Daily News Archive
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August 1,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on August 2, 2010
The WorldBed Project charitable initiative will raise awareness of its humanitarian efforts through exhibiting at this week's Las Vegas Furniture Market.
The WorldBed Project, which has grown since the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, when mattress manufacturer Anatomic Global mobilized a team to fund the production and delivery of emergency cot-sized mattresses to displaced Haitians, also appointed its first board of directors as it emerges as a non-profit organization.
To raise awareness of its progress and seek partners in the home furnishings industry, The WorldBed Project will exhibit a Market in the Specialty Sleep Association showroom, World Market Center-C1350. SSA donated the space.
"I am pleased to announce the appointment of the new directors of our board," said The WorldBed Project Chairman and President Laura Castro. "Each of these individuals brings their own experience with charitable causes on a national scale and I believe their expertise and leadership will be instrumental to the growth of the project."
The board will be governed by Marketplace Properties President and Founder Michael Rue, member of the board of trustees for Xavier University; EcoCover President and Founder Scott Yardley; and United Cerebral Palsy COO Grant Dunning, chief executive officer and founder of Pacific Properties Investment Corp.
The WorldBed Project aims to engage retailers and industry leaders in the program by providing more ways to serve people in need, whether in their local communities or abroad.
"We have developed the specifications, manufacturing and logistical program to make this a viable turnkey operation that can benefit people in need on local, regional and global levels," said Castro. "We welcome the participation of others in the home furnishings industry to join with us in support of our current project in Haiti. In addition, retailers can now look to WorldBed to help fulfill other missions in their own communities."
The WorldBed Project assists participants with a range of collateral materials to provide consumers with information about the project. Materials such as informational brochures, in-store signage and banners help to convey the mission of Advocating Comfort.
In the months since the earthquake in Haiti, The WorldBed Project received support from dozens of organizations ranging from single-location retail outlets to large retail chains, major furnishings industry suppliers and world-renown philanthropic and disaster relief groups. Partners who have supported the effort to date include Relax The Back, Leggett & Platt, FXI Foamex Innovations, Deslee Textiles USA, Royal Packaging, Brookwood Companies, World Hope International, World Vision, CARE and Parakletos International.
More than 12,000 beds have been delivered to Haiti. Several thousand of these transitional mattress products will continue to be shipped, while the project expands its services to other third-world countries, disaster relief/response areas and local community efforts.
The specially designed mattresses are made of visco-memory foam and conventional foam. To provide moisture resistance during rainy season, the beds are encased in a rugged nylon and vinyl cover. Each WorldBed can be rolled up and carried over ones shoulder with an attached strap.
The WorldBed Project started during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 with Anatomic Global, the Corona, Calif.-based manufacturer of memory foam sleep products. The company mobilized a team to make and distribute over 3,000 beds to people temporarily housed in the Cajun Dome.
August 1,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Accessories on August 2, 2010
Classy Art Wholesalers, Houston, Texas, is giving money away at this week's
Las Vegas Furniture Market.
The alternative marketing efforts involves "accidentally" dropping single dollar bills in the halls, elevators, lobbies, or anywhere retailers will be found walking throughout the World Market Center. These are real U.S. currency $1 bills, and they will be stamped with the company name and booth numbers in an effort to create buzz and stimulate traffic in Classy Art's showroom.
Most think that this type of defacing of U.S. currency is illegal, however it is not. The law states that it is illegal to deface currency to a degree that is unfit for circulation where as these bills will have but a mere 1-inch stamp in one corner.
August 1,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on August 2, 2010
RTA furniture vendor Euro Style has donated $20,000 to Doctors Without Borders in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to benefit the Haitian earthquake victims.
"This effort is the beginning of an ongoing pledge of a percentage of sales written at Euro Style's trade shows," said Trig Liljestrand, president of Euro Style, San Rafael, Calif.
The company also launched its new Internet brand, Italmodern, for use exclusively in online sales. The Italmodern products sold online have extra-strong cartons, with burst-strength of 275 pounds per square inch for single carton shipping, and are packaged one or two pieces per carton making it simpler for consumers to purchase on-line.
Eurø Style branded products are not available for internet sales.
Euro Styles president, Trig Liljestrand says: "By creating a brand exclusive to the Internet, we have simplified our e-commerce business and eliminated confusion in the marketplace, already showing very positive results," Liljestrand said.
Euro Style's Las Vegas Furniture Market showroom is on the sixth floor of World Market Center Building B.
July 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on August 1, 2010
Twin-Star International is showing at the
Las Vegas Market this week in Building A, Space 548.
In the August issue of
Home Furnishings Business, the company's former showroom in Building C was included in the It's Showtime section.
July 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Technology on August 1, 2010
The Furniture Training Co. has signed a partnership with Shanghai Oceania Publishing & Media to launch a furniture training Web site in Chinese.
Access to OPMs Chinese language version of the Web site, like the existing FTC Web site, will be available through monthly subscriptions. The Chinese Web site will include FTCs individualized self-study training lessons, audio lessons, training games, worksheets, video demonstrations, training simulations, tests and discussion forum. The Web site training lessons teach salepeople all about furniture product knowledge, selling techniques, room design skills, and professionalism.
The Chinese Web site will also replicate the functionality of the current FTC Web site allowing furniture company owners and managers to track the progress and see the test scores of each subscribed employee.
Oceania Publishings demonstrated knowledge of the Chinese home furnishing industry makes them a natural partner for launching a Chinese language version of our furniture training Web site, said Mark Lacy, president of the Furniture Training Co. Oceania Publishing sought us out as the ideal solution for meeting the year-round furniture training needs of Chinese furniture retailers and manufacturers as these companies cope with explosive and unprecedented growth. We are thrilled in the confidence that Oceania has shown for our affordable, flexible, and easy to implement online furniture training solution.