Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
October 14,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on October 2008
Furniture industry veterans Sheryl “Sheri” McAdams and Brin Perryman have joined Merchandise Mart Properties as leasing directors in High Point, the showroom building owner announced Wednesday.
McAdams, who has 20 years of retail and manufacturing experience, was most recently southeast sales manager for
Gifts & Decorative Accessories magazine.
Perryman began his career a decade ago in the sales department at
Furniture Today and became a sales manager at the World Market Center in Las Vegas last year. Both report to Tim McGee, senior vice president and general manager of MMPI in High Point.
MMPI operates six High Point showroom buildings with 2.1 million square feet of space, including Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza, National Furniture Mart, Hamilton Market, Market Square and Suites at Market Square.
“We are thrilled to be adding two such seasoned professionals to our team,” McGee said. “Combined, Sheri and Brin bring more than 30 years of industry to our leasing efforts, and we are excited to have them on board.”
October 13,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on October 2008
Bedding retailer 1800mattress.com announced Monday that it plans to open 40 stores in Washington, D.C., and surrounding suburbs over the next 18 months.
The Long Island City, N.Y.-based Internet and store-based retailer, which has 45 locations, said it hired industry veteran Ken Mazda to lead the expansion. Mazda built Nationwide Discount Sleep Centers into a 60-store chain in the Philadelphia area before selling it in 1999. 1800mattress.com, which already operates three stores and a warehouse near Washington, has signed leases to open five stores in the next 60 days.
“The mattress retailing dynamics of the Washington market, particularly in some of its Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs, are changing dramatically, and there is an exciting opportunity for us to expand market share in a smart way,” Mazda said.
Joe Vicens, executive vice president of national sales, said 1800mattress.com can open retail locations efficiently because of a multi-pronged retail strategy that enables it to sell via the telephone and the Internet when most retailers are closed.
“Mattress retailing is not like operating a Starbuck’s or CVS where you need a retail location every few feet for the consumer to stumble into,” Vicens said. “Increasingly the mattress-purchasing process is multi-faceted. A customer typically calls our 800 number or searches the Internet or maybe chats on-line with one of our trained bedding consultants. They use the retail showroom if they want to see and touch the mattress only.”
October 13,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on October 2008
Ikea has started a recruitment effort to hire 400 people for a store in Charlotte, N.C., that will open in Spring 2009. It will be the Swedish retailer’s 36th store in the United States, fifth in the Southeast and first in the Carolinas.
“We are thrilled to offer interested job seekers diverse positions with limitless opportunity at a global company,” said Richard Castanon, who was named store manager last month.
Ikea has been named in
Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for three consecutive years. An announcement Monday stated that Ikea is committed to a flexible workplace that emphasizes a work/life balance. If an Ikea coworker needs to take time off to find a nursing home for an aging parent, be home to kiss their child before bed or have flexible scheduling to best juggle caring for a newborn, one can do so without worrying about risking career aspirations. Benefits including full medical/dental insurance to coworkers working 20 hours or more per week with eligibility for domestic partners and children. Other benefits include: vacation, paid maternity/paternity leave and paid time off for child adoption, tuition assistance, 401(k) match, professional development, training and mentoring programs and a discount on Ikea purchases.
Under construction on 25 acres at the corner of Interstate 85 and City Boulevard, the 356,000-square-foot Ikea Charlotte will offer more than 10,000 items and will have a 350-seat restaurant. In addition to Charlotte, Ikea will open a store in Tampa, Fla., in the summer of 2009. It will add to more than 280 locations in 36 countries.
October 13,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on October 2008
Case goods vendor Stanley Furniture Co., Stanleytown, Va., reported third-quarter 2008 net sales of $54.5 million, a 25.6 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2007. Year-to-date sales of $176.2 million were down 18.4 percent compared with last year’s first nine months.
A third-quarter loss of $3.5 million, or 34 cents per share, compares with earnings of $1.6 million, or 16 cents per share, in the prior year quarter. Third-quarter 2008 includes a charge of 25 cents per share for costs related to the consolidation of two manufacturing facilities into one and other restructuring actions announced during the period.
Stanley lost $2.5 million, or 24 cents per share, through the first nine months of 2008, compared with net income of $935,000, or 9 cents per share, at the same point last year. The 2008 period includes restructuring charges of 29 cents per share, and the 2007 period includes a pension termination charge of 42 cents per share.
“Excluding restructuring charges, operating income was near a break-even level due to the significant decline in sales,” said Stanley Chairman and CEO Albert L. Prillaman in an announcement of the results. “The manufacturing consolidation and other difficult moves we are making throughout our business are progressing on plan. This restructuring will lower our costs going forward and position the business for success when demand eventually improves. Meanwhile, we continued to generate positive cash flow and improve our already strong financial position in the third quarter.”
“Order rates over the last ten days have deteriorated significantly; however, we believe our mid-July guidance range for total year 2008 earnings before restructuring charges remains reasonable assuming there is some near term resolution of the credit crisis,” Prillaman said. However, management now expects total charges for the restructuring and related activities announced in the third quarter for 2008 to range from $7 million to $9 million, an increase of $1 million from last quarter’s estimate to account for a severance payment due to the resignation of Jeff Scheffer, former president. Approximately $5.2 million of these charges were recorded in the third quarter of 2008. A portion of the remaining estimated charges may be recorded into 2009 depending upon the timing of the final disposition of assets associated with a plant closure.
Stanley also announced Monday that its board of directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents per share payable on Dec. 1 to shareholders of record on Nov. 7.
October 13,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on October 2008
Sealy Corp., North America’s largest mattress manufacturer, unveiled the Dr. Robert G. and Beverly Addison Center of Excellence pressure mapping laboratory Friday to enhance its position in cutting edge research, technology and sleep science.
Sealy inaugurated the Center of Excellence at its Trinity headquarters this past Friday, October 10 with Several members of Sealy’s Orthopedic Advisory Board (OAB) were on hand for the center’s inauguration at Sealy’s Trinity, N.C., headquarters. The center, according to Sealy the only facility of its kind in the bedding industry, is an innovative, state-of-the-art research laboratory that uses the latest technologies to identify uncomfortable pressure points that lead to tossing and turning.
“Pressure management is one of the focal points of Sealy’s product development process,” said Larry Rogers, Sealy CEO. “The Center of Excellence will provide crucial insight into developing cutting-edge sleep systems that help consumers maximize every minute of sleep.”
The 836-square-foot Center of Excellence pressure-mapping laboratory contains four work stations, each configured for a mattress and pressure-mapping pads that identify and measure uncomfortable pressure points in the body that lead to tossing and turning at night. Additionally, the laboratory is equipped with 20 actigraphy devices that monitor movement and help facilitate the analysis of comfort during the night. It also houses research and data analysis areas as well a comprehensive overview of the Sealy OAB.
“TheCenter of Excellence is a major step in R&D and allows us to connect the quality of a mattress to quality of sleep in a very definitive way,” said Dr. Alan Letton, chief science officer, Sealy. “Our pressure-mapping technique lets us develop a new methodology that quantifies sleep quality, directly linking it to specific sleep surfaces. We will be able to use this proprietary research to further develop and enhance our innovative sleep systems.”
The Center of Excellence was dedicated to Dr. Robert G. and Beverly Addison. In recognition of his contribution to Sealy, Addison is an honorary member of the OAB. Addison drew national attention to the company in the 1950s by recognizing that heavy stress was placed on the lumbar region of the back during sleep. This discovery shifted the company’s product development efforts to create mattresses with back support.
As part of the OAB, Addison and other top orthopedic surgeons, researchers and clinicians from across the country provide perspectives and feedback on the nature of sleep and product development to better meet the evolving needs of consumers. The OAB played a significant role in the development of the Center of Excellence by providing expertise on how uncomfortable pressure points affect the body and sleep quality, and offering feedback on pressure-mapping methodology.
“The Center of Excellence will provide new opportunities to further the industry’s understanding of how uncomfortable pressure points lead to tossing and turning through extensive testing and research,” Rogers said. “It also will strengthen Sealy’s leadership position by allowing us to continue developing the most technologically advanced beds in the industry and providing a forum for Sealy to interact with leading medical researchers.”