Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
June 14,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on June 15, 2010
Hooker Furniture, Martinsville, Va., (NASDAQ: HOFT) has created an online community to educate and inspire furniture shoppers, retailers and designers about home improvement, decorating ideas, design trends and product information.
The online community includes two blogs, a Facebook fan page and a dedicated channel on YouTube.
"The unprecedented growth of social media has provided a compelling platform to develop relationships and connections with all those who touch our brand," said Bruce Cohenour, president of Hooker Furniture Casegoods. "Through rich, multimedia content focused on the home, we see this as a way to add value, bring our products to life and increase engagement with our brand."
Hooker, in addition to serving as a vendor of home entertainment center furniture, executive home office furniture, bedroom furniture collections and dining room furniture collections, also owns leather seating specialist Bradington-Young and custom chair specialist Sam Moore.
Hooker Furniture's social media venues include:
* A Hooker Furniture Facebook fan page where the company posts regularly about new product information, decorating tips, trends, sales and up-to-the-minute company and employee news. The messages include photos, videos and hyperlinks.
* The "Experience Your Home" blog, which provides ideas and insights to help people enjoy their homes more, including decorating tips, design trends and information about understanding product quality. Guest bloggers include home and furniture-related editors, authors and designers.
* The "Envision the Possibilities of Your First Home" blog, which follows a young married couple's journey as they decorate and renovate their first house with the help of an interior designer.
* A dedicated YouTube channel featuring a library more than 60 product demonstration videos, with spokespersons from the company telling the story and features and benefits of collections and furniture pieces.
"Helping people enjoy their homes, decorating and furniture shopping more gives us a new way to fulfill our mission to enrich the lives of the people we touch," said Kim Shaver, vice president-marketing communications. "We want to be an educational and idea resource for furniture shoppers, purchasers, retailers, retail associates and designers."
June 14,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on June 15, 2010
Furnitureland South, Jamestown, N.C., recently donated its $1,000 cash prize from the Guildmaster "Show Your Stuff" display contest to the High Point Salvation Army.
The retailer had received the prize for its top ten placing in the vendor's Facebook contest, which challenged furniture retailers to design and accessorize a room with Guildmaster products, submit a photo of the room on Guildmaster's Facebook page, and write a short essay detailing the inspiration behind the design.
Furnitureland South's room featured an eclectic display of Guildmaster pieces. A French-country inspired dining table and chairs were paired with colorful chests and accent chairs to create a whimsical space finished with pillows and throws. Contest winners were chosen according to the number of votes that they received on Facebook.
Furnitureland South finished ninth out of more than 40 entries. As part of the Top 10 designs selected, Furnitureland South was awarded $1,000 worth of Guildmaster products, 500 trees planted in its honor, and $1,000 to give to the charity of its choice.
Late last month, Furnitureland South's senior vice president, Stella Harris, presented a $1,000 check to Captain Tony Perez of the High Point Salvation Army. This donation will be used to purchase children's books, pajamas, and stuffed animals for local families in need. Furnitureland South is grateful to Guildmaster for conducting such a rewarding contest, and for the opportunity to benefit such a worthy organization.
June 14,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on June 15, 2010
Multi-filament polyester and nylon textured yarns vendor Unifi Inc., Greensboro, N.C., (NYSE: UFI) is expanding its commitment to sustainable practices and initiatives with new investments toward the backwards integration into the supply chain for recycled products and in a new joint venture focused on renewable energy.
As environmental stewardship and sustainability become more important to companies around the world, these new investments will solidify Unifi as a leader in green initiatives. For more than a decade, Unifi has continued to raise its commitment to sustainable practices, recycling everything from paper tubes, pallets and corrugated boxes to donating biosolids to area farmers. In the mid 2000's, Unifi developed REPREVE recycled polyester to provide customers and consumers with an eco-friendly, 100 percent recycled product that performs like virgin fibers and conserves natural resources. Over the years, REPREVE has evolved from one product into a family of recycled fibers.
To improve the availability of recycled raw materials and significantly increase the company's product capabilities, Unifi will invest in the backward integration of the REPREVE supply chain. In addition to providing greater control over the production of the recycled chip that is used to make REPREVE polyester fibers, the new state-of-the-art recycling technology will provide opportunities for the Company to recycle post-consumer and post industrial fabric waste back into Repreve. Scheduled startup for these new capabilities is February 2011.
"Bringing the extrusion process in-house is a natural next step for us," said Roger Berrier, executive vice president for Unifi. "Being more vertically integrated will significantly increase our product development capabilities and capacity."
Unifi also has purchased a 40 percent interest in a biomass feedstock company. The new joint venture, called REPREVE Renewables, will focus on the direct sales of Freedom Giant Miscanthus to farmers, who in turn will supply the product to bioenergy and biofuel operations in the United States and European Union. Freedom Giant Miscanthus is non-invasive and is the highest-yielding crop available on a commercial scale. Giant Miscanthus is a perennial C4 grass that is extremely efficient in converting sunlight to biomass energy.
"We are continually looking for innovative, sustainable initiatives, and we are very excited about participating in this renewable energy opportunity," said Bill Jasper, Unifi's CEO and president. "Both of these initiatives will support our strategy to grow the REPREVE brand and product portfolio, and will add to our commitment in being a global leader in sustainability efforts."
June 14,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on June 15, 2010
Warren, Mich.-based Art Van Furniture is rolling out its second free-standing Art Van Pure Sleep store this weekend in Rochester Hills, Mich.
The Rochester Hills location is the second free-standing Art Van Pure Sleep transforming the way consumers select mattresses into a full service experience to find all the components needed for healthier sleep.
The retailer's first Pure Sleep store opened in August in Canton, Mich.
At Saturday's grand opening event, consumers can experience a free computerized Body Diagnostic test to take the guesswork out of selecting the proper sleep system.
"Our three-step solution includes finding the right mattress for proper support and comfort, the correct pillow to ensure proper spinal alignment, and the perfect mattress pad to provide a clean and healthy sleeping environment," said Art Van CEO Kim Yost. "Art Van Pure Sleep is better sleep, personalized just for you."
Art Van Furniture operates 31 stores in 29 communities throughout Michigan, a full service e-commerce Web site and now two free-standing Pure Sleep stores.
June 14,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on June 15, 2010
Retail stores and the travel industry will be hit hard this summer as consumers cut back on spending, just at a time when they seemed to start opening up their pocketbooks again, according to the findings of a survey conducted last month for the
BeemerReport.com.
Discretionary consumer spending will be in steep fall this summer as a majority of Americans re-think everything from back-to-school spending to vacation plans, said Britt Beemer, CEO of America's Research Group.
More than half of the American investors in the stock market, who were also pessimistic about the markets trend following the European credit crisis, expected to cut back on spending throughout the summer months. Of those with school age children, many said they may spend 25 percent less for back-to-school apparel if the market does not rebound quickly.
Disappointing May sales figures are only the beginning of the trend to cutbacks in consumer spending, Beemer said. Consumer confidence levels are at historic lows, and that will even affect the amount of money consumers can devote to paying down record debt levels.
In the survey, more than 60 percent of American investors in the stock market said they anticipated a drop in the market to 9,000. Only 28.4 percent predicted that the market would bounce back quickly after the European credit crisis and eventually rise to a 12,000 point level. The pessimists called the trend.
Before the European credit crisis, only 43 percent of investors told the BeemerReport.com that they thought the stock market would fall to 10,000 or below; 57 percent said the market would continue to rise to 12,000.
The research consisted of 1,000 telephone interviews conducted Saturday through Tuesday, May 1 to 4, 2010, at
Americas Research Group (ARG) headquarters in Charleston, S.C. The error factor is plus or minus 3.8 percent.