May 1,
2008 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on May 2008
New orders for furniture and shipments both were down 7 percent in February compared to the same month last year, according to the monthly survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors by the High Point accounting and consulting firm Smith Leonard.
While orders increased 5 percent over January, they’re down 6 percent through 2008’s first two months.
The percentage of participants reporting a decline in orders increased to 60 percent for the year-to-date, up from 52 percent last month.
Shipments were 8 percent higher than January, but shipments and orders are typically higher in February compared to January. Year-to-date, shipments are now 5 percent lower than the first two months of 2007, when they were also off 5 percent from 2006. Similar to percentages in orders, some 57 percent of the participants reported lower shipments compared to the previous year for the first two months.
Backlogs rose 2 percent from January, but were 7 percent below February 2007.
Receivable levels fell 4 percent from January, even with shipments improving over January. Still, February receivables were only down 2 percent from last year, even with the 7 percent decline in shipments versus last year. But, it does appear that receivables are much more in line than they were last month.
Inventory levels fell again in February, down 3 percent from January and down 6 percent from last February.
“These levels appear to be much more in line with current business conditions, although as we have noted in the past, these numbers can be somewhat misleading due to the volume of direct shipments to retailers where those dollars are usually not in the inventory numbers,” Smith Leonard’s report on the survey read.
The number of factory employees was down 2 percent from January 2008. Compared to February 2007, the number of employees was down 8 percent versus 9 percent last month. Factory employees were down 13 percent in February 2007 compared to February 2006.
Factory payrolls were off 10 percent in February 2008 compared to February 2007. Last month, they were off 9 percent. Year-to-date, factory payrolls were off 9 percent from last year.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, indicated an increase of 0.2 percent from February and an increase of 2 percent over March 2007. Total sales for the first quarter were up 2.9 percent over the first quarter of 2007.
Sales at furniture and home furnishings stores, on an adjusted basis were down 0.3 percent from February and down 7.1 percent from March 2007. For the first quarter, sales at these stores were down 5.9 percent.
“The February results were pretty much expected based on what we had heard during February and early March. We did hear some signs of improvement in March, but the improvement in orders does not appear to have real traction yet,” the report said in summary. “We are not really expecting any significant improvement anytime soon with all the issues in the economy. We keep hoping that we may have hit the bottom, but the economic news is not helping.”
Smith Leonard noted an upbeat mood at last month’s High Point Market and observed that much-needed price increases for furniture were “all over Market.”
May 1,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on May 2008
Serta, Hoffman Estates, Ill., has announced that Tracy Marklein of St. Louis and Sherri Burmester of St. George, Utah, are the winners of the bedding manufacturer’s Counting Sheep for the Cure contest. Last October, Serta had invited all those touched by breast cancer to share their stories for the chance to win a $10,000 bedroom makeover outfitted by celebrity home designer Thom Filicia of Bravo’s “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and Style Network’s “Dress My Nest.”
Marklein and Burmester were selected for their inspirational and uplifting essays on their experiences as breast cancer survivors.
“I wanted to honor these special women by designing a space that would not only be beautiful but would bring them comfort and support,” Filicia said. “This cause is extremely important to me, and I’m glad I can celebrate their fight by designing new bedrooms that reflect their new beginnings.”
Since 2005, Serta has donated nearly $900,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure to support Komen’s efforts to save lives and end breast cancer. By honoring Marklein and Burmester, Serta seeks to bring optimism and hope to all those touched by breast cancer.
“To further our commitment to the cause, we wanted to give people the opportunity to reflect upon the individuals who have risen above breast cancer and have been sources of inspiration to all,” said Kelly Rampson, Serta’s director of marketing. “We look forward to giving the gift of comfort to these two very deserving women.”
In addition to the winners receiving a newly designed bedroom, Serta will pledge $5,000 in each winner’s name to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Serta also will deliver to each winner the Serta mattress of their choice.
Winning essays and additional information on Serta’s partnership with Komen are available
here for viewing.
April 30,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on May 2008
One of the furniture industry’s most widely listened-to “private” conversations took place last December when Thomasville Furniture Inds. eliminated its sales force in the course of a single conference call.
Someone made a recording of the call in MP3 format, which eventually reached the e-mail in-boxes of an unknown number of recipients.
Thomasville, which had long been moving toward dedicated retail distribution, isn’t alone in reducing its reliance on sales representatives. La-Z-Boy, for example, consolidated its sales force in January, trimming around 30 positions, or 20 percent of its representatives.
That sort of news is chilling for the thousands who make their living representing furniture lines to retailers, but those reps—and a lot of the retailers they serve—say there’s still a place for sales professionals who make themselves true business partners of the furniture stores they call upon.
The job of a furniture sales representative, especially when done well, has never been easy, but major vendors exploring their own retail models and today’s far-flung sourcing structures have made it harder than ever. The reps who will thrive are the ones who walk into a furniture store armed with more than an order pad.
“Retailers want their reps to add value to the transaction, and if you’re a rep that doesn’t add value, your situation is not in great standing,” said Jim Craven, president of the International Home Furnishings Representatives Association. “You have to make sure the talents you bring to the table are a value for the retailer.”
THE VALUE EQUATIONEffective training, problem solving and accessibility are ways to ensure sales reps’ value to retailers, said Craven, who represents Fairfield Chair and Cresent Fine Furniture in Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. Based in Nashville, Tenn., he’s been a rep since 1989.
While reps for manufacturers heading toward vertical integration are in danger, independent retailers and vendors can find an overlooked resource in salespeople who are in the field all day every day. He says reps are a great “ear to the ground.”
“It’s extremely important to follow trends in a territory, and understand the area,” he said.
“I think the rep is still important in a situation like that—as long as you’re dealing with independent furniture stores, major department stores, or big boxes. The factory itself doesn’t know what’s going on per se in any city or territory. Reps can adapt to conditions in their territories because they know what’s going on.”
The growth of imports has created challenges for reps they didn’t face 10 or 15 years ago, said Ed Myers, first vice president of IHFRA. He’s been a rep for eight years and sells Broyhill bedroom and dining furniture to accounts in the Philadelphia, Pa., market; and is chairman of the Tri-State Home Furnishings Association, a coalition of representatives, retailers and distributors in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He brings a retail background to the job, having worked around 20 years with Drexel Hill Furniture.
“Today you’re more of a full-service individual, not just selling, but helping with customer service and in-home factory issues. We’re also working more with retailers on advertising, especially factory specials that are available,” he said. “We’ve become inventory control managers, especially when it comes to handling the flow of goods coming in from China. You need access to rates of sale and in-stock quantities so you can get a run rate.”
REP, SOURCING AGENT OR BOTH?What are the good reps doing and how do they add value to retailers? The answer to both questions is the same, said Lee Goodman, president and CEO of the San Diego-based store chain Jerome’s Furniture.
“In order for reps to create value, they have to be much more involved in what’s going on at the factory in terms of quality and sometimes even product development,” he said. “The definition for a good sales rep these days is the same as for a good sourcing agent not too long ago. Retailers need to get a lot closer to the factory than before, and the rep can be their point of contact.”
That’s made the job of a sales rep even more difficult than before, he added.
“They might have to get on a plane to China to stay close to the factory and product developments,” Goodman said. “The reps that aren’t doing that are fading, and the ones who do are capable of performing the work of 10 reps.”
The sales companies that have developed successful relationships with and knowledge of oversees plants, in addition to helping their customers know what’s working in terms of product in other stores, where and why, make themselves vital sources of information useful to furniture retailers.
“The good reps became phenomenal resources,” Goodman said. “They reduce my need to stay on top of the factories.”
Dorian Stacy Sims, president of Stacy Furniture & Accessories in Grapevine, Texas, is another retailer who says the move toward off-shore sourcing has increased the importance of reps building true business partnerships with their customers.
“We’ve always liked to think in terms of partnerships, and that’s true now more than ever,” she said. “The climate is so intense with keeping containers, and the rep has to be your voice (with the factory) making sure your goods are flowing.”
Sims knows of several reps serving her operation that have taken the time and expense to go to China to see first hand what’s happening in the source factories providing the product they sell.
“It provides them with so much more information on what’s actually going on there,” she said. “The reps that get over there and get on the floor, see the product go in a can are seeing the process firsthand and the dynamics of how it’s working.”
Reps who get close to the factory are better able to sell features vendors look to offshore sourcing for such as hand-carving, she noted.
“It becomes real for them,” Sims said. “Until they see the eight or nine people actually crafting that piece, they don’t get the full picture.”
The partnership expectation on retailers’ part also demands more commitment to in-store visits from the rep.
“In a way the ‘squeaky wheel’ gets the sale, and if a rep’s in my store at least bi-weekly, they’re more likely to get sales,” on Stacy’s floor, Sims said. “They’ll get more respect from our sales and warehouse people—a lot of my people count on the reps more than they do me sometimes.”
That partnership cuts both ways, Sims said, noting that reps who do make the extra effort to flow product, help resolve delivery problems and are accessible for answering sales staff’s questions are the ones whose products are more likely to get pushed on the showroom floor.
“Reps who think they can write a big order and come in every six weeks don’t work with us too well,” she said.
The sales rep is a lot more valuable to a vendor’s performance on the floor than some seem to think, said Bob Brewer, merchandising design manager for Mobley Fine Furniture Outlet in Perry, Ga. He is just fine with steering customers toward vendors whose rep has a strong track record of service at his store.
“If I like a certain company, I push it,” he said. “If I’m decorating a $4 million house, I know that some reps go above and beyond, and I’m going to utilize those reps’ (lines). So many of my clients ask, ‘Which company do you want to use?’ There are some vendors where if there’s a problem I know it will be taken care of.”
EDUCATION: REPS AND RETAILERS Paula Shoemaker is an independent sales representative in Ohio whose lines include A.R.T. Furniture, Cooper Classics, Philip Reinisch and Pioneer Furniture. She has 25 years experience in the field and has seen a lot of change in the rep’s function.
Over the past 10 years, the biggest difference in her job has occurred through, yes, imports, which have impacted the way reps do business almost as much as it has the business model for many vendors.
“The whole industry changed so quickly, and as reps we’ve had to learn more about container sales and dealing with goods from plants we’ve never seen,” she said. “You might meet one of a plant’s principals, but you don’t know the people the way you did” at a domestic plant.
That’s called for a broader approach to the job on sales reps’ part.
“You have to look at the avenues of distribution,” she said. “Are there other retail outlets that can sell furniture in categories like accessories and accents? If there are, you have to develop that yourself.”
Overseas sourcing also makes self-education a key for sales reps who want to make sure they’re increasing their value to retailers, and she’s taken the time to learn about the logistics game.
“I’ve had to learn about the whole process of shipping containers and order scheduling” for Asian imports, Shoemaker said. “Independent retailers, in particular, look to us for that kind of information. Many of them don’t go to market or not as frequently as before, so we have to condense a lot of information and bring it back to the retailer at their store.”
Reps can be a valuable educational resource beyond training retail staff on their own product line, Shoemaker believes.
“Sometimes it’s a love-hate relationship with the retailer—we need each other, but we don’t always want to need each other, ” she said. “Reps need to step up with useful input. There’s a lot of information reps have that would be useful for retailers in running their business.”
Sales education in particular, is a way Shoemaker and other reps believe they can help their accounts.
“We can help salespeople in the general area of selling, not just selling our lines,” she said. “As reps, we do a lot of product training, but we also know a lot about the sales process in general. We can be helpful in other ways that benefit our own product and the store, and retailers can bring us into that process.”
Reps also can serve as a retailer’s eyes and ears on what’s working in other markets the rep serves.
“Retailers want to hear a little bit of everything—advertising that’s been particularly successful, margins, where people are making money, what products are selling where, new categories,” Shoemaker said. “They want to pick your brain to make sure they aren’t missing out on something.”
That’s one reason relationships remain so important—reps and retailers at times view the other with suspicion.
“Sometimes giving information out to competitors does go on,” Shoemaker said, but that a confident retailer/rep relationship can help overcome hesitancy to share information: “Our whole industry is searching for something that makes us more appealing to the consumer.”
As a rep, Myers believes his retail background makes building those relationships easier—he’s been in his customers’ shoes.
“You have to get beyond the buyer and the owner and interact with the salespeople—we’re both on commission, and I find that winning over their confidence is extremely important,” he said. “I believe customers are impulse buyers these days, so the salespeople need to be confident that I’ll give an accurate answer to shoppers’ questions in a timely fashion. “You understand what it’s like to be inches away from a sale and you need to contact a rep for an answer. The deflation of the furniture industry is hurting retailers more than anyone else in the business. You can’t just sell them a product—you have to help them sell it at a profit.”
April 30,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on May 2008
The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse in Sumner, Wash., is, without a doubt, the sweetest-smelling furniture store in the world.
The wonderful aroma comes courtesy of the Fudge Factory that occupies a prominent spot inside the 80,000-square-foot store and tempts furniture shoppers with freshly made samples and to-go packages of signature flavors like espresso and coconut cream.
The Fudge Factory is just one entertaining aspect of a furniture store that has special appeal for kids of all ages: The Old Cannery Railroad’s four model trains crisscross across the store over shopper’s heads on more than a quarter-mile of tracks. The rails snake through several rooms in the building that once housed a fruit cannery and now showcases furniture on plank floors that have become just a bit uneven in spots over more than a 100 years of use.
Twenty-five-foot ceilings provide ample space for offbeat displays like a decades-old ultralight airplane, an enormous moose’s head, and a constantly changing mix of seasonal décor. It’s like an old-timey general store that just happens to specialize in furniture. The in-store displays are especially elaborate for Christmas—when the store’s center is cleared so a Santa Land can be erected for the hundreds of families who line up each day for free photos with Santa Claus.
THE BUILDING’S UNIQUENESS ALL STEMS from the vision and the labor of its founders. The late Tony Grout began the business in 1953 at home with his wife, Mabeth, by building furniture by hand. The Grouts bought the vast Cannery complex in 1985 and began advertising “10 Acres Of Furniture” (since the warehouse and other buildings totaled 500,000 square feet). Over the next 25 years, Tony Grout was constantly at work, using brickwork to create arched entrances, hand-peeling logs to build log cabin vignettes inside the store and adding other hand-made touches to every corner of the building. He died in 2001, and his daughter, Sherry, continues to run the store as general manager. Mabeth Grout loves to visit, especially during special events.
With all of the store’s unique features—and we may have forgotten to mention the larger-than-life Elvis statue—The Old Cannery’s central mission has always been furniture. The selection of sharply priced goods includes well-known brand names such as Lane, Broyhill, Pulaski and Klaussner. The furniture is showcased with a Northwest-themed backdrop that features counters made of naturally hewn wood that blends naturally with case goods it sells in natural, light finishes. In keeping with its location in beautifully wooded surroundings on the outskirts of Tacoma, much of the upholstery reflects nature’s palette with lots of greens, earth tones and leather.
Vice President David Radcliffe said the store’s buyers have created a distinctive Old Cannery look he describes as a blend of Western, Southwestern and Lodge styles with a heavy emphasis on wood pieces that display natural grains and textures. That love of natural materials is carried through in a hefty front counter that Tony Grout milled from a 75-foot maple tree after rescuing it from a development project. Nearby, the Fudge Factory was crafted from another tree that was brought down by a storm.
While the store advertises on radio and television, Buyer Pam Leonard said the advertising is “minimal” in comparison to some major chains. “The customer coming here knows mainly by word of mouth that we have great values, but they’re really here for the experience. It’s a fun outing,” Leonard said.
DEBBIE GURSLEY, ALSO A BUYER, SAID it’s such a unique store that it’s often a first stop when local residents are showing out-of-town guests around the area.
Radcliffe said it was always Tony Grout’s philosophy that “You can buy furniture almost everywhere, but if you make (shopping) a fun experience, the rest of it just happens,” and he said Sherry Grout has embraced and expanded on that approach in recent years.
The Old Cannery’s history stretches back to 1953 when Tony and Mabeth started an upholstery business in their home on Enchanted Island. It was a bare-bones operation that began with Tony Grout cutting the timber and milling the logs to build sofa frames. He also hand-tied the springs while Mabeth did most of the sewing. The couple worked out of their home until it was so stuffed with furniture they moved to a warehouse in Tacoma. It was a difficult location to find, but the Grouts continued to grow the business through word of mouth and low-cost advertising that included handbills and familiar trucks emblazoned with “Sale Today” signs.
By 1979, Sherry Grout had become so involved in the business that her parents were able to take their first vacation in 26 years—to Hawaii. In 1985, the business took on the name, The Old Cannery, with its move to a turn-of-the-century brick building that was affordable since it was a bit run down at first and was a long drive out in the country—with Tacoma about 15 minutes away and Seattle is at least 40 minutes to the north. Tony Grout, who quickly spruced the property up, sometimes recounted stories of visiting the building decades earlier. That initial visit came when his family was picking peaches in the area and stopped at what became his Old Cannery to have some of the fruit preserved for later in the season.
With its out-of-the-way location, events have always been a huge part of The Old Cannery, which celebrates holidays like the Fourth of July with weekend-long celebrations that hold as much appeal for children as the fudge shop and trains inside the store. As part of an annual tradition, during three-day events on the Memorial Day, July Fourth and Labor Day weekends, reps that serve the store will cook and serve 10,000 free hot dogs during each holiday. Radcliffe said the crowds clog the store’s wide aisles throughout the sales. In a large tent that’s erected in the parking lot, special deals capture the most attention. “It gets fast and feverish to the point that a guy will sit on a sofa while his wife gets a salesperson, because that’s the only way to keep that item from being sold to someone else,” he said.
HOWEVER, THE BIGGEST EVENT ON THE OLD CANNERY calendar is the holiday season. Santa Claus appear every weekend after Thanksgiving to pose with children for photos that are given free to families. As a result, it’s become an annual tradition for many people to drive out from the Seattle for a visit to The Old Cannery. On average, Santa poses with more than 300 families a day, and the store has made a science of speeding up the photography process with digital printers. Despite all the speedy technology, many people wait 45 minutes to an hour for their turn with St. Nicholas.
The biggest crowds, though, come for the “Bridge Lighting,” which has become one of the area’s biggest happenings of the year on the day after Thanksgiving. For years, the town leaders had discussed decorating its main road for the holidays and holding a Winter parade, but the idea didn’t really gain momentum until Sherry Grout decided on her own that a festive first step would be to decorate a steel girder bridge near the store with holiday lights. After pledging tens of thousands of dollars to the project, she won the necessary permissions and the day after Thanksgiving in 1998, a small crowd gathered as she flipped the switch to illuminate thousands of holiday lights on the bridge. Since then, the bridge lighting has announced the start of the holidays for the town. Last year, more than 3,000 people looked on as a band played and fireworks exploded over the bridge for the first time as a prelude to the bridge illumination. With all the attention local media focused on all the hoopla last November, Radcliffe said he expects a much larger crowd this November.
April 30,
2008 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on May 2008
Howard Miller landed a recognizable, popular face—and a license that makes sense—when it teamed up with Ty Pennington, host and designer for ABC television’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” With an engaging personality that pairs enthusiasm with a keen eye for making a house a home that reflects the needs and interests of its residents, he brings a wealth of experience and ideas to Howard Miller Home Storage Solutions by Ty Pennington.
The collection debuted at last month’s High Point Market and showcased a range of creative ideas for organizing a home. Retailers were excited, forming a line to get their picture taken with Pennington.
Pennington first gained a national audience as the carpenter on “Trading Spaces”, which followed the course of home renovation and redesigns, topped with classic “reveal” shots as the homeowners explored their refurbished abode. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” remodels and builds homes for families in need. The show is a consistent Top 20 program, according to ABC’s Web site, and has won two Emmys and two People’s Choice awards.
Pennington took a few minutes to talk with
Home Furnishings Business about his venture with Howard Miller, which regularly supplies clocks to the television show.
When did you start thinking about working on a line of furniture?
Years ago—I’ve been designing and building furniture since way before I got on television. I’d always had an interest, but I put that on hold for a while.
When I began thinking about this line, I wanted to make sure to work with the right partner, and that took some time.
I got to know Howard Miller through the show, and I saw the quality of their clocks.
I am passionate about furniture—the design, the function, and giving it personality. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing.
What are some typical home storage problems you see through your work on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (SK)?
That is the reason I developed this line in the first place. The one thing you see a lot of on those projects is clutter. Right now families are living in such a hurry. You have kids, both parents are working, and there’s so much involved in day-to-day living that families are just putting everything everywhere.
Rooms themselves have different functions—you might use a dining room for an office—and the furniture in those rooms should have multiple functions as well. That’s the great thing about this furniture, and that gives it personality—you open it up, and there’s your dog’s leash, your kids’ stuff. It’s your life, but it’s an organized life.
It’s also about creating your own style and that’s why we have options for customizing.
There’s a lot of attention paid to the female consumer in this line.
That’s also a reason for customization. Most of the people who actually buy the furniture for a home are female—they’re the ones who make the nest, and they want to be able to express themselves.
Women know how to make a piece feel like their home. The customization options are there because it has to feel like you.
Where do you see your furniture line going in the next couple of years?
I want to make sure this furniture will fit in the home now, but technology develops so fast you have to ask will it work down the road, so we’re keeping an eye what’s happening (with electronics).
We’ll branch out and do other furniture (categories), fabrics and upholstery—anything that has to do with the home, with building the nest.
We’ll be doing pub and game tables (in the next collection). People are spending more and more time at home, especially when it comes to entertaining.