Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
March 4,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on March 5, 2010
City Furniture, Tamarac, Fla., will begin construction of a 93,680-square-foot complex in Boca Raton, the
South Florida Business Journal reported Thursday.
The project includes a City Furniture store and Ashley Furniture HomeStore, will shoot for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The report quoted City Furniture CEO Keith Koenig from a news release: "This project not only speaks to the strength of the City Furniture brand, but also demonstrates our commitment to supporting local economic growth. While other furniture retailers are announcing cutbacks and store closings, we are pleased to be able to launch these new City Furniture and Ashley Furniture showrooms and help to create construction jobs while stimulating economic growth in the area."
The new store should by early 2011, at which time smaller City Furniture showrooms in Boca Raton, Lantana and Pompano will be repurposed, sold or leased, according to the report.
March 4,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Markets on March 5, 2010
The Midwest Furniture Club will sponsor its annual seminar Wednesday with the theme "Forum for the Future." The event is scheduled for Stonegate Conference Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
The seminar will feature Peter Tourtellot, managing director of turnaround specialist Anderson Bauman Tourtellot Vos. Tourtellot will present the findings of his company's recent report, "The American furniture Industry: What Will It Take to Survive?", and discuss the state of the furniture business in 2010.
After a business lunch, Leslie Carothers of The Kaleidescope Partnership will demonstrate how consumers' information gathering and decision making has changed dramatically and permanently due the revolution in social media. Carothers' presentation will use real-time demonstration of the applications that are changing the way furniture companies with customers.
The seminar is open to all members of the Midwest Furniture Club and their retail guests. Those interested in attending, should contact Chapter President Geoff Weed at 312.305.6421 or at by
e-mail.
The Midwest Furniture Club is an IHFRA chapter centered in Chicago and includes members from Wisconsin to Indiana. The MFC was named IHFRA's Chapter of the Year award in both 2008 and 2009.
March 4,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on March 5, 2010
Robert Luce has been named president and CEO of upholstery manufacturer Lazar Inds. He replaces Dave Sowinski who has left the company.
Luce was a member of Lazar's original senior management team, and returns to home furnishings after several years in advertising and direct marketing. Founders Barry Lazar and Darryl Lazar will remain as board members and will participate in the direction and management of the company with Luce.
Regarding Sowinski's departure, a company release stated: "We greatly appreciate Daves contribution to the company. During his tenure, the company achieved record contract sales in 2009, and in October had its best residential market in the last five years. We wish Dave every success."
March 4,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on March 5, 2010
The International Sleep Products Association predicted mattress units shipped in 2010 would increase 4.5 percent over 2009 numbers; and that dollar value of those shipments would grow 7.5 percent.
ISPA estimated that mattress shipments fell 8 percent in units and 10 percent in dollar value. ISPA expects to recoup all that decline, however, during 2011, when the association predicts unit growth of 6.3 percent over 2010 and dollar value of mattress shipments to rise 10 percent.
Jerry Epperson, managing director of Mann, Armistead & Epperson Ltd. in Richmond, Va., and a member of ISPA's forecast panel, said he believes this year's forecast could be on the conservative side, pointing to some positive factors affecting the mattress sector.
For example, major retailers such as Rooms to Go, Sleepy's, Bob's Discount Furniture, El Dorado, The Dump, Raymour & Flanigan, Art Van, R.C. Willey and Ashley HomeStores have announced significant new expansion plans.
"These are not only new stores, but relocations and expansions of existing stores," Epperson said Wednesday during a discussion of the forecast at the ISPA Expo in Charlotte, N.C. "We're also moving back up in price points."
Retailers also showed some black ink in the fourth quarter of 2009.
"And on very small sales gains, a lot of these companies are showing huge profit increases" relative to top-line gains, Epperson noted.
The employment situation remains a concern: "More than 100,000 new people are entering the work force from Generation Y, and older workers are working longer instead of retiring," Epperson said. "That's on top of high unemployment, and many of the unemployed are permanently so. We're talking about people who weren't laid off, but worked at factories and business that are closed."
Private equity firms are sitting on around $500 billion in capital and want to put that money to work, good news for the mattress sector and furniture as well, Epperson said: "There are 32 private equity groups holding (interests) in furniture or mattress companies right now."
Bedding specialty stores eating up a growing share of mattress sales pose a threat to traditional furniture retailers.
"If the furniture stores lose the mattress business, we might lose more furniture stores," Epperson said. At furniture retailers selling bedding, "mattresses represent 10 percent to 11 percent of sales and almost 35 percent of profits."
Epperson said more than 90 percent of the mattresses sold in the U.S. market are made domestically, and that could play well for the mattress sector at retail since container space poses a problem for furniture, especially case goods, made offshore.
"The problem will be that furniture stores relying on container business are running into shortages," he said. "February was surprisingly good at retail, and if you can't sell wood furniture because of shortages, what can you sell? ... That might be good for the mattress business."
March 4,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bankruptcy on March 5, 2010
Hudson's Furniture Showroom, Sanford, Fla., has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the
Orlando Business Journal reported Thursday.
The move will allow Hudson's to restructure real estate debt for its 12 stores.
"After months of working with the banks on reducing real estate expense with no success, we finally had only one possible solution," said President and founder Fred Hudson in a statement that was quoted in the report. "In every other respect, we have been able to achieve winning financial results."
On Thursday, a bankruptcy judge authorized Hudson's to continue operating its business and continue in possession and control of its properties. Hudson's has about $6 million in unsecured debt, according to court filings.