Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
July 23,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on July 2007
Following are some updates, activities and promotions for this month’s Las Vegas Market, which starts Monday.
Powell Co. to Give Away Laptops
The Culver City, Calif., importer will award free laptop computers for qualified orders in its newly expanded showroom, space 753 in World Market Center’s Building A, which has added 4,000 square feet, bringing the total to 17,000.
The laptop giveway promotes Powell Retailers Online, a Web-based tool that allows Powell’s customers to access the full line of catalogs with product photos, pricing and availability; order capabilities and status; specials and closeout information; and customized retail price lists.
With a $5,000 order at market, buyers will take home a complimentary laptop and custom embroidered carrying case. The portable computer features an 80 GB hard drive, 15-inch wide screen monitor, Windows Vista software and wireless connection. A notebook-style PC, it boasts the highest rating for dependability, according to one popular consumer publication.
Customers should see their sales representatives for promotion details.
Hispanic Marketing Expert Georges Joins Seminar Series
Chrysanthe Georges, founder of the Georges Marketing Group, a consulting firm that specializes in direct response and marketing to U.S. Hispanics, has joined the Academy seminar series line-up at the Las Vegas Market.
The Western Home Furnishings Association and the National Home Furnishings Association are sponsoring the educational events, which feature daily speakers during market in the Retailer Resource Center, 10-11:30 a.m., who focus on specific consumer habits.
Georges will speak on Cultural Insights into the Hispanic Consumer in the RRC on Friday, Aug. 3. This seminar comes as a last-minute replacement for the previously scheduled seminar, The Consumer Power Paradigm.
The WHFA is offering an additional 23 seminars during the July Market in Las Vegas at its state-of-the art facilities in the RRC, Building B, 16th Floor. The free seminars cover a variety of topics, including how to market when the customer is in control, becoming a great coach for your sales team and the inside secrets of charismatic retailers.
Bush “Christmas in July” Promotion Ties into Flat-Panel TV Sales Forecasts
With the consumer electronics industry predicting record-breaking sales of flat-panel televisions from Christmas this year through the Super Bowl, ready-to-assembler furniture maker Bush Inds., Jamestown, N.Y., is casting its Las Vegas market showroom as “Christmas in July.”
The theme, features live Santa, decorations, and Christmas party, and is designed to focus on the predicted flat-panel boom during the upcoming Christmas and Super Bowl season. Bush said that since more than 70 percent of consumers buy furniture for their new televisions, the period from around the first of November through the end of January should be a huge opportunity for home furnishings retailers as well
Bush is planning major product introductions for the 2007 season at this month’s Las Vegas show.
The Bush showroom is located in space 610 of Building A in the World Market Center. On July 31, Bush will host a gala Christmas Party featuring gourmet hors d-oeuvres, “Christmas” desserts, open bar, and a special “Christmas-tini” (spicy cinnamon martini), to celebrate the upcoming season. The party is open to all retail buyers, 4-7 p.m.
July 22,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on July 2007
The Home Furnishings International Association is changing its name and logo to better reflect the organization’s focus as the choice for independent home furnishings professional.
The organization will now be known as the Home Furnishings Independents Association.
“The new name really says who we are,” said Julian Doerr Mutter, HFIA board chairman. “When we use the term ‘independent,’ we’re talking about the decisionmaker, the business owner, the action-taker and the difference-maker. The independents in our industry will find our services expressly designed to serve the needs of their businesses. And when they partner with the new HFIA, they will be offered an opportunity to directly influence not only the association but the industry, too.”
Steve Kidder, an association board member, said he believes the word independent better explains the organization to store owners and managers.
“In the past, when our marketing materials arrived on the desk of a retailer in a small town in America, he might have wondered about joining an international organization,” Kidder said.
HFIA has also undergone a transformation in its look. The logo has been redesigned to feature bold colors, clean lines, and a fresh contemporary look. The redesigned logo has already appeared in a series of new ads designed to promote HFIA as a support resource.
“We needed to refocus and be sure our image matched the services we are providing,” said Doerr Mutter. “The new name and the new logo are more in keeping with what our members have come to expect from our association. The reinvention, if you will, further emphasizes the commitment HFIA offers members. HFIA is a stable, reliable organization, yes, but one with a fresh, inventive, and original vision for the future success of its members.”
The organization was founded in 1923 as a Texas state organization, serving the needs of owners of independent, family owned retail furniture stores. While national in scope now, the association continues to focus on the needs of independent business owners and the vendors and representatives who sell to them.
July 22,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Casual Furniture on July 2007
The Summer and Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association announced official dates for its 2008 and 2009 International Casual Furniture and Accessories markets in Chicago.
The 2008 event at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart will be Monday, Sept. 15, through Thursday, Sept. 18. The 2009 event will be Monday, Sept. 21, through Thursday, Sept. 24.
Dates for future PreMarkets will be announced following the 2007 International Casual Furniture and Accessories Market, which is set for Sept. 17-21 at the Merchandise Mart.
July 22,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Casual Furniture on July 2007
Lightning from a massive thunderstorm set a building ablaze at a Tropitone Furniture factory complex in Bradenton, Fla., but company officials said the factory will resume normal production today, according to published reports.
Tropitone Vice President Steve Swartz told the Bradenton Herald newspaper that fire erupted in an empty annex building at about 4 p.m. Saturday during a thunderstorm that dropped four inches of rain on the area. Security camera video showed a lightning strike likely ignited the fire in a 20,000-square-foot building, Swartz told the newspaper.
A report in the Herald Tribune of Sarasota said the fire caused more than $1 million in damage to the annex building that stands about 100 feet behind the factory. About 20 employees who work in the annex will be shifted to the main facility until the fire damage is repaired. The factory employees more than 200 people.
July 22,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Display on July 2007
Harden Furniture, McConnellsville, N.Y., has signed up Johnson Interiors & More of Oceanside, Calif., for the 40th installation of Harden Home Studio, the full-line high-end vendor’s retail merchandising program.
Harden Home Studio debuted at the April 2006 High Point Market after a successful five-month test run with three Harden customers, including Gallahan’s Furniture of Fredericksburg, Va.; The Woods at Colts Neck, N.J.; and Interiors in Lancaster, Pa. Twenty-five dealers were targeted for 2006 installations at the time of the launch, with an additional 25 anticipated for 2007.
According to the company, Harden Home Studio has increased sales of Harden’s furnishings by an average of 33 percent in stores compared with the year prior to the installation. The concept, which clearly presents consumers with a multitude of finish, hardware, cushion, fabric and other options, is based on research conducted by Al Wight of Strategic Decisions Inc., and was designed by retail expert Martin Roberts of GRID2.
“Harden came up with an idea to differentiate themselves from the imported products that have no options,” said Rex Maynard, president and owner, Maynard’s Home Furnishings in Belton, S.C., and one of Harden Home Studio’s top retail performers. “The customer gets the message that they can build what they want.”
The five top-performing Harden Home Studio dealers to date are: Pasadena Furniture, Pasadena, Md.; Kensington Furniture, Kensington, Conn.; Maynards, Belton, S.C.; Great Lakes, Holland, Mich.; and Parker Furniture, Beaverton, Or.
Johnson Interiors & More plans a late summer installation of the Harden retail merchandising program.