Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
September 28,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on September 2008
Art Van Furniture, which operates 30 stores across Michigan, has named retailing veteran Marshall Whaling CEO. Art Van Elslander, the Warren, Mich.-based chain’s founder, is relinquishing CEO duties to Whaling, who gained experience in furniture before working for the Best Buy and Circuit City chains.
“The retail landscape has changed dramatically in the last 10 years as consumer habits and economic conditions have altered,” said Van Elslander. “Introducing Marshall to our team allows us to draw from his extensive experience in creating sound operational practices that promote and foster customer satisfaction. He is a great addition that will further strengthen our solid management team.”
Most recently, Whaling was senior vice president, retail operation at Circuit City, Richmond, Va., where he developed new store and field operations as part of the company’s turnaround initiative. Previously, he spent nine years with Minneapolis-based Best Buy, running operations for 700 stores and supporting the opening of 200 stores. Earlier in his career, Whaling spent 20 years with American of Madison, a 15-store regional retailer of furniture, appliances and consumer electronics in Wisconsin.
Other recent changes to Art Van’s leadership team include the promotion of Director of Operations and Logistics Dan Baran to vice president of information systems, logistics and operations. Also, Director of Customer Relationship Marketing Robert Cudd was promoted to vice president of marketing and e-commerce. Baran and Cudd report to company President Gary Van Elslander.
September 28,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on September 2008
Minneapolis-based Room & Board will open its first store in the Southeast next year when store officials will cut the ribbon of a new location currently being developed in Atlanta for a spring opening.
The three-story, 34,000-square-foot store at 1170 Howell Mill Road Northwest is part of a mixed-used development that includes the reuse of a meatpacking building dating to 1910. The 25-year-old company has stores in Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Orange County, San Francisco and New York.
According to an announcement Monday, Room & Board—which sells through catalogs and the Internet—selected Atlanta after receiving strong demand from customers there, and some Atlanta residents opted to be part of an insider panel that provided feedback on the city’s neighborhoods.
“We’re very excited to expand upon the relationships we’ve already developed with customers in Atlanta by bringing our unique furniture and philosophies to this area,” said John Gabbert, founder and president of Room & Board. “From the day we created our company more than 25 years ago, our vision has endured—unique, well-designed furniture can be affordable and long-lasting. We are proud to create furniture that people will live with and love for a very long time.”
According to Room & Board’s Web site, the company is also planning a new store in Culver City, Calif., that would open in 2010. One of the company’s most unique aspects is that more than 85 percent of its furniture is made in America.
September 28,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on September 2008
• Compared with August results, sales of new homes dropped a disappointing 11.5 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted 460,000, based on a joint report issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Compared with August of last year, new home sales plummeted 34.5 percent.
The Midwest region posted a gain, up 7.2 percent compared with July figures, with Northeast regional sales off a staggering 31.9 percent, the South declining 2.1 percent and the West falling 36.1 percent.
Measured against year-earlier sales, all four regions recorded huge drops. Sales in the Northeast fell 45.8 percent, the Midwest dropped 39.3 percent, the South slipped 24.4 percent, and the West skidded 50 percent.
• The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, an important measure of consumer confidence, increased again in September, up to 70.3 from 63 in August, but substantially below the 83.4 recorded last September and the peak of 96.9 in January 2007.
The Index of Consumer Expectations, a closely watched component of the Index of Leading Economic Indicators that is noted for its ability to foreshadow recessions, was 67.2 in September, up from 57.9 in August, but it remained below the 74.1 recorded last September and the peak of 87.6, also in January 2007.
Nine-in-ten consumers in September thought that the economy was in recession. In the survey conducted the last full week of the September (from Sept. 18 to Sept. 25, accounting for about one-fifth of the sample), 79 percent of all consumers expected bad times in the economy during the year ahead, up from 57 percent earlier in the month. Moreover, during the past week 64 percent expected a rising unemployment rate in the year ahead, up from 45 percent earlier in September.
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.
September 28,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on September 2008
Gorman’s Furniture, a leading home furnishings retailer in Metropolitan Detroit, has launched a redesigned Web site in conjunction with Detroit web design and marketing agency 3Sixty Interactive.
Gorman’s new web presence at www.gormans.com emphasizes individual customization of merchandise to consumers’ home furnishing needs by featuring various “lifestyles” and specialty shops, complete with detailed descriptions and photo galleries of each.
The site also includes an interactive room planner and outlines Gorman’s “Must Be Right” policy, interesting company history and profiles of Gorman’s leadership, company news, and information on all four of Gorman’s Metro Detroit locations. Site visitors can fill out an interactive contact form that will go straight to a representative who will contact them shortly thereafter. The new Web site also features a link to download Gorman’s own magazine, 100 Brands, and more.
September 28,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on September 2008
A Sept. 22 fire at Masons Furniture in Circleville, Ohio, was the result of arson, according to investigators from The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, local police and fire departments, and other agencies.
Special Agent in Charge Christopher P. Sadowski, ATF Columbus Field Division; State Fire Marshal Michael P. Bell; Chief Wayne Gray Circleville Police Department; and Chief Tim Tener, Circleville Fire Department made the announcement today.
“Over the past four days, the team of investigators have taken photographs, recovered potential evidence from the scene for laboratory analysis and conducted over 20 interviews throughout the community. The information developed was reviewed and analyzed to assist in determining the cause of the fire. ATF will continue to provide resources and support to the investigation as this matter moves forward,” said Christopher Sadowski, ATF special agent in charge of the investigation.