Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
December 9,
2009 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 10, 2009
Seaboard Furniture in Myrtle Beach, S.C., will host an event to support Toys for Tots, the 62-year-old program started by the Marine Corps to bring toys to underprivileged kids.
All toys must be donated by Dec. 19. Those bringing a toy to the store will receive a chance to win a raffle, with a 21 winners being drawn on Dec. 21. Winners will be notified by phone or e-mail no later than Dec. 23.
All winners will be posted on our Seaboard's Web site and our Facebook fan page. No purchase is necessary to enter.
December 9,
2009 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 10, 2009
Holiday retail sales appear weaker this year than last, according to a recent survey by America's Research Group and UBS.
The survey found that of 95.1 percent of consumers not shopping last weekend said they will wait until Dec. 24 to find more items on sale.
The shopping season is a repeat of last year, said Britt Beemer, chief executive officer and founder of ARG. More shoppers are waiting for better deals and stores just arent giving them big enough discounts.
Beemer said consumers want 60 percent to 70 percent off in order to buy.
Wal-Mart continued to draw shoppers with 72.2 percent saying that they have shopped there this year compared to 69.1 percent last year.
Discount retailers in general continued to do well, with 27.6 percent of consumers saying that they spent the most at Wal-Mart over the weekend, compared to 25.7 percent last year. Almost 10 percent (9.9 percent) of consumers (compared to 6.5 percent in 2008) spent most at JCPenney while 5.1 percent spent the most at K-Mart up from 2.6 percent last year.
Only 3.82 percent of parents have finished shopping for their childrens gifts.
Shopping levels on Cyber Monday were flat at 28.7 percent of consumers saying they shopped on-line, compared with 27.1 percent last year.
Conducted Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 at ARG headquarters in Charleston, S.C., the ARG/UBS Christmas Retail Survey consisted of telephone interviews with 1,000 consumers. The error factor is plus or minus 3.8 percent.
December 8,
2009 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 9, 2009
WithIt has added three digital marketing experts to the agenda for its upcoming technology symposium.
The one-day event, "Corporate Strategy, Integration & Investment in Digital & Social Media Technologies," is set for Jan. 13 at the Greensboro/High Point Marriott in Greensboro, N.C. The meeting will be from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.
Panelist for the discussion about digital and social media activity in the home marketplace will be: Bert DuMars, vice president of e-business and interactive marketing for Newell/Rubbermaid; Pamela Jordan, director of online marketing and e-commerce for Furniture Brands International; and Jessica Koster, marketing manager for Cargill Inc. BiOH Polyols.
Leslie Carothers, principal of The Kaleidoscope Partnership, will moderate.
Digital and social media hold great promise in ways to move forward and build revenue, said President Stephanie Lowder, 2010 president of WithIt. Our panelists will explain how their companies have made decisions about relevance, strategy, structure, policy and investment in these global enterprise technologies.
In addition to the panel discussion, the symposium will feature a keynote address by Emily Riley, a senior analyst with Forrester Research, the firm that published Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Maggie Fox, founder and CEO of Social Media Group, will present a case study on how her client, Ford Motor Co., generated real return on investment through its social media efforts.
The symposium is tailored to C-level executives and the critical decisions they and their digital media and marketing executives will make 2010.
It is a difficult time to be a business leadertough economy, budget cuts, socially engaged consumers, competitors of every stripe, media fragmentation, Lowder said. Despite the challenges, 94 percent of companies plan to maintain or increase investment in interactive technologies in 2010.
The general business community is welcome to attend the half-day event. The symposium fee is $100 for the first attendee from a company and $80 for each additional person from the same company.
Registration is available at withit.org and seating is limited.
December 8,
2009 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 9, 2009
Hickory Springs Manufacturing Co., Hickory, N.C., has acquired Hi-Tech Foam Products LL, an Indianapolis-based international manufacturer of foam components to the automotive, appliance, medical and military industries.
Hi-Tech will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Hickory Springs.
"Hi-Tech fits well with our strategic goals of growth and diversification," Hickory Springs President J. Don Coleman.
The plant will operate under the guidance of Manager Steven Andrasik, who transferred from Hickory Springs Commerce, Calif., foam plant; and Vice President of Sales John Metaxas, who remains with the company. Andrasik reports to Hickory Springs Vice President of Operations Lee Lunsford. The company will continue to conduct business as Hi-Tech Foam Products.
Hickory Springs is a leading manufacturer and vendor of flexible polyurethane foam, formed steel, wire, polyester fiber and extruded polyethylene products for the furniture and bedding industries.
December 8,
2009 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on December 9, 2009
Hooker Furniture (NASDAQ-GS: HOFT), Martinsville, Va., reported net sales of $52.6 million, a 23.8 percent decrease from the prior-year period, and net income of $957,000 for its fiscal 2010 third quarter ended Nov. 1. Hooker netted $3 million for its fiscal 2009 third quarter.
"With our return to profitability and a 14 percent increase in sales this quarter compared to the second quarter, we are moving in the right direction and beginning to achieve some momentum we can build on," said Paul B. Toms Jr., chairman, chief executive officer and president. "Our single greatest focus for the third quarter was to reverse the decline in sales. Although we werent able to grow sales versus the prior year, we were able to slow the decline. In addition, the upward trend in incoming orders we reported last quarter has continued. In fact, this October we experienced the highest per-week incoming order rate since August 2008. The uptick in orders has been particularly strong at our upholstery divisions during the last 90 days. While encouraged by the improvements, we remain keenly focused on increasing sales, controlling costs and positioning ourselves for improved profitability."
Year to date, net sales for the fiscal year 2010 first nine months declined $54 million, or 26.4 percent to $150.6 million compared with $204.7 million for the fiscal 2009 first nine months. The company reported net income for the 2010 first nine months of $38,000, or less than one cent per share, compared with net income of $7.6 million, or $0.68 per share, in the fiscal 2009 nine-month period.
"We believe the worst is behind us, but there is still a headwind in the recovery," Toms said in comments on business outlook. "Unemployment alone is significant. While we are encouraged by strong increases in existing home sales the last two months, new home construction is still sluggish, and consumer confidence is still subdued. Until we see people feeling more secure in their jobs and an improvement in employment, we will continue to see downward pressure on discretionary spending for large ticket items like furniture. We expect a large part of our growth will come from market share gains as we expand our product line and price point range to reach new consumers. We do see retail conditions improving somewhat, and believe that we can build on the progress we have made this quarter."