Daily News Archive
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May 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on June 1, 2010
Bedding supplier Natura World has unveiled a new line of NaturaLatex and NaturaPedic mattresses.
We arent content to sit on our laurels, said Ralph Rossdeutscher, president and CEO of Natura World. Every great product can be improved. Weve taken a thorough look at our mattresses, thought about what sleep challenges have yet to be solved and implemented some exciting new ideas.
Aside from a new look, Natura World has increased the natural and organic content of the mattresses and added targeted support zones near high pressure areas like shoulders hips and lower legs. The company said the pricing has also been reduced.
To solve the comfort-dilemma of bed sharing, the NaturaLatex line-up also provides dual comfort versions of their most popular mattresses. Firm on one half, luxurious on the other, Naturas dual mattresses ensure proper support and indulgent comfort for both partners.
Adequate comfort and support is a critical component to healthy sleepfor both individuals sharing a sleep environment," Rossdeutscher said. "Naturas dual surface mattresses ensure that there is no compromise necessary for a great nights rest. Better sleep means healthier, happier people.
In conjunction with the launch, Natura announced earlier this month that all mattresses now have a Natural Silver treatment to eliminate microbes and preserve mattress hygiene.
Silver solutions are being used in everything from wound dressings, pressure garments and scar management fabric to sportswear and hygiene products, Rossdeutscher said. A perfect blending of an age old solution with modern technology. A perfectly natural fit for Natura World.
May 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on June 1, 2010
While a lot of catching up remains to return to pre-recession levels, new retail orders for furniture rose 9 percent in March compared with the same month in 2009, when orders were off 17 percent compared with March 2008; and were up 2 percent over February. Shipments rose for the fourth straight month in March, increasing 5 percent from March 2009 levels and 12 percent over February.
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.
Year-to-date, new orders remained 9 percent ahead of the first quarter of 2009; and year-to-date shipments are 5 percent higher than the first quarter of 2009 when shipments were down 21 percent.
Backlogs remained strong, up 34 percent over last March and up slightly over February.
"As imported products begin to flow after the Chinese New Year, we expect backlogs to work their way back down some although backlogs in March 2009 were down 21 percent from March 2008," Smith Leonard Managing Partner Ken Smith said in the report.
Despite increased shipments, receivable levels remained low, falling 2 percent from February and 2 percent from March 2009.
"It appears that most companies are keeping a close eye on their accounts, in spite of some street talk about some customers' accounts aging out a bit more than normal," Smith noted.
Inventories fell 5 percent from February levels and were 19 percent lower than March 2009, about the same as the February to February comparison.
"We also hear that much of the excess inventories have now been disposed of, so hopefully most of the sales increases are at more normal selling prices versus some of the heavy discounting that occurred in 2009," Smith said.
The number of factory and warehouse employees fell 3 percent from March last year, versus a 5 percent decline in February. The employee results were flat compared to February. Payrolls on the other hand were up 15 percent over March 2009 and 17 percent over February. The March to February results were a bit skewed with March having more working days.
"We are hearing that more manufacturers are working more hours with the people they have and a few of the participants have actually increased the number of people they have working," Smith said.
In summary, Smith said the survey's March results produced more positive news for the industry.
"Orders were up for the fifth month in a row on an overall basis and while 61 percent of the participants reported increased orders, a number of participants were only off a few percentage points," he said. "Admittedly, we are still comparing to weak results in the first quarter of 2009, but it does appear that we are coming out of the slump. It will be interesting to see what the April and May results are as we should feel the impact of what was believed to be the best High Point Market in the last several. We continue to hear that business does seem to be picking up."
While consumer confidence is moving in the right direction, Smith noted that recent volatility in the stock market and related bad economic news will not help.
"Add to that all the worldwide bad news stories, the oil mess in the Gulf and various other stories, it may take a while to get confidence back to pre-recession levels," he said. "Yet, the housing market seems to be helping. Not only are existing home sales up, but so were new home sales. And there appears to be growing stability in home prices. This along with some improved consumers' moods, should mean that furniture sales should continue to improve."
May 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on June 1, 2010
Upholstered furniture manufacturer Albany Inds., New Albany, Miss., could add 200 jobs with an expansion of its Ripley, Miss., furniture manufacturing operation, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported Friday.
Albany told the paper that it has acquired the former Agracel facility in the North Ripley Industrial Park, where production should begin late this month.
The company already has almost 500 employees at its existing 700,000-square-foot facility in Union County.
May 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedroom on June 1, 2010
The U.S. Department of Commerce has extended the deadline for issuing results of its new shipper review of wood bedroom furniture from Chinese manufacturer Zhejiang Tianyi for the period Jan. 1-June 30, 2009.
The review is part of ongoing administration of the antidumping order on wood bedroom furniture from China. The final results, which originally were due May 24, are now due July 23.
In a Federal Registry entry last week, DOC noted that this new shipper review of bedroom furniture "is extraordinarily complicated because of a recent filing which calls into question the accuracy and reliability of submissions in this review. In particular, the Department needs additional time to consider whether the information was properly filed and to consider any such information."
May 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 1, 2010
Six juveniles face multiple charges related to a May 7 fire at Fancher Furniture Company in Salamanca, N.Y., WIVB reported Friday.
The youths, aged 12 to 15, have been charged with arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
"One of the kids was spray painting and lighting it on fire, and, he spray painted, another kid was just lighting some leftover styrofoam," Cattaraugus County District Attorney Lori Rieman said in the report. "The kids left and they thought they had put it out, according to their statements, but, evidently, they didn't."
Four firefighters were injured while fighting the blaze at Fancher Furniture, a manufacturer that also sells product at its factory store.