March 4,
2013 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on March 5, 2013
Bedding and furniture components vendor Hickory Springs has added a seven-inch unit to its ProAct innerspring line.
As mattress manufacturers seek to control costs, the seven-inch ProAct innerspring provides them with a taller unit that enables them to reduce costs while maintaining the integrity of the mattress, said Rick Anthony, director of sales for the bedding product division of Hickory Springs, Hickory, N.C. As a result, manufacturers are able to keep prices low for their customers without sacrificing quality. The unit also complements the seven-inch ProAct innerspring product that we introduced last year.
Both the six- and seven-inch units feature Hickory Springs patented InChex technology, with each row and column assembled in an opposing manner.
This approach to innerspring design neutralizes the transfer of motion, thereby reducing partner disturbances while balancing ones body for a stable, balanced sleeping surface and a perfect nights sleep, Anthony said.
ProAct innersprings are open-end offset designed 4.5 turn coils made of 13.75 heavy gauge wire and are available in 357 and 396 coil counts. Each six- or seven-inch-high coil can be foam encased, with perimeter sizes available.
March 3,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Tupelo on March 4, 2013
from http://djournal.com/bookmark/21869601
Tupelo Furniture Market officials wrapped up their spring market Sunday, proclaiming it a good show - but also indicating it would consider moving the date.
TFM President Kevin Seddon said the consensus was that the four-day market had continued the momentum from the fall show, which marked its 25th anniversary.
"Generally, we think it went well," he said. "You'll always have some who didn't do as well as they wanted, and the issue of timing of the market with tax season always comes up in discussion."
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March 3,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Bedding on March 4, 2013
from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/04/usa-antitrust-mattresses-idUSL1N0BLCUD20130304?feedType=RSS&feedName=mergersNews
A planned merger of two large U.S. mattress companies will force U.S. antitrust regulators to decide how much concentration they are prepared to allow in this once diffuse market.
Tempur-Pedic Internationa,l an upstart from Kentucky that rules the market for pricey space-age foam mattresses, has offered to pay $242 million for century-old Sealy Corp., taking on about $750 million in Sealy's debt in the process.
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March 3,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on March 4, 2013
Specialty bedding retailer Select Comfort Corp. (NASDAQ: SCSS) said today that it has had below-plan sales since Feb. 1 and will likely miss its internal goals for the first quarter.
"We believe this is a short-term issue associated with accelerated changes made to our media-buying strategy, and we are making the necessary corrections to both media buying and near-term expenses," said Shelly Ibach, president and CEO. "We remain confident in our growth formula and are committed to our strategy of delivering an unparalleled sleep experience for our customers."
The company plans to discuss its outlook for the balance of the year following the release of first-quarter financial results scheduled for April 17. The company does not provide quarterly financial guidance and does not plan to provide additional commentary regarding first-quarter sales or earnings performance prior the earnings release date.
March 3,
2013 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on March 4, 2013
December orders for furniture fell 7 percent compared with December 2011, according to the latest Furniture Insights report.
High Point accounting and consulting firm Smith Leonard conducts the monthly survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors. Approximately 58 percent of survey participants reported a decline in orders, some fairly severe. For the year 2012, new orders were up 4 percent over 2011, down from 5 percent reported last month.
Approximately 67 percent of the participants reported an increase in orders for the year with a fair number of participants only off 1 to 3 percent.
December shipments in 2012 fell 1 percent from shipments in December 2011 but were up 5 percent from November. For the year, shipments were up 6 percent over 2011. Approximately 67 percent of the participants reported increased shipments for the year, up slightly from last month.
With shipments exceeding new orders, backlogs fell 8 percent from November levels but remained 5 percent ahead of December 2011. November backlogs were 8 percent higher than November 2011.
Receivables rose 4 percent from November as shipments in December were 5 percent ahead of November; and were up 4 percent from December 2011.
"This increase seems in line considering the increase in shipments year-to-date of 6 percent, even though shipments fell 1 percent from December 2011," said Smith Leonard Managing Partner Ken Smith in the report.
December inventories dropped 1 percent from November and were 8 percent higher than December 2011.
"The 8 percent increase seems a bit high based on orders and shipment levels, but are up probably as a result of better business in the fall months, causing higher inventory levels," Smith said. "Then business fell off a bit so inventories were a bit high. Hopefully they will work their way down soon."
Factory and warehouse employment remained level with November levels and was up 3 percent from December 2011, down from a 4 percent increase reported for November to November comparisons.
Factory and warehouse payrolls fell 1 percent from December 2011, in line with lower business levels. For 2012, factory and warehouse payrolls rose 4 percent from 2011 levels, in line with business levels for the year.
"It has been an interesting year with some good growth at times followed by slower times," Smith said in summary, noting that the December-to-December decrease this year was not unexpected. "But December 2011 new orders were up 15 percent over December 2010, so the 7 percent decline, while not something we wanted, was not as bad as it might seem. ¦ So the good news is that, as a whole, we continue to move in the right direction."
Smith noted that in spite of the fiscal cliff and other bad news from all sorts of media coverage, consumer confidence improved significantly in February.
"In addition, housing continued its upward trends, with housing shortages becoming a bit of a problem in certain areas, keeping sales growth lower than it might be," Smith said. "As this continues to improve, most homeowners can now feel a bit more secure that at least one of their major assets is not declining in value but instead may actually be gaining value again."
He also noted that it appears consumers might be getting so used to hearing bad news that they're adjusting.
"The employment picture seems to be somewhat stable though not growing as much as needed," Smith said. "We hope the sequestration (if it continues) cuts are sensible and not grand standing for the sake of show," Smith said. "Consumer prices other than gas, etc. seem in control. And interest rates remain extremely favorable to the consumer (though not so great for investors). So at least with some of the negatives, we still have some positives. We just could use a little more hype of those things from our media.
"Clearly all retailers, manufacturers and distributors are not growing, but at least according to the national reports and our surveys, a significant portion are. According to our report, we are still down about 20 percent from 2006 levels, but each year lately, we have gained a bit. Let's hope the bad weather across the country ends soon, springtime comes and consumers come back out."