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Furniture|Today -- 02/19/2007
Bedding Today
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Want to grow your business? Come to our April conference
Retailers looking to grow their bedding business should pencil in the dates April 18-20. That's when a group of industry experts will share their insights on how to find success — and profits — in the brave new world of bedding. The event is Furniture/Today's second Bedding Conference, set for the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, just outside Dallas.
Editor's Desk
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It's not so hard being green
To say the recent furniture market in Las Vegas was colorful would be a gross understatement. Attendees were treated to a dazzling opening-night performance by the Blue Man Group, were privy to red-hot products all during the market and, if so inclined, tried to win some gold from the casinos. Due to the grand scale of each, those colors were pretty easy to spot.
Industry Numbers
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Hooker's earnings increase 12.8% in 2006
Martinsville, Va.— Hooker Furniture said its sales edged up 2.4% in the fiscal year ended Nov. 30, while net income rose 12.8% due to a variety of cost controls and lower interest expenses. The case goods and leather upholstery manufacturer and importer said sales for the year totaled $350 million, up from $341.
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La-Z-Boy posts $7.8M 3Q loss
Monroe, Mich.— La-Z-Boy posted a net loss of $7.8 million in its third quarter ended Jan. 27 as sales slid 9.6%. The company, which said last week it was selling its Sam Moore, Clayton Marcus and Pennsylvania House units, said much of the loss was attributable to those operations, as well as to company-owned dedicated stores, which incurred an operating loss of $6.
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Shermag will close 2 plants
Sherbrooke, Quebec— Manufacturer and importer Shermag said it will close two factories as it shifts more production to Asia while struggling with a soft retail marketplace. Shermag reported last week that net revenue in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 29 fell 17.4% from the same period a year earlier to C$38.
Insider's View
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Furniture spending shows some significant shifts
The furniture industry is never more frustrating than when the economy is growing but we aren't. We can cite reasons — slower home sales, lackluster consumer confidence, higher debt levels, etc. But what if it's more than that? My company is in the midst of a major demographic study, and we continue to be amazed at the insights it offers.
News
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United Sleep revamps
Denver, Pa.— United Sleep has revamped its senior management team in the wake of what company officials acknowledge was a challenging year. Lisa Kaufman, chairman of United Sleep since January 2006, has expanded her duties to include the CEO position. She succeeds Marc Werner, whose role as interim president and CEO was terminated by the board of directors early last month, the company said.
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ISPA issues foam warning
Alexandria, Va.— The temporary closing of a plant that produces a key ingredient in polyurethane foam could disrupt foam supplies to bedding producers. The International Sleep Products Assn. delivered the bad news to its members in a breaking news alert last week. ISPA said that a mechanical failure has closed BASF's plant in Geismar, La.
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2nd F/T Bedding Conference will delve into critical issues
High Point— Bedding retailers will find plenty of useful ideas for improving their businesses at Furniture/Today's second Bedding Conference, set for April 18–20 at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas, just outside Dallas. "Furniture/Today's first Bedding Conference, held last March, was a landmark event, bringing more than 200 bedding retailers, producers and suppliers together f...
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N.J. Thomasville stores eyed
Fairfield, N.J.— Thomasville Stores of New Jersey and Virginia will double its New Jersey presence with plans to add five stores there in three to five years. To focus on New Jersey, the retailer recently sold its Virginia stores to Thomasville Furniture Inds, a division of Furniture Brands International, for an undisclosed sum.
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FMG members gather for symposium
Scottsdale, Ariz.— About 125 members, supplier partners and guests of the Furniture Marketing Group met for a three-day symposium here at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. The gathering featured educational sessions, networking and the exchanging of best ideas. Attendees also experienced some freakish weather as temperatures dropped to 20-year lows, and a wet snow fell as members soak...
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Speakers offer sales advice
Scottsdale, Ariz.— Speakers at Furniture Marketing Group's 2007 Symposium here emphasized listening, execution and willingness to change as key ingredients to doing business in today's world of time-starved consumers and commodity-like pricing. Sam Geist, president of marketing and consulting firm Geist & Associates, asked retailers why consumers should do business with them.
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Attendees share best practices
Scottsdale, Ariz.— Members of the Furniture Marketing Group spent time at their annual symposium here swapping best practices and ideas. Here's a sample of what they had to say. "We did a lot of business," Daniels said. "That's important today. People do business with people."
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First February premarket set to open in High Point
High Point— Premarket will take place here next week — in February for the first time — with a number of exhibitors saying they will open their showrooms and some others saying they'll skip the event. Traditionally a first-look event that gives manufacturers a chance to tweak product based on suggestions from key retailers, premarket takes place a month before market.
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La-Z-Boy to sell 3 units
Monroe, Mich.— La-Z-Boy said last week it has signed a letter of intent to sell occasional chair producer Sam Moore to Hooker Furniture, and said it is talking to potential buyers for its Pennsylvania House and Clayton Marcus units. La-Z-Boy said the three companies don't mesh with its longterm strategic direction.
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300th Ashley store opens in Fla.
Daytona Beach, Fla.— Retail veteran Howard Fineman has opened his second Ashley Furniture HomeStore in Florida, a prototype that is the 300th showroom in the nationwide dedicated Ashley network. The 50,000-square-foot store on International Speedway Boulevard here is packed with features Fineman has picked up from other HomeStores, as well as new ideas designed to improve the shopping exp...
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Planned June market in Canada canceled
Winnipeg, Manitoba— The first Connections West furniture market, announced for June in Calgary, Alberta, has been canceled, an apparent victim of mounting support for the Las Vegas Market by large and small furniture retailers in western Canada. The event will be rethought and moved to Las Vegas, probably next year, according to Furniture West, the factory association here that created th...
- Bedding Benchmarks
Vegas: The social whirlwind
Las Vegas— When the sun went down at the recent market here, the bedding party scene heated up. We're talking beautiful people, beautiful showrooms, games of chance, the beverage of your choice, great food, etc. And how about that fountain of chocolate, courtesy of Therapedic, at the Bellagio. Your faithful bedding correspondent (that's me) was on the scene to capture all the excitement.
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Durham's Barbados makes retail debut
Middletown, Md.— Gladhill Furniture hosted a launch party for Durham Furniture's retail debut of George Washington: Journey to Barbados. The retailer teamed with Durham and the Mount Vernon Ladies Assn., the George Washington licensor, for the event, which also supported local charities. More than 150 people attended.
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Taylor King sets Mt. Vernon uph.
Taylorsville, N.C.— Upscale upholstery maker Taylor King will introduce a licensed collection next month inspired by Mount Vernon, the historic home of George and Martha Washington. Taylor King and the Mount Vernon Ladies Assn. collaborated on the collection, which will have more than 20 pieces inspired by paintings, architectural details and fabric samples found in the archives of the ho...
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Hendricks promotes Stuart
Conover, N.C.— Mark Stuart has been promoted to creative director for retailer Hendricks Furniture Group here. Stuart, formerly merchandising director for the Hendricks' Thomasville division, is now responsible for establishing the corporate fashion direction for Top 100 company's Boyles Distinctive Furniture, Norris Furniture and Interiors and Thomasville divisions.
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Shabby Chic planning 60 more stores
Los Angeles— Home furnishings supplier and retailer Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic said it plans to open nearly 60 U.S. stores in the next five years on top of the six it currently operates. Some of the markets targeted by the brand are Austin, Texas, Natick, Mass., and Philadelphia, the company said in a release.
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Pulaski to close its last U.S. plant in April
Pulaski, Va.— Pulaski Furniture said Friday it will close its last U.S. manufacturing facility, its 260-employee curio plant here, by late April. "It is very difficult and painful to make this decision, as we have made every effort for the past several years not to exit domestic furniture manufacturing," said Lamont Hope, Pulaski vice president of operations.
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Somerton taps Hodges
Corona, Calif.— Industry veteran Gene Hodges has joined case goods importer and manufacturer Somerton Home Furnishings as vice president of national accounts, a new position. Hodges most recently was president of Master Design for two years until he retired last March. Earlier, he was president of furniture sourcing company Asia Link and was CEO of Master Design from 1999 to 2002.
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Sullivan joins Orian Rugs
Anderson, S.C.— Paul W. Sullivan has been named senior vice president of sales and marketing for Orian Rugs. He comes to the rug manufacturer with extensive experience in men's apparel. For the past 17 years, he was with Savane, and earlier was with Levi Strauss and Jockey Underwear. At Orian, Sullivan replaces Don Newton, who recently joined Kas Oriental Rugs, and reports to William De P...
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New Tempur-Pedic bed offers more familiar feel
Lexington, Ky.— Visco-elastic mattress leader Tempur-Pedic has brought a new mattress design to market and is aiming to attract a different group of consumers with it. Tempur-Pedic's BellaSonna bed features a layer of latex cylinders in two densities that is topped with the company's proprietary Tempur material.
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La-Z-Boy employees in Tennessee withdraw petition for union vote
Dayton, Tenn.— Workers at La-Z-Boy plants here have withdrawn their petition for a vote on forming a union. Chip Harrell of the National Labor Relations Board said the employees who had sought a union election had informed the agency they were pulling the petition. Carmela Cruse, an organizer for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 175, confirmed the action.
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Pier 1 wins court order to hire new CEO
Fort Worth, Texas— Pier 1 Imports won a temporary restraining order against TJX Cos. last week to clear the way for a former TJX executive to join Pier 1 as its new president and CEO. The order from a state court stops Framingham, Mass.-based TJX from filing any judicial proceeding against Alex Smith, other than seeking arbitration with the American Arbitration Assn.
- Obituaries
Albert M. Rick, Comfort Furniture president
Lowell, Mass.— Albert M. Rick, president of retailer Comfort Furniture here, has died after an extended illness. He was 79. When Rick completed his Navy service in 1946, he and his immigrant father started Comfort Bedding, making Comfor-Pedic mattresses in a small area of a big brick warehouse on Thorndike Street, and selling them to the public.
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Kowalski joins Precision Textiles
Totowa, N.J.— Former Sealy executive Edward Kowalski has joined Precision Textiles as vice president of emerging markets. He will work in the company's fire-resistant materials business. Kowalski was corporate vice president of product development and director of regulatory compliance at Sealy, where he played a key role in the company's development of fire-resistant bedding.
Opinion Today
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Too many markets? Some fearless forecasts
People in the rug business have just finished a grueling month of markets — the industry's major show in Atlanta, two back-to-back events in Las Vegas and a last hurrah at the New York Home Textiles Market. An executive took me aside at Vegas and said, "Lissa, can you use your influence to try to reduce the number of markets?" I was flattered that he thought I had such clout.
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Time to force offshore quality issues?
The use of Chinese-made fabrics on upholstered furniture sold in this country is beginning to happen. Recent conversations with fabric mavens in the upholstery world indicates there are real concerns about these developments, but there also appears to be a growing feeling that more China fabric sources are offering sufficient consistency, delivery and quality during the life of a fabric or grou...
- Letters to the Editor
Antidumping duties being used for what?
We have watched with great interest the actions of our fellow furniture wholesalers/manufacturers since the imposition of antidumping duties on wood bedroom furniture imported from China. Just a short time ago, we received our first invoices from U.S. Customs for liquidation of entries for that furniture, from 2004 and 2005.
Retail Technology
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Retailers keep tech vendors busy in Vegas
Las Vegas— They don't sell sofas or dining tables or dressers or any of the things most furniture retailers come to market to buy. Yet, retail technology vendors were unusually busy at the recent winter market in Las Vegas, even after a tough year at retail that might be expected to discourage merchants from spending on anything.
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Martin: Furniture stores need to be online
Las Vegas— It's essential that every retailer, even the smallest, have a Web site. And it's not that hard to get one. That's the message of Roy Martin, a former retailer and current project manager for Escalate Retail, formerly GERS, one of the largest technology companies serving the furniture industry.
Special Report
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Entertainment rides big TV growth wave
High Point— It's no secret that flat-panel TVs will keep consumers streaming to electronics retailers for the next several years, and producers of entertainment furniture want to make sure they're firmly attached to that growth curve. Most furniture executives believe the TV sales boom will continue at least through 2009, and they're trying to make the most of the opportunity.
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Entertainment furniture: Long way to grow
Las Vegas— Amidst the sea of flat-panel TVs and high-definition DVD players, more than two dozen furniture producers competed for buyers' attention at the giant Consumer Electronics Show here last month. Most CES furniture exhibitors don't have showrooms at the High Point or Las Vegas furniture markets because they sell primarily through consumer electronics stores.
Store Openings
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Sweet Dreams comes to Vegas
Las Vegas— Sweet Dreams Mattress Gallery has opened on Dean Martin Drive here. The 7,500-square-foot sleep shop targets affluent consumers with a wide selection of mattresses from Spring Air, Comfort Solutions, International Bedding, Comfor-Pedic and its own private-label line. Jacqueline A. Flores is general manager and Willie Mitchell is store manager.
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Florida has new Thomasville store
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.— The Hendricks Furniture Group has opened a dedicated Thomasville store on Design Center Drive here, its sixth South Florida Thomasville store and seventh in the state. The 15,000-square-foot, single-level store features four central skylights and offers a wide range of upholstery and wood furniture.
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FineLines opens in Virginia
Fairfax, Va.— FineLines Furnishings, a boutique store specializing in designer items at value prices, has opened on Dorr Avenue here. The 2,700-square-foot store, open on weekends and by appointment, is owned by Lauren Simmons. "Interior decorating, shopping for good deals and a love of fine furniture led me to open the store," Simmons said.
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