January 3,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on January 4, 2010
Planalytics Business Intelligence, which tracks weather's effect on retail sales and operations, has released an analysis of weather's impact on the 2009 holiday selling season.
* New Years Week (Dec. 27-Jan, 2)
The coldest New Year̢¢s Week since 2001 and the snowiest since 2000. A winter storm that brought rain in the Southeast and snow/rain/ice in the Northeast over New Years Eve and New Years day had a negative impact on restaurants and retailers, but for most major cities in the I-95 corridor, this was more of a "nuisance" event compared to the Super Saturday Snowstorm. The cold helped drive post-holiday clearance of seasonal product.
* Christmas Week (Dec. 20-26)
While there was a major snowstorm in the Central Plains and Upper Midwest over Christmas, most of the country had cold conditions. Following the Super Saturday Snowstorm from the prior week, most consumers were out and about finishing up last minute shopping. A rain event along the I-95 corridor on Christmas Day/Dec. 26 posed some traffic difficulties for travelers and post-Christmas bargain hunters.
* Pre-Christmas Week with Super Saturday (Dec. 13-19)
This week will be remembered for the Super Saturday Snowstorm that walloped the east coast. Record breaking snowfall up the entire I-95 corridor made consumers stay home and shift demand out of one of the busiest days of the year. While there was a snowfall in some markets for Super Saturday 2008, (and December 2008 had more snow than December 2009), the impact for the historic 2009 event will be greater because of where and on how much of the population it snowed. Some but not all Super Saturday Sales were made up in time for Christmas, and a lot of business shifted from brick and mortar to online. Planalytics estimates that at least $2 billion was lost because of this storm as the industry as a whole was not be able to completely make up for so many lost shopping hours in so many heavily-populated centers.
* December Week 1 & 2 (Nov. 30-Dec. 12)
Following an unusually warm November, Mother Nature started to become more active in December with cold temperatures and wintry conditions across most of North America. While there were several weather events, most were limited in time and population. Most consumers had ample opportunity to shop.
* November
The warmest November since 2001 and driest since 1999 all had a negative impact on seasonal demand. At the end of the month, Black Friday weekend (Nov. 27-30) had optimal shopping weather and helped get the holiday season off to a great start.
* October
The coldest October since 1976 and the 3rd wettest in 115 years helped pull seasonal demand forward. Retail sales responded with their most favorable comps in 18 months.
January 3,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on January 4, 2010
Around 350,000 consumers who received vouchers for free gas or groceries after they made furniture and other retail purchases won't be able to redeem them after all, according to a Saturday report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Joliet, Ill.-based My Free Travel had taken over a voucher program from BBZ Resource Management--which had operated the voucher program for around 1,000 retailers nationwide--after BBZ declared bankruptcy in June. My Free Travel now has ceased operations.
St. Louis area furniture stores who'd used the promotions include Rothman Furniture, Ashley Furniture and the Bedroom Store. The retailers are looking for assistance in resolving the vouchers, or managing the program themselves now.
January 3,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on January 4, 2010
Consumers who buy at least $5,000 this week at Gallery Furniture in Houston have the chance for 50 percent off their purchase if they pick the winner of Thursday's Bowl Championship Series final, the Houston Business Journal reported Thursday.
The University of Texas and the University of Alabama play in this week's BCS championship game.
Customers have until 5 p.m. on Jan. 7, the day of the game, to purchase furniture, electronics, rugs, accessories or bedding, and pick the winner.
January 3,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on January 4, 2010
WBKO-TV has named Ashley Furniture HomeStore in Bowling Green, Wis., last week's "Hometown Hero" for its support of the Salvation Army's efforts to help needy children around Christmas, the station reported Friday.
For three years, employees at the store hosted a large Christmasparty with food, presents, and Santa Claus for the children and their families.
"We try to help as many families as we can each year, usually about 40 to 50 children," said Store Manager Stacey Houser in the report.
December 30,
2009 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 31, 2009
Houston's Gallery Furniture has provided victims of a house fire with thousands of dollars worth of furniture, according to local reports Tuesday.
A fire just before Thanksgiving destroyed everything in the home of the Harmon family of Spring, Texas, but thanks to Gallery, they'll have furniture after the house is renovated.
The Harmons were among 30 families Gallery selected to help with furniture out of 35,000 letters sent to the retailer.
"I feel blessed that Gallery Furniture chose us. I am still in shock when I see everything they gave us," Andrea Harmon said in the report. Andrea suffered third degree burns on her arms and her 3-year-old daughter suffered second degree burns on her face and ear.