Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
November 6,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on November 2008
Jane Matteson has resigned her position as executive director of the American Society of Furniture Designers to pursue other opportunities.
Matteson succeeded long-time director Christine Evans earlier this year. Evans retired from the position after serving in the role since 1997.
“We are very grateful to Jane for all of her insights and her hard work on behalf of the ASFD,” said Steve Hodges, incoming ASFD president and Jack Lewis, current president, in a joint statement released this morning. “We wish her all the best in her future industry endeavors.”
The release said a search committee is looking into a new executive director and the group expects to name an interim until a permanent replacement is retained.
Inquiries should be addressed to info@asfd.com until a interim director is named.
November 5,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Leather Upholstery on November 2008
Tupelo, Miss.-based Lane Home Furnishings, a unit of Furniture Brands International, announced Wednesday that it has hired Brian Hobbs as vice president of finance and analysis.
He brings more than 27 years of experience to the position. Most recently he was president and chief financial officer of Designer Furniture International, San Diego, Calif. A CPA with an MBA degree, Hobbs is succeeding Larry Witcher, who is retiring at the end of the year after 35 years with the world’s second-largest recliner maker.
November 5,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on November 2008
Canada’s Brick Group reported Wednesday that sales in its third quarter increased 1.5 percent to $380 million (Canadian), and company officials said “challenging economic conditions” has prompted The Brick to cut is monthly distribution in half as net profit decreased 28 percent to $12.4 million.
In a statement, the retailer, which operates 206 stores across Canada (including 31 franchises), said same-store sales were essentially flat during the quarter. It expects its monthly distribution will be cut from 10 cents to 5 cents per unit.
“We believes these strategies are necessary and productive at this time and will help The Brick Group be able to deal with future economic uncertainty,” said Kim Yost, president and CEO. “With the volatility and uncertainty in the economic environment, the management team is singularly focused on driving operating results.”
November 5,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on November 2008
Haverty Furniture Cos., Atlanta, announced on Wednesday a third-quarter 2008 loss of $1.5 million on net sales of $175.6 million. For the same period in 2007, Havertys earned $643,000 on sales of $200.7 million.
Comparable-store sales declined 14.9 percent for third-quarter 2008 compared with the same period last year.
For the nine months ended September 30, Havertys lost $2.8 million versus net income of $123,000 for the same period in 2007.
Clarence H. Smith, president and chief executive officer, said, “We have seen more deterioration in consumer spending for big-ticket purchases and the current outlook for the near term continues to be difficult. Our strategy to maintain a strong balance sheet and contain costs has proven to be particularly prudent. Subsequent to the end of the third quarter, all of our borrowings were repaid and we are closely managing our inventories. During the third quarter, we continued to adjust all aspects of our operations to business conditions and reduced our SG&A costs while improving our gross margins.”
Smith said Havertys is analyzing all fixed costs for additional reductions; and that the company is evaluating locations with leases reaching renewal for potential renegotiations of option terms or possible closures.
“Inventory levels are currently lower than those throughout the first half of the year. We no longer offer in-house free financing greater than one year and accounts receivable balances have continued to come down and serve as a source of cash,” Smith said. “In early October we made the final scheduled payments on two unsecured notes and prepaid the remaining obligations associated with certain properties. Our capital expenditure plans are being curtailed as we spend on normal store maintenance but forego any additional new store activity. We expect to close on a $7 million sale-leaseback of one of our stores during the fourth quarter.”
Written business to date in the fourth quarter is down around 23 percent compared with last year.
“We cannot predict the depth or length of the current negative business cycle,” Smith said. “Our attention is on tightly managing our business during this period, gaining market share from weaker and defunct competitors, and emerging from this historic down cycle as the most prominent furniture retailer in our markets.”
Havertys has 123 showrooms in 17 states in the Southern and Midwestern regions.
November 5,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on November 2008
Stanley Furniture Co., Stanleytown, Va., has promoted Rick Schroeder to vice president of design; and Adam Tilley has joined the case goods vendor as vice president of product management for adult product lines.
Both report to Glenn Prillaman, executive vice president of marketing and sales.
Schroeder joined Stanley Furniture in 2002 and will now be responsible for coordinating design efforts across all product lines as well as managing the efforts of both internal and external design staff.
“Rick has played a very important role in the development of our product, as all of our designers do, since he joined us,” Prillaman said. “We have a talented team of design professionals focused on providing our retailers with styles that inspire today’s consumers within our price range. With Rick coordinating the various design efforts we have underway at any given time across our diverse product lines, Stanley is a more efficient company.”
Tilley formerly served as director of merchandising for Thomasville Furniture, where he was responsible for merchandising, pricing and design direction. He also was a sales representative for Henredon after beginning his career in home furnishings as a retail sales associate for Robb and Stucky. Tilley will be responsible for developing and managing all adult product lines. Kelly Cain, vice president and product manager, reports to Tilley.
“With his experience in managing product development for a broad array of products within our same price segment, Adam will bring a fresh perspective to our efforts,” Prillaman said. “He understands our target consumer and we look forward to the contributions he will make to the many other areas of our business.”