Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
February 10,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on February 11, 2010
Waukesha, Wis.-based Steinhafels donated more than $5,000 worth of furniture to a Milwaukee-area veterans group on Wednesday, WISN-TV reported.
The group, Dryhootch, just opened its first permanent building Milwaukee's east side. Vietnam veterans founded Dryhootch to assist veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Steinhafels' donated furniture is in the second-floor meeting rooms of the Dryhootch facility.
"It gives respect to these veterans. They're not sitting on cold chairs in a room (wondering) does anybody care about this, but it's a comfortable setting they can bring their families here," Dryhootch Founder Bob Curry said in the report.
February 10,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on February 11, 2010
Leon & Lulu, Clawson, Mich., will host its first ever blood drive Friday, 1-7 p.m. at its store on West 14 Mile Road.
Drop-ins are welcome but participants also can reserve a specific time by visiting www.givelife.org and entering "leon&lulu" as the sponsor code.
In addition to the blood drive, 10 percent of all store sales on Friday will benefit the American Red Cross' Haitian Relief Effort. Leon & Lulu also offers a prize from the in-store "Lucky Ducky" game to everyone who donates blood.
February 10,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on February 11, 2010
Specialty sleep retailer Select Comfort Corp. (NASDAQ: SCSS) posted net income of $35.3 million for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 2, compared to a net loss of $57.4 million during the same period last year.
Net sales for the quarter totaled $136.5 million, compared to $131.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Both 2008 and 2009 periods included valuation allowance adjustments for income taxes and asset impairment charges. Adjusting for these items, net income would have been $0.08 per share in the fourth quarter of 2009, as compared to a net loss of $0.26 per share in the same period a year ago.
"Our fourth quarter and full-year performance reflects strong execution against a set of initiatives that focused on controlling costs, building our brand for improved sales and preserving cash," said Bill McLaughlin, president and chief executive officer. "The result is significantly improved profitability, with the company experiencing two consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth. The strategic focus and our improved business performance positions us well for continued same-store sales growth and improved profitability throughout 2010."
Net sales for fiscal 2009 totaled $544.2 million, a decrease of 11 percent as compared to $608.5 million in 2008. The company reported a net profit of $35.6 million, compared to a net loss of $70.2 million.
Looking forward to 2010, the company expects to increase earnings per share by 30 percent to 50 percent to between $0.32 and $0.38. The retailer said the outlook reflects improved cost structure of the business and a cautious outlook about economic trends for 2010.
The company ended 2009 with 403 stores and expects to end 2010 with between 380 and 390 stores after the consolidation of planned store openings and closings. The company expects that 2010 capital expenditures will be approximately $10 million.
February 10,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on February 11, 2010
The Furniture Buying Index rose another three points this month to a reading of 65, according to America's Research Group.
This is the third consecutive month the index has risen by three points.
The stock markets rebound in December freed up more money for better quality customers to spend on furniture and other higher ticket items, said Britt Beemer, chairman of Americas Research Group. The Index is inching closer to the 70 level that retailers need to see to make promotions more successful, but it still has a ways to go. This bodes well for Presidents Day weekend sales for mattresses, and potentially furniture."
The Furniture Buying Index is compiled each month by America's Research Group from interviews with between 5,000 to 8,000 consumers across the country. In a typical month, 80 percent of the consumers interviewed can name a specific furniture item they intend to buy. The index's mark signifies what percent of the benchmark 80 percent actually have a particular item in mind.
February 9,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on February 10, 2010
Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports will be a full 25 percent higher during the first half of 2010 compared with the same period a year ago, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released Monday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
"This is a dramatic turnaround over what we've seen during the past two years," NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. "Increases in import volumes don't correspond directly with dollar volumes in sales, so caution has to be exercised when looking at these numbers. But retailers are clearly expecting to move more merchandise this year."
U.S. ports handled 1.09 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in December, the latest month for which actual numbers are available. That was unchanged from November but up 2.6 percent from December 2008 to break a 28-month streak during which monthly totals were lower than the same month the year before.
January was estimated at 1.19 million TEU, a 17 percent increase over January 2009, and February, traditionally the slowest month of the year, is forecast at 1.1 million TEU, up 30 percent from the previous year. March is forecast at 1.18 million TEU, up 23 percent as retailers begin to stock up for spring and summer, April at 1.25 million TEU, up 27 percent, May at 1.3 million TEU, up 26 percent, and June at 1.38 million TEU, up 36 percent.
Those monthly numbers would put the first half of 2010 at 7.4 million TEU, up 25 percent from last year's 5.9 million TEU.
With numbers from December now final, 2009 ended with a total volume of 12.7 million TEU, down 17 percent from 2008's 15.2 million TEU and the lowest since the 12.5 million TEU reported in 2003.
Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett disagreed with economists who fear that the economy is in the middle of a W-shaped recovery where another dip could follow current signs of an upturn.
"This forecast assumes that we are not in a double-dip recession and that a recovery is underway," Hackett said. "Although 2009 saw decreased import activity levels, the forecast for 2010 points towards growth."
Hackett Associates provides expert consulting, research and advisory services to the international maritime industry, government agencies and international institutions.