October 6,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Aggregated Content in Furniture Retailing on October 7, 2010
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z3249291117&z=1000247453
Costco Wholesale Corp.'s fourth-quarter net income rose nearly 16 percent on increased revenue from membership fees and international operations, the company reported Wednesday.
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October 6,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Financial Reports on October 7, 2010
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z3249879181&z=1000247453
Havertys Furniture Cos. reported sales of $157.1 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 3, a 3.4 percent increase compared with $151.9 million for same quarter last year.
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October 6,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on October 7, 2010
Buying group Furniture First will show off its revamped private label mattress lineup at next week's
High Point Market.
Members who attended the groups symposium in Greensboro, N.C., last month previewed the lineup and responded enthusiastically.
Our members are extremely excited about the new opportunity that theyll have with this new line of bedding," said Jonathan Gaspari, director of mattresses at Furniture First. I have never seen such a buzz about commodity bedding, but with the new margins associated with this line, I can see why.
Serta worked with members of the buying group's mattress committee and board of directors over the course of four months to develop and perfect the 23-bed assortment.
The revamped lineup provides members with larger mattress profiles, luxurious covers with upscale looks and deep substantial feels. The mattresses will retail with easy step-ups, better margins and lower prices. One innovation in the lineup is designed for retailers with limited spacedual firmness sample options.
Furniture First is a full-line home furnishings and mattresses only buying cooperative representing 180 independent home furnishings retailers from medium-low to medium-high end quality products across the United States.
The group's showroom is on the seventh floor of the Radio Building at 164 S. Main St.
October 6,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on October 7, 2010
Cottage-style furniture manufacturer Russell & Mackenna has opened a "store within a store" at Bethesda, Md., furniture retailer Urban Country.
The partnership represents the manufacturer's first such retail collaboration, which echoes the effect of Urban Country's textile display for Pine Cone Hill. A 400-square-foot build-out includes porch decking, metal roofing, scalloped window awnings and authentic farmer crates to display the eye popping, colorful furniture. The flavor is consistent with Russell & Mackenna's Severna Park Flagship store.
"Taking a cue from the current state of the economy, both companies were looking for a way to play to each of their respective strengths," said Russell & Mackenna President Larry Strassner. "For Urban Country, that is having a strong and loyal customer base, and a reputation for selling a wide selection of very high quality furniture. In the case of Russell & Mackenna, I believe it is stated in our mission ... to build furniture which uplifts the spirit, and holds its value over time. We feel that this partnership will create a sum greater than its parts, and that's the exciting part of this endeavor."
"We are so excited to offer this unique brand to our clients," said Urban Country Co-Founder Rachelle Roth. "It's a great marriage of fun, inspirational companies who share high standards of product quality and a dedication to our relationships with customers and the community."
The Russell & Mackenna store inside Urban Country opened Oct. 1, coinciding with the start of Urban Country's month-long 19th Anniversary Sale. Urban Country is located at 7117 Arlington Road Bethesda, MD 20814.
Urban Country will host a welcome event for the public on Friday, 5:30-8 p.m., in honor of Russell & Mackenna. The proceeds from the welcome event will benefit the ABC2 (Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure) Foundation; and Jeffreys Goofy Gang, established by Urban Country's Roth Family, after the untimely death of patriarch and company co-founder, Jeffrey Roth, from an aggressive brain cancer.
October 6,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on October 7, 2010
Hickory at Home will launch The Final Touch, a new retail "store-within-a-store" bedding accessories concept, at the Oct. 16-21 High Point Furniture Market.
The Final Touch aims to help traditional bedding product retailers supplement their mattress and bedding hardware sales with a complete line of top-of-bed accessories. Hickory @ Home is the consumer products retail division of Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company, Hickory, N.C. The Final Touch will be on display in Hickory at Home's High Point Market showroom, located in IHFC-M508A.
Retailers can choose from three different footprints--300-, 150-, or 75-square-foot--fully stocked with a wide range of top-of-bed accessories such as sheets, pillows, down comforters and mattress pads.
"Retailers who are only selling mattresses, headboards and bed rails are leaving a lot of money on the sales floor, said Hickory at Home General Manager Niles Cornelius. "That's where Hickory at Home's Final Touch comes in. Before Final Touch, retail customers would have to visit two different stores to get all their mattresses, bed hardware and top-of-bed accessories. But now retailers who buy into the Final Touch store-within-a-store will be able to keep bedding customers--and their money--in their store by making it a destination for buying all your bedding products and accessories in one place."
Cornelius says the advantage of the Final Touch store-within-a-store concept is that it gives retailers the ability to immediately open up a lucrative new revenue stream without investing the time, effort or money to research or merchandise the top-of-bed product mix themselves.