Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
September 1,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Recliners on September 2, 2010
Massage chair and recliner vendor Human Touch has won Awards for Design Excellence in Design Journal's 2010 ADEX competition.
The awards went to Human Touch's WholeBody massage chair and iJoy robotic massage chair. The ADEX Awards is the largest and most prestigious awards competition recognizing superior product design of furnishings marketed through the international design trade. Products are judged by a distinguished jury of professionals representing a cross section of the architecture and design community.
"The Award for Design Excellence is given annually to companies that exhibit an unwavering commitment to design and innovation," said John Platter, director of Awards for Design Excellence. "Human Touch continues to set the bar high with its new massage chairs. Not only are they state-of-the-art in terms of features, but they also have a sleek design that is reminiscent of Le Corbusier furniture."
The HT-5040 WholeBody massage chair received the highest honor of Platinum for its blend of advanced massage features and design, while the iJoy-2310 robotic massage chair received a Gold award for its appealing, compact design, state-of-the-art massage programs, and affordability.
"The ADEX Awards for Design Excellence is one of the most prominent awards granted by the home and furnishings architecture and design community, and we are extremely honored to have received this recognition for our innovative design oriented massage chairs for the past two consecutive years," said Andrew Corkill, director of marketing for Human Touch, Long Beach California. "Human Touch is dedicated to bringing high quality, state-of-the-art massage chairs and wellness products to market, which not only look great in any living space, but also provide valuable health and wellness benefits to consumers everywhere."
Last year, Human Touch won two ADEX awards: a Platinum award for its AcuTouch HT-1650 massage chair, and Silver for the AcuTouch HT-7450 Zero-Gravity massage chair.
September 1,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on September 2, 2010
Thomasville Furniture Industries has promoted Jane Roberts to vice president of merchandising.
Roberts now has overall responsibility for upholstery, accessory and mattress programs, and stage gate Implementation.
Previously, she served as director of upholstery merchandising, where she was responsible for upholstery design and marketing programs that proved successful in achieving sales and market growth.
"I am confident that through her leadership and team building efforts, we will continue to grow our business and reach new heights," said Thomasville President Ed Teplitz in announcing the promotion.
Thomasville Furniture is a division of St. Louis-based Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN).
September 1,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on September 2, 2010
The furniture industry is still catching up from a bad 2009, with June furniture orders rising 9 percent over June '09. June furniture shipments rose 13 percent, compared with the same month last year.
That's according to the latest Furniture Insights survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors from the High Point accounting and consulting firm Smith Leonard.
While orders and shipments rose in June over the prior year, June 2009 orders had fallen 16 percent from June 2008; shipments were down 19 percent from June '08.
Year-to-date, new orders remained 10 percent higher than the first half of 2009, when orders for the first half of 2009 were 20 percent below the first half of 2008. This puts orders for the first half of 2010 12.5 percent below the first half of 2008.
Year-to-date, shipments are now up 7 percent (up from 6 percent last month) compared with the first half of last year. Last year's first 6 months were off 20 percent from the first half of 2008.
Backlogs were up 35 percent over June 2009, down from a 40 percent increase reported last month. Backlogs were 5 percent lower than May 2010, which was part of the reason for the 13 percent increase in shipments.
Receivables were 6 percent higher in June 2010 compared with June 2009.
"This increase appeared very reasonable in light of the monthly shipment increase, as well as, the year-to-date increase," Smith Leonard Managing Partner Ken Smith said in the report. "While we continue to hear of some stretching out in days sales in receivables, we think that overall, receivables are in reasonable shape."
Inventories increased 5 percent over May and were 2 percent higher than June 2009. In June 2009, inventories were 20 percent lower than June 2008 so it appears that inventories remain under control, even considering the increases in business.
"From what we have heard, most companies have pretty much rid themselves of their older or obsolete inventories in order to create cash (or reduce borrowings)," Smith saild. "This seems to be allowing inventories to remain at lower levels in spite of the increase in business. Also, generally speaking, most companies appear to continue to try to keep levels low."
The number of factory and warehouse employees in June was flat with May 2010 and was up 2 percent over June 2009. June 2009 employees were 19 percent lower than June 2008. Payrolls were 17 percent higher than June 2009 and 9 percent higher than May. June 2009 payrolls were 22 percent lower than June 2008. Those figures appear to reflect improved business conditions.
"While we still have a ways to go to get back to 2008 numbers, at least the increases continue to come," Smith said in summary. "Not to be negative, but we need to remember that 2008 results were also off for the most part in the double digit range especially in the last half of the year.
"We had heard from some that business fell off some after Memorial Day, but the June results did not seem to reflect that."
Smith noted that continued talk about the slow economy, the potential for a double dip, stock market woes, and continued high unemployment continues to keep consumers anxious; and that consumers seeking to reduce their debt load puts a damper on non-necessary spending.
"On the other hand, we are still selling furniture with some improved results in spite of all the bad news," Smith said. "That's not all bad. We just need the economy to show some strength, but most seem to feel that might be a while. In the meantime, stay lean and hold on until the overall situation gets better."
September 1,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on September 2, 2010
Over 500 furniture retailers are ready for the 2009 National Home Furnishings Month Is It Home Yet? consumer campaign, sponsored by World Market Center Las Vegas.
This year's promotion, running throughout September, features a Home Mortgage Sweepstakes, which will allow the winning homeowner to live mortgage-free for a year. Retailers can customize the sweepstakes as their own through a unique URL and collateral materials in their stores.
In addition to Is It Home Yet? retail participants, some 8,000 retail stores also are signed up to take advantage of the store locator on www.homeyet.com.
"National Home Furnishings Month was created to unite retailers, providing them with the necessary tools to inspire a new-found customer enthusiasm," said World Market Center Las Vegas President and CEO Robert Maricich. "We believe the new addition of the Home Mortgage Sweepstakes for 2010 is compelling for both retailers and consumers, providing an exciting opportunity for families to ask themselves what long dreamed-of items they would purchase for their homes if they had the extra money in their pockets each month. Thus far the campaign's success has been evident by the strong support we are seeing from retailers nationwide. From Honolulu to Houston and up and down the east coast, retailers are quickly signing up their stores to promote the Home Mortgage Sweepstakes in-store this September.
In addition to offering the Home Mortgage Sweepstakes in their stores to help drive traffic and adding their store information to the homeyet.com store locator, participating retailers have access to various ads and promotional tools, compliments of World Market Center Las Vegas.
Aside from retailer's own media commitments, the campaign will be promoted through MarthaStewart.com as well as through a dedicated Facebook channel and a high volume of ads on Facebook that will be hyper-targeted to reach millions of engaged users, those with the highest affinity toward decorating and purchasing for their home. Consumers can become fans of the Is It Home Yet? Facebook fan page where they can get trend updates and interact through activities including a "What's Your Style Design Quiz." The campaign's Web site also features new content including home makeover tips and trend information.
The Is It Home Yet? initiative also encourages retailers to offer special values and incentives during the 10-day sales event in running Sept. 18-26. So far, more than 300 retailers plan to hold NHFM sales which consumers can discover on the store locator when searching by zip code.
Ashley Furniture Homestores are active participants in 2010 NHFM campaign with more than 60 dealers representing 178 Ashley stores signed up nationally. In addition, Ashley marketing specialists have been recruiting key accounts to get other retailers involved and have initiated direct mail as well as store signage, in addition to on-line and television marketing to support the national sale.
One example of an Ashley account getting involved in NHFM is Honolulu-based C.S. Wo & Sons who in addition to offering special coupons, will be giving away two $1,500 shopping sprees state wide.
"We are excited about the Home Mortgage Sweepstakes and are happy to be able to pull our retailers into a national campaign like Is It Home Yet? that is doing something to help brand our industry," said William Herrmann, vice president of sales, West Coast, for Ashley Furniture. "This promotion provides us with additional possibilities for what we can offer during National Home Furnishings Month to be able to really turn it into a nationwide event."
Dave Fletcher of One Stop Home Furnishings in Camas, Wash., said there are a number of reasons his store is participating in NHFM.
"First, the Home Mortgage Sweepstakes offers a unique prize that we think will create a lot of interest and attention," Fletcher said. "Who wouldn't love to take a year off from making their monthly mortgage payments, especially during these challenging economic times? In addition, the timing of the sweepstakes is perfect. September is the kick-off to the fall selling season, and we think that this event will help bring more traffic into the store."
Retailers who want to participate in NHFM can still do so at no charge through the end of the month. For more information, visit the campaign Web site or e-mail here.
September 1,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on September 2, 2010
Furniture retailer American Signature has presented Trina Dunlap with the 2010 Jerome Schottenstein Humanitarian Award in recognition of her public service efforts.
Dunlap, a supervisor in American Signature's home office loss prevention department, is president and co-founder of central Ohio's Blue Star Mothers chapter. She is the fifth recipient of the award since its 1997 inception.
"We created this award in memory of my father and his dedication in helping to improve the quality of life in our local community and beyond," said Jay Schottenstein, chairman and CEO of American Signature Inc., Columbus, Ohio. "Trina's efforts exemplify this same commitment, as her work here in central Ohio extends to our troops overseas."
Dunlap, a 14 year associate with the company, received the award during American Signature's annual leadership conference awards dinner on August 11. The award was presented by a surprise guest--her son, Captain Michael Dunlap, a U.S. Army officer with the C-52 infantry company currently stationed in Iraq.
Created in 1997, the Jerome Schottenstein Humanitarian Award recognizes an individual within the American Signature Inc. family who has demonstrated extraordinary volunteer efforts by giving back to the community. The nominee can work in any aspect of the stores, manufacturing plants, distribution centers or home office.
In addition to the award presentation, American Signature made a $1,000 contribution to Blue Star Mothers in Dunlap's name. Since 2008, American Signature associates have supported the organization in excess of $15,000 through individual gifts and matching corporate donations.
Blue Star Mothers is a non-partisan, non-political service organization comprised of mothers who have or have had children serving in the U.S. military. Under Trina's leadership, the local chapter has shipped more than 3,000 care packages to service people overseas. The organization also promotes public awareness of military support efforts through fundraising and community events.
American Signature has more than 125 stores under the American Signature Furniture and Value City Furniture brands.