Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
June 16,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2008
Ashley Furniture HomeStores has selected online marketing agency WebsiteBiz, Charlotte, N.C., to provide a geographically targeted search engine marketing campaign to grow in-store sales at licensed stores in Charlotte, N.C. and Greenville, S.C., according to the Web site Carolina Newswire.
“We are excited to partner with Ashley Furniture to drive more customers into their stores by leveraging online promotions,” says Eric Dudley, president of WebsiteBiz. “We will track online-to-offline conversion results and optimize the campaign to achieve maximum return on their investment.”
WebsiteBiz was launched in 1997. Services include developing results-driven Internet strategies, search engine optimization, paid search marketing, online media buying, permission-based e-mail marketing, social media marketing, Web effectiveness and Web analytics.
June 16,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on June 2008
The American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) Furniture Foundation has awarded more than $64,000 in grants for 2009 projects to benefit the furniture industry.
Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., received $24,000 to fund eight $3,000 scholarships. The scholarships will go to participants in a five-year program that combines curriculum from the Department of Technology’s Furniture Industry Studies and the Walker College of Business. In addition to an undergraduate degree in furniture manufacturing, students earn a marketing or management degree.
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C., received $20,000 for the purchase two SolidWorks three-dimensional mechanical computer-aided-design software packages.
Finally, a $20,150 grant was awarded to the American Furniture Hall of Fame to preserve previously recorded and transcribed oral interviews from industry leaders. The interviews presently are recorded on fragile, aging cassette tapes. The grant allows the Hall of Fame to convert these to digital recordings.
The AHFA Furniture Foundation was established in 1948 to support research and educational programs aimed at improving management, manufacturing and marketing within the residential furniture industry. Since 1990, the Foundation has distributed more than $3 million in scholarships and grants.
Individuals or companies wishing to donate to the Furniture Foundation should contact Andy Counts at (336) 884-5000, ext. 115; or by e-mail to acounts@ahfa.us
June 16,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2008
La-Z-Boy announced late Monday that sales for its fourth quarter declined 9.8 percent to $368 million, resulting in a $4.5 million loss. In the same period of last year, the company had income of $8.4 million.
For the year, La-Z-Boy’s sales totaled $1.5 billion, which was down 10.5 percent, and the company had a loss of $7.5 million compared to income of $19.8 million a year earlier.
President and CEO Kurt Darrow said, “In an operating environment that continues to be marked by challenges, fiscal 2008 was a transitional year for La-Z-Boy. We continued our momentum in making significant changes to our business model, including rationalizing our portfolio of operating companies, transitioning our La-Z-Boy branded manufacturing facilities to cellular production, closing several upholstery facilities, launching a new comprehensive marketing campaign, consolidating our retail warehouses and IT systems and strengthening our balance sheet by reducing our debt by 31 percent. We made tough decisions during tough times, and are confident our business model has the strength and stability for us to remain an industry leader going forward.”
Darrow said it will be some time before the home furnishings economy improves, and the company expects the second half of its May-to-April fiscal year to be stronger than the first half. For the full fiscal year, the company anticipates a 3 percent to 7 percent decrease in sales, with earnings per share in the range of 15 cents to 25 cents—not including restructuring charges or similar elements.
In the quarter, the loss of 9 cents per share included a restructuring charge of 4 cents per share related to the pending closing of its upholstery facility in Tremonton, Utah, and a share charge of 7 cents related to with a make-whole provision on private placements the company refinanced in February.
For the year, the loss of 15 cents per share included a gain of 9 cents related to anti-dumping duties payments the company received. There was also a charge of 10 cents related to the closing of factories and retail outlets, as well as a 10 cent charge for a write-down of goodwill.
The company’s retail sales in its 70 stores were down 10.2 percent in the quarter and produced an operating loss. Approximately 6.5 percent of the 10.2 percent loss resulted from the company’s exit from the Pittsburgh market. Darrow said consolidations in warehouse and IT systems eliminated redundant costs.
“While we cannot control the impact the economy is having on the home furnishings market, we are working to improve our close ratio and average ticket with every customer,” Darrow said, adding that the company is examining costs while experimenting with merchanting techniques in several stores to drive sales.
June 16,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2008
Aaron Rents, which operates 1,565 stores, including franchises, announced Monday that Robert “Robin” Loudermilk Jr. has been elected president and CEO, succeeding founder R. Charles Loudermilk Sr., who remains chairman of the company. Loudermilk Jr. was previously president and chief operating officer.
Loudermilk Jr., 49, joined Aaron Rents in 1985 as assistant store manager and has served in various leadership positions through the years. He has been a director of the company since 1983 and COO since 1987.
“I am very pleased that Robin is ready to take over my responsibilities as CEO,” said Loudermilk Sr. “His long tenure in various positions with Aaron Rents has prepared him well to lead the organization in the upcoming years.”
Loudermilk Sr. said he will remain active in assisting his son in setting strategy and in other areas as needed.
June 15,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on June 2008
After Furniture Brands International (FBI) announced Monday that its logistics chief had left the company after a little over a year, boot maker Wolverine released news that it had hired Mike McBreen as president of its global operations group.
McBreen, 43, will be responsible for all supply chain operations, including sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and logistics for the Rockford, Mich.-based company. The move represents a return to the footwear industry for McBreen, who was Nike’s director of global apparel operations for three years before joining Furniture Brands in March 2007.