated acrylic fibers, said last week it is getting out of the acrylic business. Price increases for upholstery fabrics are likely as mills search for new suppliers or change to alternate fibers in some of their products. Wear-Dated acrylic is widely used by U.
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San Fran starts quietly
San Francisco— San Francisco's winter furniture market, traditionally the busier of this city's two yearly furniture shows, got off to a quiet start last week. Most exhibitors said opening-day showroom traffic was extremely light, and said most buyers at the show were from California and neighboring states.
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Sealy, L&P leave ISPA
High Point— The bedding industry's largest producer and its largest supplier have resigned from the International Sleep Products Assn., helping deal a million-dollar blow to the trade association. Serta, the first bedding major to depart ISPA, resigned last month. Together the loss of the three companies represents at least a $1 million financial hit for ISPA, according to Furniture/Today...
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Macy's Home mails first circular
New York— Macy's Home Store launched its first circular last week, the initial corporate effort since the store's parent, Federated Department Stores, said almost a year ago that it was consolidating the home goods buying, merchandising and marketing of several of its chains. The circular represents a marked change from past circulars, which featured some common corporate programs but mor...
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New Classic sets big China plant
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.— The sourcing partner of case goods importer New Classic Home Furnishings here is building a massive, 3.6-million-square-foot manufacturing complex in Guangdong, China, that could employ 20,000 people. The $150 million facility will be dedicated to New Classic and is being built by Yihua Timber Inds.
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SF Mart's strategy in flux
San Francisco— San Francisco Mart leaders are looking at changing to a designer focus with showrooms open all year, and possibly some retail and restaurant space. SFM General Manager Roseann Carini said her staff will suggest to furniture and other exhibitors who choose to remain in the building to consider keeping their spaces open all year.
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Moore fills Fraenkel post
Baton Rouge, La.— Larry Moore has joined manufacturer and importer Fraenkel Co. here as vice president of sales and will focus primarily on the continued development of the company's furniture division. He reports to Ray Crocker, CEO and president, and succeeds Jim Burress, who is now the company's vice president of merchandising.
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Zaliagiris joins Southwood
Hickory, N.C.— Industry veteran Tom Zaliagiris, formerly president of high-end upholstery resource Bentley Churchill, has joined Southwood Furniture as director of sales and marketing. He reports to President Rocky Holscher and is responsible for the sales staff and marketing and merchandising for Southwood's upscale 18th century and traditional upholstery and its Southampton occasional w...
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Hart taps Johnston for sales
Collierville, Tenn.— Promotional master bedroom and youth furniture producer Hart Furniture has named Greg Johnston as sales director. He most recently was Jackson Furniture's vice president of sales for the Southern region. Earlier, he was national sales manager for Dunmore Furniture, and held sales posts with Ashley, Palliser, Progressive and Morgan Stewart.
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Mudslides not affecting Calif. shipments
High Point— Mudslides and flooding that knocked out some rail service in southern California do not yet appear to be having much effect on furniture shipments. Concerns arose after the early January flooding washed out some key Union Pacific rail lines in southern California and southern Nevada.
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Ikea suing Georgia developer
Atlanta— Ikea is suing the developer of a mixed-use project here, saying delays in road and other infrastructure work could push back the opening of its 366,000-square-foot superstore in the Midtown area. But the parties remain amicable and Ikea is optimistic the store will open on schedule this summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
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Showtime dates could change
High Point— The International Textile Market Assn.'s board of directors is expected to decide this week whether to change the timing of Showtime, the semiannual fabric trade show that has been held here for 15 years. Many in the industry have complained that the event's traditional timing of January and July is too late in the market cycle, and often conflicts with the Heimtextil fabric e...
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Bump exits sales post at Culp
High Point— Lawry Bump has left Culp Decorative Fabrics, where he was vice president of sales and marketing. Liam Waters, who heads design activities for the Culp Inc. division, has assumed responsibility for the sales and marketing activities. He reports to Rodney Smith, division president.
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Correction
A photo caption on page 44 of the Jan. 24 edition incorrectly identified a Largo dining room. The set is part of the company's Jaclyn Smith Home Timeless Traditions Collection.
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Continental opens third Chicago unit
Melrose Park, Ill.— Muebleria Continental has opened its third store here, reaching out to its Hispanic consumer base and others in this western Chicago suburb. The 25,000-square-foot store in the Melrose Crossing shopping center at Mannheim Road and North Avenue was designed by Connie Post Cos.
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NRF sees softer second half
New York— A softening housing market will affect sales of furniture and home furnishings, most likely beginning in the second half of this year, according to the National Retail Federation. Rosalind Wells, the NRF's chief economist, also said during the group's annual conference here that consumer spending is expected to grow more slowly this year.
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Other majors: Sealy, Serta departures will hurt ISPA
High Point— Other major bedding producers said the departure of Sealy and Serta from the International Sleep Products Assn. would hurt the bedding trade association. They made their comments before components major Leggett & Platt also announced last week that it was leaving ISPA. None of the other bedding majors indicated immediate plans to leave ISPA, despite the loss of Sealy and S...
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In their own words: Three statements on ISPA developments
Sealy: 'Membership cost exceeds value received' Here is the complete text of a statement issued Jan. 19 by Dave McIlquham, CEO of Sealy, to Sealy associates: "I have regularly talked about our need to continually review our costs and expenses as we manage for global competitiveness and drive all non-value-added costs out of our business.
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Vegas discount hotel rates set
Las Vegas— The World Market Center here has negotiated hotel room rates starting at $52 a night for its inaugural furniture market in July. The market so far has arranged blocks of rooms with 11 hotels, with rates ranging from $52 at the Sahara to $169 at the Bellagio. At least four hotels should be added soon, including the Wynn Las Vegas, which the WMC described as "the most anticipated...
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Cologne due for facelift in 2006
Cologne, Germany— The Cologne International Furniture Fair is in for major changes for its next edition in January 2006, with new construction, reconfigured halls and service areas, and dramatic entrances. The market's venue, the trade-show facility Koelnmesse, will have roughly the same amount of exhibition space — just over 3 million square feet — but the facility's oldest s...
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Drakeford shifting some sourcing to Asia
Mobile, Ala.— Drakeford Furniture, one of a small number of importers bringing product to the United States exclusively from Latin America, is shifting some of its sourcing to Asia. President Billy Curtright said the case goods and upholstery importer is altering its strategy to be more price-competitive.
- Obituaries
Obituaries
Opinion Today
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Appreciating the sacrifices of those in harm's way
I've always felt blessed to have a job involving interesting travel. As a child, I dreamed of traveling to distant lands, and my work takes me to places I couldn't go on my own dime. As anyone in this industry who travels for work knows, it ain't always glamorous. Long days, jet lag and lots of work to do when you get back are part of the bargain, but visiting other countries in a non-tourist c...
People Today
- People on the Move
People on the Move
Executives Culp High Point — Karen Beer has been promoted to design director of the Culp Velvet-Prints division of Culp Inc. She replaces Ellen Waldrup, who will continue with the company in a consulting role. Beer, who has been with Culp for six years, previously was design director for the prints segment of the division.
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Golding Fabrics promotes Lamb
High Point— Golding Fabrics has promoted Jan Lamb to the newly created position of director of operations for its headquarters and warehouse facility here. Lamb had been director of production and quality control for domestic goods. In the new position, she will head all domestic and import production, quality control, customer service, warehousing, shipping, sampling and cut-and-sew serv...
Special Report
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Microfiber magic
High Point— Consumers have fallen in love with microfiber upholstery covers, and it appears the relationship will be long-lasting. Since coming on strong a few years ago, microfiber — that soft but tough fabric made from tiny synthetic fibers that mimics suede — has been going full blast.
- Consumer Buying Trends
Bedding tops list of planned buys
High Point— More than 50 million households plan to purchase furniture this year, and nearly half — about 26 million households — plan to purchase more than one product. If all households purchase what they say they will and spend the maximum amount they've budgeted for each product, the 15 product categories included in Furniture/Today's exclusive Consumer Buying Trends surve...
- Paris Report
Panache in Paris
Paris— Manufacturers exhibiting at this month's Salon du Meuble here were still bedeviled by a strong European currency that is dampening sales outside the continent, but look forward to better days. The addition of 10 countries to the European Union last May, including Poland, Hungary and the Czech and Slovak republics, has raised hopes for more furniture trade within the now 25-nation e...
Store Openings
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Connors Wayside revamps Pennsylvania House gallery
Canton, Mass.— Connors Wayside Furniture here has opened a remodeled and expanded 4,500-square-foot Pennsylvania House gallery in its 45,000-square-foot store. Family owned and operated, the full-service retailer has been in business for over 63 years, providing a complete selection of home furnishings and in-home design service.
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Adcock installs La-Z-Boy
Bogart, Ga.— Adcock Furniture has installed a 10,000-square-foot La-Z-Boy gallery in its store on Atlanta Highway here. The gallery features a broad selection of La-Z-Boy products for the family room and living room, including the Todd Oldham collection. The gallery's Design Center offers over 1,500 fabric choices.
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Hendricks opens 4th Ga. Thomasville store
Kennesaw, Ga.— Top 100 company Hendricks Furniture Group, based in North Carolina, has opened a Thomasville store here, its fourth in Georgia. Hendricks operates 12 Thomasville stores in Georgia, North Carolina and Florida, including the new prototype store in Jamestown, N.C., which opened during the High Point market in October.
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England debuts three galleries
New Tazewell, Tenn.— La-Z-Boy upholstery company England has opened three Custom Comfort Centers in stores in Ohio, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Jerry's Furniture has dedicated 5,000 square feet in its Mansfield, Ohio, store to England product. The retailer has been an England dealer since 1987. Kelly Meckes is president of Jerry's, Jerry Meckes is CEO, Tony Meckes is vice president and gen...
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Syd's Carpet & Snooze expands Norwalk
Keene, N.H.— Syd's Carpet & Snooze Room, a flooring, bedding and furniture store here, has expanded its Norwalk upholstery offerings to a 2,500-square-foot Norwalk Home Fashion Center in its 25,000-square-foot store. Syd's, launched as a paint contracting store in 1921, currently is led by the fourth generation of family owners, with the fifth generation appearing in advertising.
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