Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
August 19,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on August 20, 2010
A former employeee Shimock's Furniture, Kulpmont, Pa., was found dead in the furniture store Wednesday, the Shamokin News Item reported Thursday.
Employees found the body of Leon Pielacha Jr., 53, in the store's display area of the 10,000-square-foot first-floor showroom. The county coroner attributed his death to natural causes. There were no signs of foul play.
According to the report, it is believed Pielacha entered the store Saturday without employees' knowledge.
August 19,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Store Openings on August 20, 2010
Barrington, Ill.-based Honquest Furniture For Living is expanding and will open an additional store next month in Deerfield, Ill.
The new store, set to open Sept. 24, will be a Honquest Furniture Outlet Plus.
"The market is telling us what to do," said Richard Honquest, owner. "Most consumers have less discretionary income than they had a few years ago."
Honquest said he looked at his customers' buying habits and decided an "innovative furniture outlet store that offers incredible savings on many of the brands for which Honquest Furniture For Living is known" would be the perfect match.
The 22,000-square-foot store will be operate on a weekends-only schedule of Friday, Saturday and Sunday and will offer an ever-changing merchandise mix.
"It's the thrill of the hung, that excitement of discovering the deal that customers want," said Gary Blake, a designer with Honquest. "Rather than keeping the doors open seven days a week, we use that time to locate our best deals from the most reputable manufacturers. When we open each Friday, we will offer thrilling new selections, new displays and a store full of savings every week."
August 19,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on August 20, 2010
Z Gallerie's furniture store in long Beach, Calif., will close Saturday, the Gazette of Long Beach reported Thursday.
The 25,060-square-foot store is closing after 17 years of business at the location, a historic site of a Masonic Temple built in 1903.
"Both the DLBA and the RDA have spent time working with stakeholders to build a sustainable plan for the future of downtown," Downtown Long Beach Associates President and CEO Kraig Kojian said in the report. "We're working to recruit the best retailers for the future. However, (Z Gallerie closing) is not exclusive to Pine Avenue. Retail sales in the home furnishings sector have suffered nationwide in the past five years."
Z Gallerie emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last October.
August 19,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on August 20, 2010
Cost Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPWM) reported a net loss of $7 million for the second quarter ended July 31, compared to a net loss of $21 million during the same quarter last year.
Net sales for the second quarter were $192.4 million, a 4.9 percent increase from $183.4 million for the same quarter last year. Same store sales for the quarter increased 6.5 percent compared to a decrease of 10.9 percent last year.
"We are pleased with our second quarter results and the continued momentum in the business," said Barry Feld, president and chief executive officer. "Our layered multi-media marketing campaigns designed to reconnect with our loyal customer base, combined with our customer acquisition efforts and World Market Explorer loyalty program, delivered the necessary increases in traffic to recover the top line."
Looking forward to the third quarter, the company expects net sales in the range of $187 million to $190 million, based on a same-store sales increased in the range of 5 percent to 7 percent. The retailer is projecting a loss from continuing operations before interest and taxes in the range of $7 million to $9 million compared to a loss of $19 million for the third quarter of 2009.
The company operates 263 stores in 30 states and maintains an e-commerce Web site.
The entire earnings release can be read here.
August 19,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on August 20, 2010
Williams-Sonoma Inc.
(NYSE: WSM) reported net profit of $30.8 million for the second quarter ended Aug. 1, compared to $399,000 profit during the same quarter last year.
Sales climbed 15.4 percent to $776 million for the quarter, compared to $672 million in the year-ago quarter. Same-store sales increased 13.6 percent from the same quarter last year.
Laura Alber, president and chief executive officer, said she is pleased with the results.
"Innovative merchandising at compelling price pointscombined with highly targeted marketing and a superior customer experiencedrove these better than expected results," Alber said. "While we are proud of these record results, we realize there is still uncertainty in the economic environment. Our initiatives, however, have proven to be effective and we continue to see a significant opportunity ahead of us to attract new customers to our brands, gain market share and improve profitability, even in this environment."
Net sales for the first half of the year increased 16.3 percent to $1.49 billion compared to $1.28 billion for the first half of last year.
Williams-Sonoma Inc. operates six different brands
Williams-Sonoma,
Pottery Barn,
Pottery Barn Kids,
PBteen,
West Elm, and
Williams-Sonoma Home. The company operates 609 stores, seven direct mail catalogs and six e-commerce Web sites.
Williams-Sonoma has the entire release on its Web site.