Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
September 28,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on September 29, 2010
The 220 Elm furniture showroom building announced five furniture retailers who've won free parking for the Oct. 16-21 High Point Furniture Market.
The five winners are BF Myers Furniture in Goodlettsville, Tenn.; Circle Furniture in Danvers, Mass.; Gabberts/HOM in Edina, Minn.; TEMA Furniture in Albuquerque, N.M.; and Escalate Retail, San Diego.
"I am pleased with the response from retailers across North America, and look forward to welcoming our winners to 220 Elm in October," said Heinz Kattenfeld, COO of 220 Elm.
The winning retailers will park at 303 W. Green Dr. right across the street from 220 Elm. The contest ran from Sept. 1 to Sept. 15, and was featured in online ads by Home Furnishings Business. Watch for online ads in HFB for the April Market as new entries will be accepted from March 1 to March 15, 2011.
September 28,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Rugs on September 29, 2010
Atlanta-based Jaipur Rugs recently won two American Graphic Design Awards in publication Graphic Design USA magazine's annual design competition.
The competition spotlights the work of creative professionals from across the country. Jaipur won awards for the design of its 2010 product catalog and press kit, marking the second consecutive year that the company has been awarded this honor for its catalog.
Working with New York-based Craft Marketing, Jaipur developed the two printed pieces as part of a larger branding initiative; creating an ongoing series of highly functional tools to effectively communicate the company's brand message to a broad audience encompassing retailers, members of the press and A+D community.
"We're incredibly honored to receive this recognition for our work from such a well-respected design publication," said Jaipur Creative Director Jason Moody. "Beyond showing beautiful representations of our products, the primary goal for this year's catalog was a focus on understanding how our customers actually work--what are the most important things they need to view at a quick glance, how they search through collections, etc. We're looking forward to adding to these pieces with the launch of several exciting interactive tools for our customers in the coming year."
The selected pieces are slated to appear in November in the publication's online awards gallery and on newsstands in GD USA's American Graphic Awards Design Annual.
September 28,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on September 29, 2010
Bedding's largest vendor, Sealy (NYSE: ZZ) announced on Tuesday third-quarter 2010 sales of $346.2 million, a decrease of 1 percent compared with a year ago.
Sealy, Trinity, N.C., recorded a $15.8 million net loss for the third quarter. Excluding a non-cash, impairment charge of $23 million related to a write down of the assets of the company's European segment to their fair market value, net income for the period would have been $7.1 million.
"While our third quarter results reflect the inconsistent industry demand and on-going pressures in the overall macroeconomic and retail environment, we remain focused on actions within our control to drive our future performance, said Larry Rogers, president and CEO, said in an announcement of Sealy's performance. "In light of this challenging marketplace, we are actively working with our retail partners to execute promotions that will bring the consumer back into their stores, while continuing to make investments in new product rollouts and new product development to drive future sales growth.
"The Sealy Promotional line has now been fully rolled out and the specialty Embody line rollout will be completed in Q4. While we would like to have had both rollouts completed faster, both lines are now performing better than their predecessors and have shown improvement from the beginning to the end of the quarter. In addition, our 2009 Stearns & Foster line continues to deliver strong growth. Lastly, we are excited by the progress made on our Next Generation Posturepedic line, which remains on track for a January 2011 launch."
Through fiscal 2010's first nine months, Sealy's sales rose 4.6 percent from the same period a year ago to $1,002.3 million. The net loss for the period was $9.3 million. Excluding the non-cash impairment discussed above, the company's net income for the period would have been $13.7 million, versus $11 million in the prior year period.
Sealy also announced that Deborah G. Ellinger and John B. Replogle have been appointed as independent directors to the company's Board. In addition, the Company appointed Larry Rogers, president and CEO of Sealy Corp., to the Board of Directors. The company also announced that Matthew W. King has agreed to step down as a member of the Board of Directors.
"The Board is pleased to recognize Larry Rogers' leadership and significant contributions to Sealy with his election to the board," said Paul Norris, Sealy's non-executive chairman.
As a result of these decisions, the Board now consists of a majority of independent directors. These changes follow the company's previously announced plan to have a majority-independent Board of Directors to comply with the New York Stock Exchange's transition rules for a company which is no longer a "controlled company".
"We are pleased to welcome Deborah and John to our Board," Rogers said. "Their vast wealth of knowledge and expertise with marketing related experiences in the retail environment will be of immense benefit as we continue to grow and introduce new products. As a new Director myself, I look forward to working together with Deborah, John and the other talented members of our Board to develop fresh and exciting strategies that will help us achieve our goals in the coming years."
Ellinger is currently an advisor to Catterton Partners, with whom she has worked since 2004. Replogle is CEO of Burt's Bees Inc., a position he has held since January 2006.
September 28,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Rugs on September 29, 2010
Capel Rugs of Connecticut kicked off the opening of its new store in Westport, Conn., with a grand-opening event held Sept. 10.
The event was sponsored by real estate developer Investment Capital Partners of Southport, Conn., and Capel Rugs of Troy, N.C.
"The grand opening was a huge success," said Lisa Lawrence, spokesperson for ICP and a principal of Capel Rugs of Connecticut. "We want to thank everyone who came out for the event. We are excited to be serving this market with a much needed source for beautiful, high-quality area rugs."
The grand opening included a ribbon cutting ceremony and offered customers the chance to enter to win a getaway to Biltmore House in Asheville, N.C., one of Troy, N.C.-based Capel's licensing partners.
The retail store occupies more than 6,000 square feet of prime ground floor space in Westport and features more than 400 styles of area rugs of all constructions, qualities and price points.
ICP is a property manager and developer of upscale commercial buildings in Fairfield County.
September 28,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in licensing on September 29, 2010
HFI Brands and fashion label Lilly Pulitzer will launch a 200-plus-piece furniture line at the Oct. 16-21 High Point Furniture Market.
Lilly Pulitzer Home will show in Market Square, space 391.
"Ever since Lillys colorful dresses began attracting more attention than her fresh juices, Lillys life went from squeezing fruit to designing fashion," said Britt Albright, creative director for HFI Brands. "The Lilly Pulitzer Home collection promises to deliver Lillys same style, inspired color palette and unique sense of fun to consumers everyday lives."
The new furniture collection from Lilly Pulitzer Home will introduce a blend of clean transitional styling and mid-century classics that offer a full array of designs for the bedroom, dining room and living room spaces. Case goods will feature classic Palm Beach white finishes, along with new crisp mahogany veneers, woven materials and colorful lacquers. An upholstery introduction in Lilly Pulitzer's iconic prints, designed by Lee Jofa, rounds out the collection.
"Lilly Pulitzer is a brand consumers already can't get enough of," said Steve McKee, HFI Brands president and CEO. "Expanding this 'love of Lilly' into the home furnishings space just makes sense, and we are so excited that Lilly Pulitzer has partnered with HFI Brands to make that happen. There will be nothing subtle about this modern celebration of furniture at Lilly Pulitzer Home get ready for a show stopper."
Under HFI Brands, Lilly Pulitzer Home will have access to HFI Brands' full product design and development, marketing and distribution and retail sales functions. Based in Irving, Texas, HFI Brands brings more than 60 combined years of expert brand development and manufacturing-to-retail services for its associated brands. With strategic alliances in Asia through Outlook International, HFI is structured to give brands access to the largest quality control, sourcing and production management network worldwide, delivering exceptional product, quality assurances, and profit potential.
Other brand companies represented by HFI Brands include Hotel Maison, Barclay Butera Lifestyle, and Peoploungers.