Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
February 9,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on February 10, 2010
Conn's Inc. (NASDAQ/NM:CONN), a Beaumont, Texas-based retailer of consumer electronics, home appliances, furniture, mattresses, computers and lawn and garden products, announced that net sales for its fourth quarter ended Jan. 31 fell 30.3 percent to $171 million.
Same-store sales for the period were down 31.7 percent. Sales of furniture and mattresses were off 25.9 percent to $14.9 million.
For the fiscal year ended January 31, same store sales fell 13.8 percent, and net sales fell 10.2 percent to $722.8 million.
February 9,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Accessories on February 10, 2010
Furniture, accessories and home accents vendor GuildMaster, Springfield, Mo., has announced guidelines for retailers participating in the company's "Show Your Stuff" contest.
At least 250 square feet must be allocated to the display that is exclusively comprised of GuildMaster product in the following categories: accent furniture, accessories, wall decor, lighting and mirrors. Non-GuildMaster product such as upholstery, bedding, flowers, dinnerware, jewelry or rugs may also be included.
Only one entry per company may be posted.
Participants must submit a 5" x 7", 300 dpi photo, along with the name of the display and maximum 150-word description of why the display works, what they were trying to accomplish and the inspiration for the display, along with the name of their charity. (Videos to further support the entry may also be posted on the GuildMaster Facebook wall.)
There is no limit to the number of times GuildMaster on Tour fans can vote.
Promotion of the contest to employees, customers, local media and the community is encouraged.
Winning retail store displays must remain in place through April 15.
February 8,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on February 9, 2010
The High Point Design Center and a number of design organizations have teamed up to host the second Unity in Design event Feb. 18-20.
Unity in Design 2010 brings together all facets of the design industry from furniture design and manufacturing, to interior and exterior residential and commercial design, to builders and architects, with an emphasis on education and networking. Through partnering with major design organizations the High Point Design Center has created an opportunity for professionals from every field of design to learn, network, and find resources at the many exquisitely designed showrooms.
The event is also sponsored by AIDP, ASID Carolinas, IIDA Carolinas Chapter, IDS and NKBA.
We are very proud to have organized an event that will give attendees a lot of bang for their buck, said Shannon Hamed, event chair for the High Point Design Center. Our goal with this and all High Point Design Center events is to make more and more designers aware of the amazing resources available to them, not only during the amazing High Point Market, but throughout the year.
The three-day event includes, access to showrooms for shopping, CEU-accredited speakers, networking and social events, and the first DPNC trade show. Showrooms will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18 and Friday, Feb. 19, and the DPNC trade show will take place Saturday, Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
DPNC is an alliance of AIDP, ASID Carolinas, HPDC, IDS, IIDA Carolinas Chapter, and NKBA. The focus of the trade show is residential commercial and contract design. A raffle will take place during the Saturday trade show with gifts including furniture, hotel nights, and more.
As part of the Unity in Design event, we hope that the DPNC sponsored trade show will bring many interior design professionals, representing both the commercial and residential markets, together in High Point to see a broad range of products including furniture, fabrics, flooring, kitchen and bath accessories, lighting, art and more as well as have the opportunity to earn CEUs," said Bette Boone with IIDA. "Many vendors have registered so far and we estimate that there will be over 30 vendors.
During a cocktail reception on Friday, Jan. 19, at Market Square, the High Point Design Center will award a $1,000 scholarship to an outstanding student majoring in interior design. Also, the DPNC trade show will feature a career corner where experienced designers will be available to mentor students or new designers on different aspects of the design field and career opportunities.
Our Unity in Design 2010 goal is to strengthen all design business via relationships, resources and products, and this event will accomplish all of these things, Hamed said.
Click
here for more information and a schedule of events.
February 8,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on February 9, 2010
R&A Marketing is hosting a marketing roundtable next month at the Deer Creek Lodge and Conference Center in Mount Sterling, Ohio.
The conference, "Plug In and Make Money in 2010", will be held March 29-30 and will focus on Web site optimization, integration of traditional media and increasing profitability through online satisfaction.
Your customerlets call her Ms. Jonesvisits the Web at some point during her shopping process 75 percent of the time, said Kyle Doran, president of R&A Marketing. Ninety percent of customers will visit a stores Web site after theyve made a purchase. Yet 42 percent of furniture stores dont have a Web site to service Ms. Jones before or after the sale. Those who do often find theyve sunk a huge amount of money into a static site that doesnt even generate as much income as their worst salesperson.
The agenda and speakers for the R&A Roundtable were selected to help furniture industry professionals realize a return on their online investment. Attendees will learn how to manage content, understand what customers are looking for, and project the cost to establish and maintain an online presence from Rafferty Pendery, CEO of Studio98, an online marketing company. Rick Doran, CEO of R&A Marketing, will show how to use traditional offline marketing to drive customers to Web sites (where their contact information and shopping needs are captured), and how to use Web site to drive customers to the store. David Lively of The Lively Merchant will discuss the real cost and benefit of social networking in terms of time and technology, so you can decide if the 200 million new users who signed up for Facebook in 2009 were really onto something.
Were also going to talk about new methods of mass media that help you tell Ms. Jones whats going on in your world, Kyle Doran said. Television, radio, newspapers and direct mail are all valid and effective methods of mass media ¦ but todays consumer gathers information in whole new ways. Well show you how you how to reach her electronically, effectively and affordably.
Presentations on search engine optimization and pay per click advertising by Carl Wochele, R&A account executive round out the agenda.
Clay Campbell, advertising and marketing consultant, will be the keynote speaker for the event.
Most all business owners want to get better results for the ad dollars they are now spending, Campbell said. I use advertising and marketing techniques that are appropriate to small business owners and that can stretch their ad budgets far enough to produce real, bottomline, fold-it-up-and-put-in-your-pocket success.
Click
here for the complete meeting agenda, speaker profiles, registration and more.
February 8,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Youth, Juvenile Furniture on February 9, 2010
Christie Tygrett of Wells Home Furnishings in Charleston, W.Va., is the first of the three grand prize winners in Stanley Furniture Co.'s Winter Sales Appreciation Event for the Stanleytown, Va., manufacturer's Young America infant and youth line.
Stanley introduced the three-month promotion on Dec. 1 to encourage sales associates to test their proficiency of the new Young America brand. In addition to a monthly payout for the sale of eligible items, qualified retail sales associates are entered into a drawing to win one of three grand prize trips, which Stanley has coined, The Great Smoky Mountain Experience.
Tygrett and her guest will enjoy an all-expenses paid Smoky Mountain Experience at the Snowbird Lodge near Stanley's Young America factory in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains.
"Weʼre excited to be able to facilitate a greater understanding of the new Young America with the help of a little friendly competition," said Glenn Prillaman, Stanley Furnitureʼs president and COO. "Congratulations to Christie for taking advantage of this unique sales opportunity. On behalf of the Young America team, I would like to thank Christie and Wells Home Furnishings for their dedication to and appreciation for the new Young America brand."
Young Americaʼs Winter Retail Sales Associate Appreciation Event is scheduled to run through Feb, 28. The remaining two grand prize winners will be announced in late February and March, respectively. For more information about the promotion, click here.