Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
April 7,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on April 8, 2010
Internationally renowned interior designer Barclay Butera will launch a collection of furnishings under his new brand, Barclay Butera Lifestyle at High Point Market, April 17-22.
Butera has partnered with manufacturer HFI Brands bring the industry what the team calls "aspirational designs at an attainable price point" pieces. Targeting mid-luxury markets, Butera's line aims to open up distribution to better department and specialty retailers around the country.
Barclay Butera Lifestyle will debut with 250-plus pieces in a 14,000-square-foot showroom, Market Square 330. Drawing inspiration from Butera's lifestyle design categories Town, Country, City, Modern Beach, and Plantation, the collection will offer complete suites for all living areas. Materials from high gloss lacquers, to rich rosewood finishes, mingle with bleached white-washed woods and more. The designers line of sumptuous carpets and textiles from Kravet will accent the collection.
Butera and HFI Brands look to offer spectacularly beautiful high-end furnishings to the customer with exceptional taste that is spending a bit wiser and more conservatively these days.
"Even our most affluent and discerning clients are looking for high style and great value," Butera said. "We've been manufacturing luxury furnishings since 1998 and have always wanted to explore this territory with our price points and broader product offerings. When we met with Steve McKee and HFI we knew we had finally found the right partner for the venture."
"When we decided to launch HFI Brands, the first person that came to mind immediately was Barclay Butera," McKee said. "This guy is a rising star within the world of design, and with his high energy and flawless taste we knew he'd deliver designs that would set the industry on fire."
Barclay Butera and HFI Brands will host a party to celebrate the launch on Sunday, April 18, from 5-8 p.m., with music, cocktails and canapes.
Butera's couture line of furnishings, Barclay Butera Home, continues to grow as well, with the new St. Tropez Collection shown in a new permanent space, IHFC-Interhall 400. Also on display: the new Barclay Butera for Hearst Castle Collection pillows and a follow up collection of 200-plus SKUs. Still to come this year is a collection of sisal carpets with Merida Meridian and lighting with Bradburn Lighting Gallery.
April 7,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on April 8, 2010
Home furnishings supply chain specialist Zenith Global Logistics, Conover, N.C., has expanded warehousing and distribution capabilities in Asia by adding a humidity-controlled warehouse in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
"The addition of this warehousing in Vietnam is simply another example of our responsiveness to the requests and business needs of our customers, both domestically and internationally," said Steve Wolfe, vice president of Zenith Global. "Vietnam is an important strategic location for a number of our customers, which mirrors the growing amount of sourcing that's being done in that country. Our customers also require a humidity-controlled environment to ensure proper moisture levels are maintained for wood products housed at this location, which has a total capacity of 226,000 square feet."
Zenith Global customers can mix products from this facility and ship in either full, split or less-than-container loads.
"When used in conjunction with our split container program and our U.S. domestic distribution network, this warehouse means customers can literally purchase as little as one item and pay a single through-price, FOB Ho Chi Minh City," Wolfe said.
In the end, our mission is to put logistics solutions in place that make it simple and efficient for customers to conduct, and often build, their businesses, even in this challenging economy, Wolfe says. Vietnam is simply an extension of the dozens of ports throughout Asia, the Pacific Rim, and Europe, where we offer the same diverse range of container programs."
Zenith Global Logistics is a total supply chain logistics provider specializing exclusively in home furnishings. Warehousing, consolidation and full/split container programs from its Asia locations service markets throughout North America, the Caribbean and Europe. Domestically, Zenith Global owns and operates its own truck fleet as well as more than 4.5 million square feet of warehousing, including facilities in Southern California, Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia.
April 7,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on April 8, 2010
Home furnishings supply chain specialist Zenith Global Logistics, Conover, N.C., has expanded warehousing and distribution capabilities in Asia by adding a humidity-controlled warehouse in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
"The addition of this warehousing in Vietnam is simply another example of our responsiveness to the requests and business needs of our customers, both domestically and internationally," said Steve Wolfe, vice president of Zenith Global. "Vietnam is an important strategic location for a number of our customers, which mirrors the growing amount of sourcing that's being done in that country. Our customers also require a humidity-controlled environment to ensure proper moisture levels are maintained for wood products housed at this location, which has a total capacity of 226,000 square feet."
Zenith Global customers can mix products from this facility and ship in either full, split or less-than-container loads.
"When used in conjunction with our split container program and our U.S. domestic distribution network, this warehouse means customers can literally purchase as little as one item and pay a single through-price, FOB Ho Chi Minh City," Wolfe said.
In the end, our mission is to put logistics solutions in place that make it simple and efficient for customers to conduct, and often build, their businesses, even in this challenging economy, Wolfe says. Vietnam is simply an extension of the dozens of ports throughout Asia, the Pacific Rim, and Europe, where we offer the same diverse range of container programs."
Zenith Global Logistics is a total supply chain logistics provider specializing exclusively in home furnishings. Warehousing, consolidation and full/split container programs from its Asia locations service markets throughout North America, the Caribbean and Europe. Domestically, Zenith Global owns and operates its own truck fleet as well as more than 4.5 million square feet of warehousing, including facilities in Southern California, Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia.
April 7,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on April 8, 2010
The item in yesterday's HFBusiness Now! newsletter on Russell Towner's appointment as president of Theodore Alexander USA contained an error.
Towner's is a new position at the company, and David Koehler is and has been senior vice president of sales.
April 7,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on April 8, 2010
Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:BSET) announced on Thursday that first-quarter 2010 sales fell 8.5 percent from the prior-year period to $52.9 million.
For the quarter ended February 27, Bassett reported a net loss of $1.7 million compared with a net loss of $12 million for first-quarter 2009.
Bassett's store network included 61 licensee-owned stores and 43 company-owned and operated stores at the end of the first quarter, during which Bassett acquired the operations of seven licensee stores. The total store count was unchanged from fourth-quarter 2009. The company plans to open two more stores in the second quarter of 2010, one new and the other a store that was closed in 2008 by a former licensee. In addition, two licensed stores are converting to multi-brand furniture stores. The company does not have any real estate exposure with respect to these two stores. Also, the company closed its Mt. Pleasant, S.C., store in March 2010 as the result of an eminent domain condemnation.
"Although we were not satisfied with the ultimate outcome of our first quarter in 2010, we remain encouraged by the continuing strengthening of our balance sheet and the improving margins in our wholesale and retail segments," said Robert H. Spilman Jr., president and chief executive officer. "For the fourth consecutive quarter, we generated significant positive operating cash flow, this time in the amount of $6.7 million. We plan to stay committed to strong balance sheet management in order to generate positive operating cash flow.
"As previously reported, the housing related furniture slump of the past three years has taken an unfortunate toll on the general health of our licensee store network. Once again, this quarter was negatively affected by the financial fallout from licensee store acquisitions (a total of seven during the period) and related bad debt expenses. This trend has overshadowed the progress the company has made in improving its financial performance over the past few months. Nevertheless, management will maintain a strong focus on evaluating the financial health of the handful of store licensees that have suffered the most during the recession. And, when appropriate, the company will either acquire or close the dealer in question. As has been the case recently, these events adversely affect the company's income statement but do not generally require additional capital."
The total company-owned store network had net sales of $27 million for the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 13.9 percent over the prior-year period. The increase was comprised of a $5.4 million increase from stores acquired after Nov, 29, 2008 (end of fiscal 2008), partially offset by a $1.3 million decrease from stores closed after Feb. 28, 2009 and a $0.8 million decrease from a decline in comparable store sales of 3.4 percent. While the company-owned stores recorded declines in comparable store delivered sales, they experienced an increase of 6.7 percent for written sales driven by a stronger retail environment in February 2010.