December 22,
2009 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 23, 2009
The Sustainable Furnishings Council has partnered with World Market Center Las Vegas and numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations to host a one-day conference, "One Good World Ecocongress: Sourcing Legal Wood & Building Green Markets."
The conference will take place at World Market Center, Sunday, Jan. 31, the day before the start of the Winter Las Vegas Market, Feb. 1-5.
The final phase of the Lacey Act amendments goes into effect in April 2010, reinforcing the grounds for legal prosecution of anyone found guilty of importing, transporting, selling or purchasing any furniture using illegally harvested wood from the United States or abroad.
Panelists will represent major organizations from all points in the supply chain, including ranking staff from the U.S. government, academic institutions, forest landowners, Top 25 furniture manufacturers and retailers, interior design associations, and consumer media to discuss the impact of this legislation on the entire home furnishings industry and how to build markets for legitimately sustainable wood products.
The conference is structured as three plenary sessions on policy, manufacturing and consumer marketing, each consisting of a series of short presentations followed by in-depth panel discussions open to questions from all attendees. Sixteen speaker panelists will represent organizations that include the Global Forest & Trade Network, U.S. Department of Justice, Forest Stewardship Council, Weyerhaeuser, Savannah College of Art & Design, Century Furniture, Williams-Sonoma and Architectural Digest.
To register, contact susan@sustainablefurnishings.org.
December 22,
2009 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 23, 2009
Case goods and leather upholstery vendor aspenhome, Phoenix, will make its debut at the Canadian Home Furniture Market in Toronto, Jan. 9-12 in a 1,000-square-foot temporary showroom in Hall 5, Space 5616.
"We feel that the Toronto Market is an important regional market that will help us better serve our current Canadian retailers along with expanding our market in Canada," said Bryan Edwards, vice president of eastern sales. "Plus as consumers start buying again we feel that we have the right mix of smartly styled products at the right prices to help those dealers jump-start their business in 2010."
Based on recent success in the Canada market, aspenhome Canadian sales representatives will operate the showroom for this market. The new aspenhome showroom will display the Sweet Spot collections, Kensington and Cambridge as well as the Destination collection.
December 22,
2009 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 23, 2009
A winter storm that struck the East Coast this past weekend produced conflicting reports on how much the weather hurt retailers on the Saturday before Christmas, known in shopping parlance as "Super Saturday," according to Planalytics Business Weather Intelligence.
A lot depends on not just that it snowed, but also where and on how many consumers it snows.
"In summary, we estimate that at least $2 billion was lost because of this storm," said Planalytics Chief Operating Officer Scott A. Bernhardt. "That is a significant portion of Super Saturday sales that will not be recovered. Recovery will be seen most at retailers with 'must have' items (e.g., Toys R Us, Best Buy) and destinations (e.g., Walmart), but the industry as a whole will not be able to completely make up for so many lost shopping hours in so many heavily-populated centers."
Additional statistics on the storm's impact on retail for the weekend:
* Pre- and post-storm, consumers were shopping "to lists" and focused on getting in and out of stores as quickly as possible.
* Super Saturday Sales typically account for $15 billion, one of the top shopping days of the year, according to Mastercard Spending Pulse. Reports indicate the mall traffic was down 10 percent on Super Saturday across the country. Some malls closed early on Super Saturday while many individual stores and restaurants closed earlier than planned.
* Some traffic moved up to Friday (up 65 percent versus 2008) evening and/or shifted to post-storm on Sunday.
* While traffic outside of the northeast was reportedly up compared to last year, approximately one-third of all super Saturday sales typically come from the Northeast, according to Associated Press and Fox Business.
* While significant amounts of snow fell in December 2008, these typically occurred in less populated areas than the Super Saturday Snowstorm of 2009.
* While reports from NBC Universal show that online sales were up 14 percent on Super Saturday due to the snowstorm, one must keep this in perspective. According to the National Retail Federation, online sales only represent 5 percent of the total industry sales.
Bernhardt said retailers are coping in the storm's wake with additional hours through earlier opening and later closing times; and additional promotions to drive traffic into stores and online.
"Some Super Saturday Sales--but not all--will be made up in time for Christmas," Bernhardt said in conclusion. "In light of a difficult economy and original projections for a negative 1 percent projection in holiday sales by the National Retail Federation, the Super Saturday Snowstorm of 2009 will go down as a net-negative to the retail industry."
December 22,
2009 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 23, 2009
Home Furnishings Business' HFBusiness Now! electronic newsletter will not publish on Thursday, Dec. 24, and Friday, Dec. 25.
We'll resume publishing Monday, Dec. 28.
A safe and happy holiday to all our readers from
Home Furnishings Business!
December 22,
2009 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 23, 2009
Schou USA and Margaritaville Enterprises Inc. have partnered up for the design and marketing of a new collection of outdoor furniture and accessories based on the laid-back "Margaritaville" lifestyle.
Colorful, high-energy pieces will include beach furniture, umbrellas, pavilions, dining and deep seating sets and a wide range of accessories for outdoor entertaining.
"Our partnership is focused on creating outdoor furniture and accessories that will invite people to kick back, relax and immerse themselves in a lifestyle that relishes good friends and good times," said Chris Curran, president of Schou USA. "We will create products truly unlike anything on the market today."
The Margaritaville lifestyle is inspired by the life, writings and songs of Jimmy Buffett. The Margaritaville Enterprises brand portfolio currently includes hotels, radio, cafés, beer, food, spirits, apparel, shoes, the Margaritaville Tailgater Grill and the Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker.
"Schou's passion for quality and innovation and their understanding of the Margaritaville brand make them the ideal partner to collaborate with us on the design and marketing of an outdoor furniture collection," said John Cohlan, CEO of Margaritaville Enterprises. "The casual living category is eager for innovation, and Schou will raise the bar on product design, quality, functionality and creativity."