Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
March 25,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Home Theater on March 26, 2010
Recliner, motion and stationary upholstery, and home entertainment furniture vendor Lane Furniture Inds. will expand two of its manufacturing facilities in Lee County, Miss., to accommodate an increase in production, the Mississippi Development Authority announced Thursday.
Lane, a Tupelo-based division of Furniture Brands International, St. Louis, will add 186 new jobs with the move, bringing its total Lee County employment to 2,051. Eighty-five of the jobs created through the expansion are already in place.
"I am pleased that we are able to expand our operations and create more jobs for the residents of Lee County," said Lane Furniture President Greg Roy. "I am very appreciative of the support we have received from state and local officials throughout this process, and I anticipate many more prosperous years of operation in Mississippi."
Lane Furniture officials utilized the Mississippi Development Authority's Existing Manufacturers Job Rebate Program to help facilitate the expansion.
March 25,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on March 26, 2010
Cost Plus (NASDAQ: CPWM), owner of World Market, reported net income of $21.1 million for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, compared to a loss of $18.3 million in the fourth quarter last year.
Sales for the quarter were $320 million, a 4.6 percent decrease from the $335.4 million in sales for the same quarter last year. Same-store sales for the quarter dropped 2.5 percent compared to 6.1 percent decrease during the fourth quarter last year.
"We are pleased with the return to profitability in our most important quarter," said Barry Feld, president and CEO. "The company's core competency in unique and affordable seasonal gift-giving and entertaining products, augmented with a new customer acquisition campaign, reversed the negative trend in customer count and drove significantly more profitable sales in the quarter than year ago."
The retailer posted a net loss of $63.3 million for the year, compared to a net loss of $102.7 million for fiscal 2008.
"By tightly controlling expenses and inventory purchases in fiscal 2009, we were able to dramatically reduce operating losses," Feld said. "In January, we made the necessary changes to our merchandising organization needed to improve gross margin. I am pleased with our results thus far in the quarter and feel confident that we are on course to deliver positive EBITDA for fiscal 2010."
March 25,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on March 26, 2010
Los Angeles-area outdoor furniture retailer Victory Furniture has relocated its Irvine store to a new showroom in Irvine Home Center, OCMEtro reported Thursday.
At 12,500 square feet, the new showroom is 2,000 square feet larger than its previous location in the same retail development.
The 65-year-old family owned business began in Los Angeles and now carries brands including Braid, Brown Jordan and Tropitone, along with private-label goods.
A grand re-opening celebration on Saturday will feature product discounts and a drawing for a five-piece Tropitone dining set.
Irvine Home Center also is home to Barrett Furniture, Treasures Furniture and The Great Indoors locations.
March 25,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on March 26, 2010
Karen McNeill Harris has been named chief executive officer of the American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation.
Previously, she was the executive director, a position she's held since March 2007.
"Karen has been instrumental in building the Hall of Fame Foundation into more than just an annual banquet, but a respected organization on a new course to preserve our stories and history, said Donald Belgrad, president of the Foundation. She and her team have led us through a rebranding, infused new energy into the Hall of Fame, and guided us back to our mission to focus on the history of our industry as we preserve our past to fuel our future.
Since 2007, marketing initiatives have included a repositioning of foundation programs with an emphasized focus on preserving the furniture industry's history and artifacts. Under McNeill Harris' leadership, the foundation has begun the rollout of a new Web site; added celebrity hosts to the foundation's induction banquet; and redesigned the organization's Affie award given to members inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame.
With a grant from the Furniture Foundation, the Hall of Fame Foundation has digitized 31 oral interviews from past industry leaders.
McNeill Harris is the chief executive officer of McNeill Communications Group, a communications, public relations and marketing agency specializing in home furnishings.
March 25,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on March 26, 2010
Upholstery vendor rcfurniture/Rene Cazares has launched "Custom By The Inch," a new program that offers the majority of its sofas and sectionals in customized frame sizes.
Over the past year, RC has retrained its production team in order to combine the custom program with current production in the same factory. RC has a selection of more than 1,200 fabrics and leathers, and more than 25 wood and metal finishes along with a wide selection of trims.
We have been asked many times over the years for customized rc frames, but were always a little reluctant to take a step in that direction. We recently started considering the idea of offering this service to our customers¦
Pricing for "Custom By The Inch" and additional information is available through rcfurniture sale reps and stocking dealers. The company Web site is rcfurniture.com.