Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
October 20,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on October 2008
The U.S. Department of Commerce ruled that Vietnamese manufacturers of innersprings for mattresses and the South African entity Bedding Component Manufacturers are dumping product in the U.S. market. In a final determination published in the Federal Register Monday, DOC assigned a duty of 116.31 percent to Vietnam-made innersprings; while BCM--sole respondent to the investigation in South Africa--received a duty of 121.39 percent, which also extends to any other innersprings from the country.
DOC also amended the scope of its ruling to exclude non-bedding innersprings that are used in the manufacture of upholstered living room seating.
October 20,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on October 2008
Cisco Brothers, Los Angeles; Hickory Chair, Hickory, N.C.; and Valley Forge, Pompano Beach, Fla. are the finalists for the inaugural Sage Award competition, which recognizes environmental accomplishment in the home furnishings and bedding industries.
The American Home Furnishings Alliance and Cargill’s BiOH Polyls business unit, which teamed up to create the competition, announced the finalists at a breakfast Tuesday morning during High Point Market in the Eco Pavilion at Market Square.
Cisco Brothers has been producing high-end sustainable furniture using natural materials since 1990. The company helped revitalize South Central Los Angeles when it decided to stay in the neighborhood after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and has been a critical component to the area’s redevelopment, providing training and employment for many families. In 2006, founder Cisco Pinedo developed a dilapidated industrial building in High Point to create a home for Cisco Brothers’ market showroom that uses thousands of pounds of regenerated wood, steel, brick and other materials.
Hickory Chair employees implemented more than 1,200 improvements in 2007 for better machine utilization, reduced energy consumption; process improvements that eliminated rework and wasted materials; eliminated non-value-added operations; improved productivity and reduced energy and material usage. The 97-year-old company has implemented these and other environmental practices while growing profits and growth, adding an average of 30 employees a year the past three--all while holding prices for more than five years even as employees received raises and bonuses.
Valley Forge produces textiles for upholstery, bedding and drapery for the hotel, furniture manufacturing and cruise ship sectors. In 2007, after several years of research, the company launched FRESH (Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards for Hospitality). FRESH fabrics are made from synthetic yarns developed from pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled products, mostly post-consumer PET plastic beverage bottles. The fabrics are 100 percent recycled content. Valley Forge works on more than 1,100 hotels per year, ranging in size from 100 to 5,200 rooms, making for a tremendous positive environmental impact for FRESH fabrics.
Fourteen entries, including retailers, manufacturers and suppliers, were submitted for consideration by a panel of 10 judges from the industry, environmental and social organizations, and trade and consumer press.
The three finalists will be spotlighted and the 2008 winner announced at a reception Nov. 13 during AHFA’s Sustainability Summit at the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C. Cargill’s BiOH Polyls also will sponsor the event.
October 20,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on October 2008
Samson Holding Ltd., parent company of Universal Furniture, Legacy Classic Furniture, and Craftmaster Furniture in the United States, has acquired the assets of Willis & Gambier from the British company’s insolvency administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers in the United Kingdom.
Mohamad Amini, president of Lacquer Craft, said in an announcement Monday, “With the acquisition of Willis & Gambier we are able to extend our operations into Europe from a solid base and continue the growth within a new market. It is our intention to build on the excellent relationships and core values of this business and to grow it from its already strong position.”
Mark Symes has been appointed managing director.
“Mark has had associations with our business for over 10 years, and is well connected both with the existing customer base of Willis & Gambier as well as a number of other major retailers,” Amini said.
The Willis & Gambier product lineranges from traditional to contemporary designs in a mixture of appropriate solids and veneers with rich finishes. The company is viewed as the biggest supplier of premium furniture in the furniture industry in the United Kingdom, according to the announcement.
October 19,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Leather Upholstery on October 2008
Leather furniture manufacturer American Leather, the Dallas-based design leader and leather furniture manufacturer, announced on Friday the asset acquisition of upholstery manufacturer, John Charles Designs. Under the terms of this agreement, American Leather will purchase the rights to John Charles’ home furnishing designs, textile collection and marketing materials.
According to Bob Duncan, CEO of American Leather, the acquisition will forward American Leather’s launch into the fabric category, and will immediately expand its home furnishings offerings to customers.
“John Charles Designs is an outstanding company with an impeccable reputation in the industry,” said Duncan. “The company’s 31-year heritage of beautiful design matched with world-class textiles will positively impact American Leather’s offerings to end consumers while helping us become an immediately recognizable player in fabric upholstery. We are honored that John and Nancy Genova are trusting American Leather to carry on this proud heritage.”
At the October High Point Market, which began Monday, the John Charles collection will be shown in the American Leather showroom in 5000 Showplace and will be available to customers through American Leather. The premier collection will include a wide breadth of styles, all available in hundreds of fabric options, Ultrasuede, leather, as well as COM. The collection will continue to expand into 2009. American Leather will begin accepting orders during the October market.
John Charles production will be moved into American Leather’s Dallas facility, with shipments beginning in February 2009.
“This represents the next step of our long-term strategy to expand into the fabric upholstery segment. Between our hospitality division, and our residential, and private label programs, fabric upholstery already represents approximately 30 percent of our volume,” added Duncan.
“We have state-of-the-art fabric cutting systems that allow us to handle stripe match, bow and skew, and all the other complexities associated with fabric upholstery. This is a critical core competence that we have carefully developed over the last five years, and we are excited to now expand this capability and become a full fabric upholstery resource. And just like our leather offerings, all of our fabric upholstery will be shipped in three weeks or less, which we feel puts us in a completely unique place in the upholstery market.”
According to Bruce Birnbach, president of American Leather, Nancy Genova, co-owner and lead designer of John Charles Designs will continue to lend her expertise as a designer for new collections in the coming year.
“This acquisition is really a marriage of exceptional design with manufacturing excellence – allowing us to offer this one-of-a-kind collection to consumers with the speed, quality and reliability they have come to know with American Leather,” said Birnbach.
John Genova Sr., co-owner and founder of John Charles Designs, marks the transaction as a turning point for both companies.
“John Charles Designs has always enjoyed an excellent reputation in the market, due to our emphasis on clean, forward-thinking design, quality performance and solid relationships with our retailers,” said Genova. “Now joining with American Leather’s custom-design manufacturing capabilities, coupled with emphasis on innovation, the John Charles collection can reach even broader audiences with the speed-to-market and quality that has been a key component of the American Leather brand.”
Both John Genova Sr. and John Genova Jr. will continue to work with American Leather on a consulting basis throughout 2009 to insure a smooth transition of the John Charles product line.
October 19,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on October 2008
Dell has teamed up with the High Point Market to supply computers that power new Product Locator and Internet access stations in several showroom buildings, event organizers announced Friday.
Dell operates a 750,000-square-foot desktop computer factory just west of High Point. New Product Locator stations will be located in the lobbies of major multi-tenant buildings across the city. There will also be Internet access terminals in several locations, including Merchandise Mart Properties, the domestic buyer center in Showplace, the International Home Furnishings Center and the Media Center.
“Dell is happy to work with the High Point Market Authority and support the High Point Market,” said Mehran Ravanpay, Dell’s director of North Carolina operations. “This sponsorship is an excellent opportunity to showcase our world-class computers in the ambiance of the world’s most beautiful furnishings.”
Market Authority President and CEO Brian Casey said, “With more than 70 product categories and thousands of new product introductions from more than 2,000 exhibitors spread across 12 million square feet of showroom space, navigating the High Point Market can be a daunting task. The new Product Locator stations are designed to provide access to core information essential to both our seasoned buyers and first-time visitors and to make the buying process more efficient for all.”
With the technology, buyers can search a product category and map their route to the showroom they select, complete with a map of shuttle routes that serve their destination.