Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
November 6,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on November 2008
San Francisco-based Design Within Reach said net sales in its third quarter declined 13.7 percent to $42.3 million, resulting in a net loss of $5.6 million. A year earlier, the company reported net income of $2.4 million.
Sales at its 68 DWR stores were down 10.2 percent. The company didn’t specify a same-store sales number, but said it had four fewer stores a year ago.
For the nine months ended Sept. 27, the company’s sales decreased 3.8 percent to $136.5 million, with a net loss of $6.4 million versus a loss of $1.9 million in the same period a year earlier.
In an announcement, the company said it had withdrawn previous sales and earnings guidance for the full year, citing “unprecedented macro-economic trends.” The company said it is focused primarily on cash flow and will take the necessary steps to reduce expenses to maintain liquidity and “achieve improved results when consumer spending increases.”
November 6,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Leather Upholstery on November 2008
Leather upholstery manufacturer Bradington-Young, Cherryville, N.C., announced Thursday it lay off 54 employees in operations and administration at its plants in Cherryville and Hickory, N.C. The company is a division of Hooker Furniture Corp., Martinsville, Va.
The reduction represents about 15 percent of Bradington-Young’s workforce, and comes in reaction to the negative sales impact of the prolonged economic slump in the furniture industry on the company’s leather upholstered seating and reclining furniture from, according to Alan Cole, president and chief executive officer of Hooker’s Upholstery Division. The layoff will affect 31 employees in the Cherryville operations, and 23 employees in the Hickory plant.
“The extreme difficulty of the current economic environment has made it necessary to scale down our employment levels to match sales levels,” Cole said in an announcement. “The marketplace difficulties have taken a toll on our ability to staff at the levels we have historically needed.”
The affected employees will be offered severance packages based on their years of service. In addition, Bradington-Young is coordinating with the North Carolina Employment Security Commission to assist employees with placement assistance and will be applying to the Department of Labor for Trade Act Assistance.
The layoff does not affect employees at Hooker’s wood furniture operations, based in Martinsville, Va.; or at upholstered chair specialist Sam Moore in Bedford, Va.
November 6,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on November 2008
Sofa Mart and Furniture Row Outlet, retail brands of Denver-based Furniture Row Cos., have donated more than $286,000 to aid the estimated 2 million street children in Mexico City.
The charity campaign, titled “Hope Is Always In Style,” allocated $20 for every sofa sold August 23-Oct. 10. Those proceeds will benefit World Vision’s street children program, which assists in the widespread problem of homeless children in Mexico City.
Specifically designed to enable street children to become more self-sufficient and move into a stable environment, the program focuses on providing educational support, shelter, children’s homes and family reintegration whenever possible.
World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty.
Furniture Row operates more than 330 stores nationwide.
November 6,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on November 2008
Broyhill Home Furnishings, Lenoir, N.C., sponsored a 3K walk at its main office Oct. 31 in support of Passionately Pink for the Cure and the Wig Bank of Caldwell County.
Passionately Pink for the Cure is a fundraising and educational program through Susan G. Komen for the Cure; and the Wig Bank of Caldwell County is a local agency dedicated to providing support and education for local cancer patients.
The event raised $1,971 for both causes. A total of 112 Broyhill employees from all company locations donated money toward the fundraiser, and 40 of those employees participated in the walk, lead by four Broyhill employees who are cancer survivors. Broyhill provided custom pink T-shirts for all participants who donated $10 or more in support of the fundraiser.
November 6,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on November 2008
Caperton Furnitureworks, Berkeley Springs, W.Va., has begun a promotion through which 5 percent of proceeds of sales of its Gat Creek blanket chests will be donated to Quilts for Kids.
A charitable organization that transforms unwanted and discontinued fabric into quilts that comfort children in need, Quilts for Kids collects fabrics from a variety of sources, including fabric mills and furniture manufacturers, and oversees the making and donating of finished quilts to hospitals and community organizations throughout the United States and overseas. Those quilts comfort children with cancer, AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses, as well as battered and abused children. The organization seeks to link design centers nationwide to their communities, so that children in need in those regions may be served.
“At the start of this year, we met Linda Arye, founder of Quilts for Kids, and she asked if we could help,” said Gat Caperton, Caperton Furnitureworks president and CEO. “We loved the program and the challenge (we don’t have any fabrics … we’re a solid wood company). By adding a hangtag to our blanket chests about Quilts for Kids, we hope to help raise awareness as well as help raise some cash for the organization. Hopefully, we’ll even sell a few more blanket chests.”