Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
September 9,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on September 10, 2010
The Swedish retailer Ikea is set to launch a television commercial featuring 100 cats that were filmed roaming through its flagship Wembley store. The commercial will push the retailers 2011 catalog release.
The commercial, set to air in Europe Saturday, features cats getting comfortable in, under and over sofas, beds, desks and lampshades in 30- and 90-second shots.
The ad is part of the company's integrated campaign that includes a competition. Viewers will be invited to guess which pieces of furniture the cats settled on to win that piece of furniture. The competition is linked to
Facebook so users can share it with friends.
The making of the Ikea cat commercial is documented in this clever video that features the cats' owners and the production crew.
Enjoy!
September 8,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on September 9, 2010
Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN) has
named Dr. George E. Ross to its board of directors.Ross is president of Central Michigan University, Michigan's fourth largest university and among the 100 largest public universities in the nation.
Ross earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration from Michigan State University, a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Alabama, and completed postdoctoral studies at Harvard University. He began his career as a certified public accountant and held positions in corporate and nonprofit finance and management prior to his work in higher education. Before assuming the Central Michigan University presidency, Ross served as President of Alcorn State University located in Mississippi and held executive leadership positions at Clark Atlanta University, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Tuskegee University.
"George Ross is an outstanding addition to Furniture Brands' board of directors," said Ralph P. Scozzafava, chairman and CEO. "George has extensive experience managing large, complex organizations and building coalitions with a variety of public and private groups. Throughout his career, one of George's top priorities has been creating programs and infrastructure that support the development of individuals and their organizations. That experience is key to Furniture Brands' goal of becoming a world-class manufacturer, retailer and employer. We welcome George to the board and look forward to his contributions."
September 8,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Internet on September 9, 2010
La-Z-Boy Inc. (NYSE: LZB) has launched 20-20 Icovia Inc.'s Virtual Planner for online 3D product configuration, visualization and space planning.
The La-Z-Boy 3D Room Planner is now available to all dealers and consumers, and can be accessed via La-Z-Boy's Web site or its Facebook fan page, where viewers can see video of the 3D Planner in action and designer testimonials.
La-Z-Boy customers can now configure their products in all available upholstery, leather and wood finish options and view them from any angle in full 3D. Users can also design the room they are furnishing, changing room size, wall color, floor types, windows, doors, accessories, even realistic lighting that works. Once their design is complete they can post the plan to their Facebook wall for friends to review.
"Giving the consumer more control over their design options engages them emotionally, which drastically increases the probability of a sale," said Steve Street, president of Icovia, Londonderry, N.H.
With a single click, users can post their designs created within La-Z-Boy's 3D Room Planner to their Facebook wall. The 3D Virtual Planner also can be launched directly from La-Z-Boy's Facebook Fan Page. Users can create, furnish, and share floor plans with their social network, thereby generating additional brand exposure and registered sales leads.
"Product configuration, visualization, space planning and social media integration makes the La-Z-Boy 3D Room Planner a powerful tool for our customers and dealers," said Doug Collier, chief marketing officer for La-Z-Boy, Warren, Mich. "The better we can meet and exceed consumers' expectations, the better position we are in to attract and convert them into customers. The Icovia 3D Virtual Planner makes all of this possible and helps La-Z-Boy continue to dramatically increase its brand visibility and interactive capabilities online."
La-Z-Boy plans to continue developing its product line in 3D over the coming months as well as connect the Virtual Planner to its eCommerce platform, allowing customers to purchase items selected and configured with Icovia.
September 8,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Mattresses on September 9, 2010
Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) has launched a national contest and social media campaign to coincide with the introduction of its newest innerspring, VertiCoil Edge.
The Virgin Mattress Contest will award a new mattress to one consumer. The contest leads up to the re-launch of Leggett & Platt's related webisode campaign.
Through October 11, visitors to Leggett & Platt's The Virgin Mattress YouTube Channel can compete to win a new mattress made with VertiCoil Edge innersprings. To participate in the contest, visitors must upload a video response to The Virgin Mattress Contest video, sharing why they deserve a new mattress.
The Virgin Mattress Contest is part of a social media campaign Leggett & Platt created to engage and connect with consumers. To coincide with Leggett & Platt's recent launch of VertiCoil Edge, the company will air a series of comedic webisodes that follows a couple in their quest to fight off an arch nemesis and save the family mattress store from financial ruin. The campaign was originally slated to launch in May, but was redesigned with a later start date. The videos go live Oct. 13, the same day the contest winner is announced.
"We want to be the first to bring this kind of media to the mattress industry," said Mark Quinn, segment vice President of marketing for the residential furnishings segment of Leggett & Platt, Carthage, Mo. "The Virgin Mattress campaign is back, this time with new characters and new videos that take a fun look at a coupleÃs efforts to redeem their family mattress business. Humorous customers, sleazy salespeople and crazy bedroom stories are all incorporated into a tale that will make consumers think twice about their current mattress."
Entries will be judged on creativity and their legitimate need for a new mattress. The winner will receive a new mattress made with VertiCoil Edge innerspring, valued at approximately $1,300.
Leggett & Platt will support and promote the contest and webisodes through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. A Virgin Mattress-related free iPhone application will be available for download later this year.
To view the official rules of The Virgin Mattress Contest, visit TheVirginMattress.com.
September 8,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on September 9, 2010
Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to be up 16 percent in September over the same month last year.
This years traffic, though, has peaked, and numbers will decline through the remainder of the year. That's according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the
National Retail Federation and
Hackett Associates.
"Retailers have stocked up early on much of their holiday merchandise in order to avoid some of the supply chain disruptions seen earlier in the year," NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. "Cargo is still coming in, but the key question for sales will be what happens with employment and other factors that affect consumer confidence this fall. Retailers are hoping theyve hit the right balance of supply and demand."
U.S. ports handled 1.38 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units in July, the latest month for which actual numbers are available. That was up 5 percent from June and 25 percent from July 2009. It was the eighth month in a row to show a year-over-year improvement after December broke a 28-month streak of year-over-year declines.
August was estimated at 1.35 million TEU, a 17 percent increase over last year. September is forecast at 1.32 million TEU, up 16 percent from last year; October at 1.3 million TEU, up 9 percent; November at 1.2 million TEU, up 11 percent; and December at 1.11 million TEU, up 2 percent. January 2011 is forecast at 1.06 million TEU, down 2 percent from January 2010.
The first half of 2010 was estimated at 6.9 million TEU, up 17 percent from the same period last year. The full year is forecast at 14.5 million TEU, which would be up 15 percent from the 12.7 million TEU in 2009, which was the lowest since the 12.5 million TEU reported in 2003. The 2010 number remains below the 15.2 million TEU seen in 2008 and the peak of 16.5 million TEU seen in 2007.
While October is the traditional peak month of the annual shipping season as retailers bring in merchandise for the holiday season, July's figures appear likely to stand as the peak for 2010. The shift was mostly due to backlogs built up due to the lack of shipping capacity earlier in the year after ship owners took vessels out of service during the recession.
"There is sufficient evidence to suggest that importers anticipated the peak season and bought early, partly as a result of a fear of lack of capacity and containers but also as a means to avoid the hefty peak season surcharges announced by all the carriers," Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. "We remain cautious about growth over the next 12 months. The good news is that the influx of new capacity will continue to put downward pressure on freight rates."