August 18,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on August 19, 2010
Brooklyn furniture and textile design studio Nightwood has opened a pop-up location at be@schermerhorn, a new Brooklyn condominium, the New York Times reported.
The 4,000-square-foot pop-up is open through Oct. 31 shows conceptual pieces functional furnishings, all in recycled wood.
"Were making furniture for people like us, who want something original, local and made of environmentally friendly materials," said Nadia Yaron, who owns Nightwood with Myriah Scruggs, in the report.
Nightwood specializes in its own reconstructed furniture and textiles, according to its Web site.
August 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Acquisition on August 18, 2010
Kindel Furniture Co. is merging with
The Taylor Co. and its subsidiaries to form a more diversified Kindel parent corporation to serve the fine furniture and wood components industries worldwide.
With roots reaching back to 1969, The Taylor Co. in Grand Rapids is a manufacturer of high-end, wooden and veneered components to Kindel and other fine furniture manufacturers.
The merged companies will offer four branded product lines under the Kindel parent corporation: Kindel and its brands, The Taylor Co.,
Taylor Millwork and the
Superior Furniture Co. brand acquired by The Taylor Co. in 2009.
Officials at Kindel and The Taylor Co. have been in discussions for several months regarding the merger, said James A. Fisher, current CEO of Kindel and executive vice president of the Fisher Properties of Indiana. Having held an ownership position in Kindel since 1964, the Fisher family is the sole shareholder in the company. John Van Zee, president and co-owner of The Taylor Co., will serve as president and CEO and become co-owner of Kindel after the companies merge. Fisher will remain on the board of the new Kindel Furniture Co. as its chairman.
"This is textbook example of how two companies with complementary business structures can merge to create a much stronger corporation," Fisher said. "Kindel is providing the reputation earned over the past 109 years, experience and techniques of old-world craftsmanship, designs and licenses, and customer relationships. The Taylor Co. is contributing advanced techniques in woodworking and modern business methods that will make Kindel much more 'custom capable,' which is the inescapable trend in fine furniture buying today."
Fisher said while Kindel has embraced lean manufacturing techniques during the past two years, it has relied on some manufacturing processes that constrained it from customizing orders and scheduling appropriate lead times. The Taylor Co. has developed methods of building furniture components to order through the use of computer controlled routers and other automated equipment.
"The Taylor Co. methods will only enhance what people value in Kindel furniture," Van Zee said. "We will be using computerized machining methods on many components to ensure accuracy and precision while maintaining the Kindel heritage that includes hand carving, and decorating, luxurious upholstered details and fine finishing."
Fisher and Van Zee expect the new company to reap significant benefits from the merger of Kindel and The Taylor Co. by consolidating manufacturing spaces and applying modern business methods to Kindel. Over the next few months, Kindel will move manufacturing operations from its multi-story, 170,000-square-foot facility into the single level, 92,000-square-foot building that the Taylor company occupies.
Kindel employs 83 full and part-time people, and The Taylor Co. currently employs 64 full-time people. Van Zee said that while it is early in the integration process, he expects there will be consolidation of the positions reducing employment. He said the company will try to retain workers wherever possible.
The merger will mark the third time in the past two years that The Taylor Co. has brought more work into its Eastern Avenue facility. In spring of 2009, the company purchased the assets of Superior Furniture.
In September last year, The Taylor Co. acquired the assets of Quality Door and Trim in Holland. This division, now called Taylor Millwork, manufactures interior and exterior doors, as well as cabinetry for commercial and residential applications.
"We expect to provide our customers with an even wider range of high quality products than were sold under the Kindel brands," Van Zee said. "It's no secret that buyers today want choices. We are now able to better accommodate their desires, not only from a design standpoint, but with more nimble service and a broader range of prices."
During the past few years, Kindel has been developing new lines of furniture that appeal to a cross-section of interior designers and commercial and residential customers. The merger will enhance Kindel's ability to customize existing products, improve its quality and delivery as well as facilitate growing demand for one-of-a-kind offerings.
"Our furniture style has a broad range," Fisher said. "While we will continue to serve our customers who appreciate our luxurious, highly polished furniture, we've also added a lot of new and interesting pieces that come in a variety of lighter colors and finishes.
"Kindel and The Taylor Co. were both looking to improve our penetration into the marketplace, and I think we all recognize that this merger has created a critical mass for both companies," he said. "This is definitely a win-win situation."
August 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on August 18, 2010
La-Z-Boy Inc.
(NYSE: LZB) reported a loss of $200,000 for the first quarter of 2011 ended July 24, compared to a profit of $2 million during the same quarter last year.
Net sales for the quarter were $263.3 million, flat when compared with sales from the same quarter last year.
Kurt Darrow, president and chief executive officer, said the company's financial results were impacted by higher raw material costs, supply chain disruptions, storms that delayed shipping from its Mexican operations and inefficiencies in Mexico as the company moved all of its cut-and-sew operations from the U.S. He said most of those issues have now abated and are not expected to impact the company for the rest of the year.
"Historically, with our first quarter seasonally our slowest period of the year, the mix of one-time external factors exacerbated the pressure on sales and earnings for the quarter," Darrow said. "We believe this is not representative of La-Z-Boy's performance going forward as we have a lean and efficient operating structure and are moving into what is typically a stronger selling season."
Sales in the company's upholstery segment for the quarter climbed 2.7 percent to $201.9 million, compared to $196.7 million during the first quarter of last year.
Sales in the case goods segment for the quarter increased 2.7 percent to $36.8 million from $35.9 million during the same quarter last year.
"As we anticipated, the changes we made to our cost structure last year are now flowing through to the bottom line," Darrow said. "Moving forward we will continue to identify further cost-savings initiatives throughout the business. Our team is working to strengthen our product offering and marketing strategies by focusing on key product categories within each brand."
For the company's retail segment, sales were down 1.8 percent to $35.3 million in the quarter. The retail group posted an operating loss for the quarter.
"We continued to strengthen the performance of our retail segment," Darrow said. "Combined with our improving trend in gross margin, we will continue to work to ensure our cost and selling structures remain lean in what continues to be a challenging sales environment. In the meantime, we are maintaining our marketing momentum to drive traffic to our stores and our sales team remains focused on increasing its close ratios and the average ticket."
Looking forward, Darrow expects the company to make progress despite low consumer confidence and high unemployment rates due in part to changes implemented in La-Z-Boy's operating structure.
"Our lean, efficient operations and strong network of branded distribution position us well in the current business environment," he said. "Going forward, we will continue to manage costs relative to volume levels and are focused on improving the performance of all three business segments, particularly as cost-savings initiatives, including efficiencies from the Mexico cut-and-sew center, accelerate throughout the year. Our first quarter is historically our lowest level of sales and operating profit and is therefore not indicative of the potential for full-year results."
Read the entire release on the La-Z-Boy Web site.
August 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedroom on August 18, 2010
The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued a countrywide 216.01 percent duty on wood bedroom furniture from China shipped during 2008.
Thirteen manufacturers received a separate rate of 43.23 percent for their 2008 bedroom shipments, according to an announcement in Wednesday's Federal Register:
* Dongguan Sunrise Furniture Co.
* Longrange Furniture Co. Ltd.
* Langfang Tiancheng Furniture Co. Ltd.
* Shun Feng Furniture Co. Ltd.
* COE Ltd.
* Tianjin Fortune Furniture Co. Ltd.
* Transworld (Zhangzhou) Furniture Co. Ltd.
* Decca Furniture Ltd.
* Dongguan Landmark Furniture Products Ltd.
* Winny Overseas Ltd.
* Dongguan Yihaiwei Furniture Ltd.
* Baigou Crafts Factory of Fengkai
* Zhongshan Gainwell Furniture Co. Ltd.
DOC rescinded 24 other companies from the 2008 administrative review after determining they made no shipments of subject merchandise during the review period.
August 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Internet on August 18, 2010
Think social media is a fad? Check out this super-cool video filled with facts on the growth and impact social media has on our communication, networking and business.
And, while you're viewing the video, mark on your calendar to pick up the September issue of Home Furnishings Business in which we examine the ins and outs of social media and business applications.
Enjoy!