May 16,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on May 17, 2010
L. Phillip "Phil" Humann has been elected non-executive chairman of
Haverty Furniture Cos.
(NYSE: HVT and HVT.A), succeeding Clarence "Clancy" Ridley who retired from the post.
Ridley has been elected chairman emeritus for the board.
Humann has been on Havertys' board since 1992 and as a member of the executive committee since 1995. Prior to his election as chairman, he was a member of the compensation committee and has previously served on the audit committee. Humann was chairman of the board of
SunTrust Banks, a position he held for 10 years. He retired in April 2009 and currently is presiding director of
Equifax and director of
Coca-Cola Enterprises.
"I am honored to serve as chairman of a company with such a long history of integrity and success," Humann said. "We appreciate Clancy's dedication to Havertys and many years of service as a director and chairman."
In addition, Havertys announced the promotions of Allan DeNiro, Jenny Parker, Janet Taylor and Randall Davis.
DeNiro has been named senior vice president, chief people officer. He joined the company in 2004 as vice president, human resources and was named chief people officer in 2005. He has more than 20 years of experience in all areas of human capital development including strategy and organizational design, recruiting, training, labor relations and mentorship.
Parker has been named senior vice president, finance, secretary and treasurer. Parker was senior manager for
KPMG with more than 12 years experience when she joined Havertys in 1994. She has served as a financial officer since 1994 and was promoted to vice president, finance in 1996. Parker assumed the roles of secretary in 1997 and treasurer in 1998.
Taylor was promoted to senior vice president, general counsel. Taylor served as a partner from 2000 to 2005 in the corporate department at the Atlanta office of
King & Spalding. She also gained experience as assistant general counsel for a medical services corporation. Taylor joined Havertys in 2005 as vice president, law and was promoted to vice president and general counsel in 2006.
Randall "Randy" Davis was promoted to vice president, corporate controller. He joined Havertys as assistant controller in 2006 and was promoted to corporate controller in 2008. Davis is a certified public accountant and his prior experience includes more than three years in public accounting and more than five years in the private sector.
"We are pleased to promote these senior officers and dedicated professionals that serve in key positions in the human capital, finance and compliance, legal, and accounting areas of our business, functions critical to Havertys' success," said Clarence H. Smith, president and chief executive officer.
May 16,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Rugs on May 17, 2010
Monica Battles has been named regional vice president for the West for
Sphinx by Oriental Weavers. In her new position, Battles is responsible for 11 states spanning Arizona to Montana, all states on the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii.
With more than 15 years of retail and industry experience, Battles comes to Sphinx from
Nourison where she was most recently the account manager for five states in the Northwest and British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. Prior to joining Nourison, Battles was a regional manager for MLC Flooring and moved up the ranks at
Carpet Exchange from sales associate to regional manager.
"We are pleased to have Monica on board leading the West region," said Pat Muschamp, vice president of sales of Oriental Weavers, U.S.A. Her proven success as an account manager and her retail management experience will be a tremendous asset to our organization and to the continued growth of our Western region."
May 16,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on May 17, 2010
The National Retail Federation reported last week that April retail industry sales excluding automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants increased 0.5 percent seasonally adjusted over March and 4.6 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
April retail sales released last by the U.S. Commerce Department, which include non-general merchandise categories such as autos, gasoline stations and restaurants, increased 0.4 percent seasonally adjusted over March and 9.3 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
"The slow road to recovery is turning into a sprint as retailers experienced a nice bounce in April," said National Retail Federation President and CEO Matt Shay. "But maintaining this sales momentum will be challenging. Until our economy begins to create jobs and reduce unemployment, the breadth and sustainability of this recovery remains uncertain."
"Spring shopping and seasonal weather helped boost sales last month," said Rosalind Wells, chief economist for NRF. "Spending on discretionary items had fallen by the wayside these last few years and we are encouraged to see consumers dipping into that pot once again."
Building material and garden equipment stores saw the biggest improvement with sales increasing 6.9 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month and 14.1 percent unadjusted year-over-year. Health and personal care stores sales increased 0.9 percent seasonally adjusted from last month and 3.3 percent unadjusted year-over-year.
Clothing and clothing accessory store sales decreased 1.0 percent seasonally adjusted from March but increased 5.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year. Electronics and appliance store sales decreased 0.4 percent seasonally adjusted month-to-month and increased 4.4 percent unadjusted from last year.
May 16,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on May 17, 2010
The U.S. Senate has approved a bill to limit "swipe" fees on credit card transactions.
"Wall Street reform is really about two things: holding the big banks accountable for how they operate and empowering consumers to make good financial choices," said Dick Durnbin (D-Ill.), who sponsord the bill in the Senate. "Passage of this amendment is a win for the public on both fronts."
The House of Representatives also is debating passage of the Credit Card Fair Fee Act.
Swipe fees are supposedly charged by Visa and MasterCard in order to cover the cost of processing a credit or debit card transaction.
An estimated $48 billion in swipe fees were charged by credit and debit card networks in 2008.
May 16,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on May 17, 2010
HOM Furniture, Coon Rapids, Minn., will relocate its Sioux Falls, S. Dak., furniture store, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported Friday.
HOM bought the building, which also will house a Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar, and has space for another retail tenant.
The new location is almost triple the size of the HOM's current Sioux Falls furniture store.
The new store should open in 2011.
HOM's new store is in former Sportsman's Warehouse location. Sportsman's Warehouse closed 23 stores after it filed for Chapter 11 protection last year.