Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
March 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on April 1, 2010
Full-line vendor Chromcraft Revington Inc. (CRC), West Lafayette, Ind., reported on Wednesday fourth-quarter 2009 net income of $4.7 million on sales of $15.4 million. While sales were down 4 percent, the bottom line improved over the prior-year period, when Chromcraft lost $8 million.
For the full year ended Dec. 31, Chromcraft Revington sales fell 37 percent from 2008 to $62.7 million due to the discontinuation of certain high-end, low-demand products, and the effects of the current economic recession, but its net loss for 2009 of $1.9 million was 93 percent lower than 2008's loss of $26.5 million.
Included in the fourth quarter 2009 results was an income tax benefit of $6.6 million from previously announced federal law changes in November of 2009. Also included in the fourth quarter was a write-down of $0.4 million of construction in progress related to an extensive but uncompleted information technology project begun before the current economic downturn. The operating loss of $1.8 million was reduced by $6.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2009 versus an operating loss of $7.9 million for the same quarter the prior year.
Commenting on these results, Ronald H. Butler, chairman and CEO, said that the restructuring and cost containment actions implemented starting in 2008 have made a significant positive impact on fourth quarter results and have helped reduce the effects of the economic downturn.
"2010 appears to be a continuation of the challenging economic environment for consumers," he said. "Dealers are interested in showing new products like our Southern Living line of furniture, and we introduced a new youth line of furniture, CR Kids & Beyond, from our CR International subsidiary at the Las Vegas Furniture Market last month. The reactions were positive from our customers and we hope to see a similar reaction at the upcoming High Point Furniture Market in April. We continue to believe that when the furniture market improves, the Company is well positioned to return to profitability."
Chromcraft Revington wholesales its residential furniture products under Chromcraft, Cochrane, Peters-Revington, Southern Living, and CR Kids & Beyond brands. It sells commercial furniture under the Chromcraft brand name.
March 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in sourcing/importing on April 1, 2010
Online home furnishings sourcing platform GoodFactories.com announced strategic data integration with trade intelligence Web site Panjiva in order to give home furnishing buyers instant access to powerful trade information alongside supplier profiles and product search engine.
Through this partnership, each company will gather, aggregate and filter data to be used in the onPanjiva platform and on GoodFactories.com, and add more high-quality data sources for buyers and supply chain managers to help overcome the common problem of finding good overseas suppliers.
Through the integration, buyers on GoodFactories will see Panjiva supplier shipment ratings with qualified suppliers and offered a link to the Panjiva data. Suppliers on GoodFactories.com, will now have their profiles and products dynamically delivered and surfaced to companies using the Panjiva platform, whose customers include The Home Depot, Leggat and Platt and thousands more.
"Just as the App Store connects iPhone users with applications they want, onPanjiva connects global businesses with relevant information they need to engage in global trade and mitigate supply chain risk," said James Psota, Panjiva co-founder and chief technology officer.
Both companies have been using similar data and processes to help importers find good overseas manufacturers using U.S. Customs Shipment Data, from which they analyze what and whom manufacturers are shipping to. Panjiva's role is to refine and augment this data with other sources, and make it simple for buyers to research new and existing suppliers. GoodFactories' role has been to filter through this data, and contact the best suppliers, review their company, and add them to the GoodFactories.com data base.
"Finding good factories overseas has always been a tough challenge in the home furnishings industry," said Seth Berman, CEO and founder, Good Factories.com. "With our partnership with the onPanjiva platform, we are quickly making the internet the best tool for overseas sourcing."
GoodFactories.com home furnishing manufacturers directory researches and contacts suppliers from around the world, and brings them to a single database. Those shipping major retail and wholesale companies are verified, and buyers can navigate through businesses and products from suppliers who have a proven track record with free and unlimited access.
March 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on April 1, 2010
The In Training blog on HFBusiness.com has been updated.
Click here to read Furniture Training Co. Founding Partner Mike Petersen's thoughts on the new skill set needed for selling to today's cost-conscious consumers.
March 31,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in sourcing/importing on April 1, 2010
April 1 marks the beginning of enforcement for basic information transparency requirements under the U.S. Lacey Act, which prohibits trade in illegal wood products, for guitars, revolvers, hand tools, pool cues and certain types of furniture.
Now, for example, an importer of chairs manufactured in Vietnam must declare that the wooden frame is made of teak (Tectona grandis) from Thailand. Other wood product sectors, including those importing sawn timber, flooring, plywood, and caskets, have been declaring this information to the US government for nearly a year in some cases, according to the Environental Investigation Agency, watchdog group monitoring environmental crimes.
"The declaration requirement of the Lacey Act is a critically important part of achieving greater supply chain transparency and legality, the over-arching goals set forth by Lacey," said EIA's Alexander von Bismarck of the Environmental Investigation Agency. "For the first time, companies are required by law to ask basic questions about their supply chains and understand exactly where their wood comes from."
The declaration form can be found on the APHIS Web site. Importers must print and mail it to APHIS or submit the information electronically via an automated broker interface. It is expected that an electronic interface will become publically available in the future as the US governmcontinues to refine its implementation of the Lacey Act.
March 30,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on March 31, 2010
Contemporary and transitional case goods and leather upholstery vendor Excelsior Designs, Amityville, N.Y., will return to High Point with a new division and new showroom for the April 17-22 market.
Excelsior, which in January had announced the closure of its previous space at IHFC in order to concentrate on strategic initiatives to broaden the company's product line, now has a 3,500-square-foot space in IHFC-H538, and will launch a new division concentrating on transitional urban styles perfect for younger professionals as well as empty nesters reclaiming and redesigning their living spaces.
"We anticipated our decision to leave High Point was a temporary one, and it gave us the time we needed to embark on this endeavor," said President Steven Kayne.
The new division's debut collection, "Voyage," sourced in South America, features approximately 20 pieces encompassing bedroom, dining, occasional, entertainment, and home office selections in cherry veneers with an exotic Perillo wood inlay in a tobacco finish and silver-toned hardware. A complete bedroom collection will retail for between $7,000 and $8,000. The product will be warehoused in Long Island, N.Y.
Vice President of Sales Paul Greenbaum said, "We are pleased to be back in High Point. We are committed to supporting our existing retail base with Italian-crafted goods and yet are excited about the future of our new venture and the opportunities it brings."