Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
March 18,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on March 19, 2010
CARE, a prominent humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, has teamed up with Corona, Calif.-based mattress manufacturer Anatomic Global Inc., on its humanitarian initiative, The WorldBed Project.
As part of the collaboration, Anatomic Global is donating 10,000 emergency field beds for CARE to distribute to displaced Haitians following the Jan, 12 earthquake near Port-au-Prince. The first 1,000 beds were handed out over the weekend.
"We are racing against time to provide waterproof shelter and decent sanitation now that the rainy season is upon us," said Sophie Perez, CARE Haiti country director. "Acute respiratory problems are rising because Haitians are sleeping on the bare ground or on moisture-absorbing surfaces. These WorldBeds will help us provide a sustainable solution to the current conditions."
A shipment of 1,800 WorldBeds is scheduled to be delivered to Port-au-Prince this week with an additional 1,800 beds to arrive the following week. CARE plans to distribute all 10,000 WorldBeds by June 1, the height of the rainy season. In addition, they will provide emergency shelter for 8,500 families (42,500 people) and give hand-washing education, hygiene kits, tarps and blankets to those in need.
"CARE will be a key distribution partner for us," said Patrick Johnson, executive director for The WorldBed Project. "Logistics and distribution is a huge challenge in any natural disaster, but with CARE's experience, we know we can serve the people of Haiti quickly and effectively. They have already been instrumental in validating that the WorldBed is the right product at the right time in this crisis."
The WorldBed Project is a turnkey sleep system designed for emergency care and relief efforts.
To date Anatomic Global has also been joined in the effort by Relax The Back, FXI Foamex Innovations, Deslee Textiles USA, Brookwood Companies, CARE, World Hope International, World Vision and Parakletos International. The company is re-investing its corporate profits from all operations for the first quarter of 2010 to manufacture WorldBeds for Haitian relief and is actively seeking additional project funding and industry partners to participate in this critical humanitarian project.
Interested parties should contact Patrick Johnson here; or The WorldBed Project Program Director Laura Castro here.
March 18,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on March 19, 2010
Montana Furniture Inds. will close its manufacturing facility near Bozeman, Mt., as well as five Montana Furniture Galleries stores, the Great Falls Tribune reported Thursday.
The Kalispell store already has closed, and stores in Missoula, Helena and Billings have begun going-out-of-business sales. A GOB sale at the Bozeman store will start next week.
The 26-year-old company built Mission-style furniture for sale at its own stores and for distribution in other states.
March 18,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on March 19, 2010
Law enforcement officials in Dothan, Ala., are questioning three men in the Wednesday shooting death of Grace Bridges, owner of Dedert's Furniture and Antiques, the Dothan Eagle reported Thursday.
Bridges's body was found inside the store, and police believe she was shot during a robbery between noon and 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday.
An $11,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest.
March 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Green on March 18, 2010
Leggett & Platt's High Point components facility has implemented EFEC, or "Enhancing Furniture's Environmental Culture," American Home Furnishings Alliance's furniture industry-specific environmental management system.
Leggett & Platt is AHFA's first supplier member company to register a facility in the EFEC program, and the High Point components plant is the first of 13 Leggett & Platt facilities in six states that are scheduled to implement EFEC in 2010.
To achieve registration, companies must: improve management of resources and raw materials; reduce energy and water consumption; reduce waste disposal and associated costs; and increase recycling efforts.
Carthage, Mo.-based Leggett & Platt Vice President Randy Ford, who also is president of the Home Furniture Components Unit, commended Murray Catton, branch manager of the High Point facility, on completing the work necessary to achieve registration.
"The EFEC program is being initiated at all facilities in the Home Furniture Components Unit in the first half of 2010," Ford said. "Leggett continues to explore opportunities to utilize energy-saving innovations, encourage employee-partner conservation practices, increase our sustainable energy mix and collaborate with our customers to preserve our environment."
Just for months after EFEC implementation began at L&P's High Point facility, Catton's team already has reduced electrical and natural gas consumption by about 12 percent. This is expected to reduce energy expenses by about $30,000 in 2010. The High Point components facility also has reduced its landfill waste by 8 tons over the same period last year; and recently identified a recycler who will be able to take additional off-fall product, and this will reduce landfill waste by another 4 to 5 tons in 2010.
An additional $12,000 in savings was achieved by reducing the purchase of wood pallets by 25 percent over the same period last year. The High Point facility now has zero wood product going to the landfill.
The High Point Leggett & Platt branch is a manufacturer and reseller of several types of components used within the home furnishings industry, including coil, helical and sinuous springs, seating grids, furniture suspension units, fabric pocketed seating coils, assembled motion hardware and sofa sleeper units and many other related products. The branch was the first to be certified through the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) operated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as the first to complete Leggett & Platt's newly created Supervision, Training, Accountability and Responsibility (STAR) program.
"The branch's solid commitment to employee safety and quality products is reflected by these recognitions, and we are proud to add the EFEC registration, which is in keeping with our concern for the environmental sustainability of our products and processes," Catton said.
Leggett & Platt Inc. is a diversified, international manufacturer of a broad variety of engineered components and products found in the home, office, retail store and automobile. The 127-year-old company has 21 business units, 24,000 employee-partners and more than 250 facilities located in 20 countries.
EFEC was implemented at 26 different furniture manufacturing locations in 2009.
March 17,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on March 18, 2010
The National Retail Federation announced Wednesday that it has named Matt Shay president and chief executive officer.
Shay joins NRF from the International Franchise Association where he served as president and CEO. He succeeds Tracy Mullin, who is retiring after 17 years as NRF's CEO. IFA represents more than 1300 franchise companies around the world, including a number of retail firms.
"Matt brings a deep level of knowledge and experience that will be very beneficial to NRF and its members," said NRF Chairman Terry Lundgren. "He has the leadership skills, energy and enthusiasm necessary to guide this organization confidently into the future, and I look forward to working with him on the issues and projects that lie ahead."
Shay began his career at the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants after receiving his undergraduate degree from Wittenberg University and his law degree from Ohio State University. He joined the IFA in 1993 and served in several positions of increasing responsibility including vice president and director of government relations, senior vice president and chief counsel, and executive vice president and COO. He was named IFA resident in 2004 and added the title of CEO in 2007.
"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with NRF's outstanding Board of Directors and staff in leading such a dynamic and influential association," said Shay. "Retail is the lifeblood of our economy and with the challenges we face on Capitol Hill, the stakes have never been higher. There is a lot of work to be done, and I'm very excited to get started."
The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail companies, more than 24 million employees and 2009 sales of $4.1 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations.