Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
December 15,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on December 16, 2008
The share price of Furniture Brands International dropped Monday after Raymond James changed its rating on the stock from "market perform" to "underperform," Reuters reported.
FBI, St. Louis, saw its share price fall more than 15 percent to $2.42. Raymond James said that it's unlikely that FBI can outperform other furniture stocks until its financial situation stabilizes and the company's turnaround strategies show effect.
Reuters also reported that Ethan Allen stock fell 3 percent to $14.13, and La-Z-Boy Inc. dropped 2.4 percent to $2.40.
December 15,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on December 16, 2008
The World Market Center Las Vegas has made a number of changes to the 1.6 million-square-foot Building B to make room for expanded showrooms, add an assortment of exhibitors to the first floor and provide a new home for juried showcase exhibits in time for the 2009 Las Vegas Winter Market, Feb. 9-13.
Exhibitors moving into expanded spaces in Building B include Dovetail Furniture and Designs, Peninsula Home Collection, Crestview Collection and Richter Designs.
What's being called an eclectic mix of permanent showrooms have been located on Building B's first floor to showcase a wide array of products from across the world. Those showrooms include Acrylicore, Environment Furniture, Charles Carol, Crestview, Style Craft Frames & Wall Décor and Kreiss. Companies that were located on other floors and have relocated to the first floor include Andes International, Armenart, Case Bonita, Classic Leather, Dovetail Furniture & Designs and Peninsula.
"These showrooms will offer an assorted mix of traditional, transitional and contemporary home furnishings and will feature accessories, wall decor and other modern trends of design," said Babs Blair, vice president of leasing for the World Market Center. "This will be an area that designers will go crazy over."
Other changes include providing space on the second floor, 'B2,' for juried showcase exhibits that include ConText, Design & Living and the Living Green Pavilion.
"These exhibits have been held at various locations in the past, so we are excited to provide a permanent home for them in Building B," said Tim Branscome, vice president of international, World Market Center.
ConText, which marks its one-year Las Vegas anniversary in February, is a showcase for high-end home textiles and bedding. Design & Living is focused on buyers searching for hot trends in creative products ranging from traditional to contemporary. The Living Green Pavilion is the country's largest, most comprehensive venue for eco-friendly and sustainable designs.
With the new B2, buyers will be able to access the showcases via an escalator without having to walk through one section to reach the next. It's also accessible from the Las Vegas Design Center, the year-round hospitality marketplace in Building C.
December 14,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on December 15, 2008
Furniture store sales, as expected, declined in October according to the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). On an annualized basis, sales for the month were $54.1 billion, down 2 percent from September. Measured against October 2007 figures, sales in furniture stores fell 11.2 percent.
Sales in home furnishings stores, which exclude furniture store sales, were $50.1 billion in October, an increase of 4 percent from September. Compared with October of last year, home furnishings store sales fell 11.3 percent.
Year-to-date sales in both store categories are off from the comparable 2007 period. For the first 10 months of 2008, furniture store sales were $49 billion, down 5.8 percent from last year. Home furnishings store sales declined 7.9 percent to $41.2 billion for the first ten months of the year.
The DOC estimate for combined furniture and home furnishings store sales for the first 10 months of 2008 is $90.2 billion, down 6.8 percent from the comparable 2007 period.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) for manufacturing industries, not seasonally adjusted, stood at 169.53 in November, down 4.1 percent from October. November PPI for furniture and related products manufacturing was 175.6, up 0.7 percent compared with October and up 5.4 percent from November of last year.
PPI for furniture and home furnishings stores stood at 122.4 in November, down 0.1 percent from October and up 1.1 percent from November 2007.
PPI, tracked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), measures the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers of goods and services. PPI measures price changes from the perspective of the seller.
Weekly Review of Economic News (WREN) reports are summaries of recently-released economic statistical data that affect the home furnishings industry. WREN reports are compiled by HFB Research Editor Janice Chamberlain.
December 14,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on December 15, 2008
High Point-based Culp announced Friday that it received a notice from that New York Stock Exchange that it has fallen out of compliance with the exchange's listing standards because the company's capitalization fell below $75 million over a 30-day trading period.
The announcement stated that Culp's capitalization was $32.8 million as of Dec. 11, the date it received the notice, and shareholders' equity was $46.5 million as of Nov. 2, the most recently reported date.
Under NYSE procedures, the company has 45 days to submit a plan to demonstrate its ability to achieve compliance with continued listing standards within 18 month, unless the exchange determines otherwise. Company officials said Culp, a maker of bedding and upholstery fabrics, intends to submit a plan to demonstrate compliance within the required time frame, which requires either increasing shareholders equity to $75 million or demonstrating market capitalization of $75 million.
Earlier this month, Culp reported an 18 percent decline in its second-quarter sales and stated it had been hit with non-cash charges that contributed to a net loss of $40.9 million. Officials said the non-cash charges would not have a significant effect on operations or loan covenants.
December 14,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on December 15, 2008
Members of Furniture First's board of directors are meeting in Atlanta this week as part of the buying organization's strategic planning retreat to plan for the coming year and develop a long-term plan. The group typically adopts a long-term plan every three years.
Furniture First has about 160 retail members operating more than 320 stores. The two-day session will allow the organization's leadership to focus on the services it offers and how to grow opportunities with supplier partners in ways that improve the profitability of member retailers.
Prior to the meeting, facilitators interviewed key stakeholders from the board and staff of Furniture First to identify opportunities. The meeting will focus on developing goals, identifying obstacles and creating solutions as part of a plan to guide the cooperative buying group for the next three years and beyond.