Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
November 10,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on November 2008
Cresent Home Furnishings, a 61-year-old family-owned Tennessee retailer, will close its two stores in downtown Nashville and Cool Springs. A closing sale begins Nov. 21 at the stores, which employ around 30 people.
“This has been a very difficult decision for us. We deeply regret the dislocation that this will cause our local retail employees and to be honest, it is difficult to exit a business when we have over 61 years of retail history serving the Nashville market,” said Taylor Condra, director of operations for Cresent Enterprises, in a release. “We want to emphasize that this is not a bankruptcy sale. We value the relationships we have formed in the last six decades and unlike the distasteful and unethical ‘Going out of Business’ sales that plague the retail channel, we intend to treat every customer fairly until the final order is delivered.”
Key furniture lines involved in the sale include Cresent Fine Furniture, Stickley, Hooker, Vanguard, Hickory Chair, American Leather, Clayton Marcus, Fairfield Chair, Lane and Jamison Bedding.
Cresent Fine Furniture, the Gallatin-based manufacturing and importing division of Cresent Enterprises, remains in operation and will continue to serve a national customer base of independent furniture retailers and department stores.
“Our manufacturing and importing division continues to grow. Today’s consumer realizes the value in buying quality furniture that will last a lifetime,” Condra said. “Despite our sadness at exiting the retail side of the furniture business, we are excited about the prospects for the future of Cresent Fine Furniture and look forward to extending the success of the Cresent brand into our seventh decade.”
November 10,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Technology on November 2008
GotoDaily.com, a San Jose, Calif.-based Web site with information on coupons, coupon codes and saving tips, announced the launch on Friday of a new advertising and sales site, blackfriday.gotodaily.com .
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when retailers discount merchandise to help launch the holiday shopping season. GotoDaily’s new site aims to help shoppers keep track of the best deals on everything from electronics to home furnishings, and toys to clothing.
GotoDaily’s Black Friday deals are searchable by date, categories, stores, or user ratings.
GotoDaily’s community helps other shoppers find the best Black Friday deals using a simple member rating system, where highly rated deals appear at the top, while the deals that get the least buzz remain at the bottom. GotoDaily’s members can share and recommend the hottest Black Friday deals with friends. They can also save their favorite Black Friday deals for future recall. GotoDaily also offers listings of Cyber Monday deals for the Monday following the Thanksgiving weekend, and the official launch of holiday shopping for online shoppers and retailers.
November 9,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on November 2008
With apologies to F. Scott Fitzgerald, the very rich, apparently, aren’t that different from you and me. The Luxury Consumption Index (LCI) that has been compiled by Stevens, Pa.-based Unity Marketing since 2003 hit its lowest level in October after dropping 10.7 points to 40.3 points.
According to Pam Danzinger, Unity Marketing’s president, the dip shows that “affluent consumers’ negative feelings about their economic situation are translating into changes into their shopping behavior. Since the middle of 2007, the LCI has been in free fall, dropping more than half its value.”
Danzinger said the survey of 1,161 affluent consumers (with an average income of $210,000) showed that 56 percent are spending less on luxury than they were a year ago, and 54 percent expect to be spending less in the next 12 months.
Danzinger said the high-income consumers report that they’re shopping more strategically by looking for sales, are trading down to less premium brands and are staying out of stores to resist tradition.
“They are still indulging in luxuries, but they are being more selective in what they choose to indulge,” Danzinger said.
November 9,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on November 2008
Martha Stewart spent part of Sunday in La Quinta, Calif., where she has teamed with Los Angeles-based KB Home on a new housing development designed for adults 55 and over.
At an event for about 100 guests, including area residents, local politicians and media, Stewart, 67, judged a cupcake-decorating contest and talked about the new neighborhood that is set to open in the fall of 2009. It’s one of 11 communities that have been built or planned with KB Home. The development will be made up of one-story, ranch-style homes ranging in size from 1,300 square feet to 1,800 square feet in a gated community with an expansive clubhouse.
“I’m very excited about our newest Martha Stewart community with KB Home created especially for mature adults who lead active lives,” said Martha Stewart. “As in all of our communities, these homes will be affordable and beautifully designed with an eye to practical details. In addition, the clubhouse activities and meeting areas will help cultivate friendship and camaraderie among residents.”
November 9,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on November 2008
• The overall October unemployment rate increased 0.4 percentage points, to 6.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Non-farm employment fell by 240,000 in October.
Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons increased by 2.8 million, and the unemployment rate rose 1.7 percentage points.
Overall manufacturing employment slid by 90,000, or 0.7 percent, in October, with manufacturing employment in the home furnishings sector down 10,400, or 2.2 percent compared with September figures. Versus October 2007 figures, total manufacturing employment declined by 517,000 jobs or 3.7 percent, and home furnishings manufacturing lost 56,900 jobs or 10.8 percent.
On the retail side of the home furnishings industry, employment declined 0.6 percent, or 3,200 jobs, in October compared with September, to 560,300 jobs. That’s a decline of 2.9 percent from October of last year, based on BLS records. October’s overall retail trade employment declined 0.3 percent versus September and fell 1.8 percent compared with October 2007 figures.
• In October, the U.S. dollar continued to gain ground against many of the country’s major trading partners. Measured against September rates, the U.S. greenback strengthened against Canada’s dollar (+11.9 percent), the People’s Republic of China’s yuan (+0.1 percent), the European Union’s euro (+8.1 percent), Malaysia’s ringgit (+2.4 percent), Singapore’s dollar (+3.4 percent), Taiwan’s dollar (+2.2 percent), Thailand’s baht (+0.5 percent) and the United Kingdom’s pound (+6.6 percent). Only the Japanese yen pulled ahead of the U.S. dollar, with month-over-month rates showing the dollar down 6.2 percent.
According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, which monitors foreign exchange rates, the U.S. dollar also showed marked improvement compared with October 2007 rates. The dollar gained against all of the above currencies, with the exception of the Japanese yen and P.R. China’s yuan.
A stronger dollar benefits U.S. retailers and vendors importing goods, but makes it tougher on exporting companies, as their goods become more expensive for overseas buyers to purchase.
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.