Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
July 22,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on July 2007
Full-line vendor Lexington Home Brands, Thomasville, N.C., has reorganized and expanded its global sourcing team with four new appointments.
Jeff Hunt has been named general manager of operations in Asia, based in Dongguan, China, and reporting to Bob Sitler, senior vice president of operations. Hunt is now responsible for managing all aspects of Lexington Home Brands business in Asia, including vendor relations, supply chain management, quality assurance and upholstery operations. Most recently, he was manager of business operations for Asia, and prior to that he was director of international sourcing in Indonesia.
“We are pleased to have someone of Jeff’s caliber to manage and lead our efforts in Asia,” Sitler said. “He understands what it takes to be successful in sourcing and supply chain management, and has the experience to lead the organization in Asia as we continue to grow offshore initiatives.”
Mike Koonts has been named finishing manager for Asia, reporting to Jeff Hunt. Koonts previously was project manager for finishing in Indonesia, and is now responsible for the management and coordination of all aspects of finishing in partnership with key suppliers and vendors in Asia. He is based in both Indonesia and China.
“Mike has extensive hands-on experience and knowledge in finishing, which will support and facilitate a level of differentiation in our products,” Sitler says.
Lexington also expanded its upholstery team in Asia with the appointment of Julia Huang to upholstery coordinator, reporting to Jeff Hunt. Based in Hangzhou, China, Huang most recently was product development manager for American Signature. She is now responsible for the coordination of all upholstery projects in China as well as quality control inspections of upholstered frames and fabrics.
Finally, Jerry Sipes has been named product development coordinator, working with Lexington’s upholstery plant in Hildebran, N.C., and the Asia sourcing team. He reports to Kevin Holshouser, upholstery operations manager. Sipes was most recently senior import upholstery product technician for Thomasville Furniture, where he worked for 11 years.
Lexington Home Brands is an affiliate of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sun Capital Partners Inc.
July 19,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on July 2007
Felipe Orozco has joined Hamilton Spill Furniture Group as vice president of sales, Western United States.
Orozco has extensive knowledge of the Western region and strong relationships with major retailers. Residing in Scottsdale, Ariz., Orozco reports to Rick Verjee, president.
He’s been in the furniture industry for more than 10 years.
July 19,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on July 2007
Carson Pirie Scott will host the retail debut of the Better Homes and Gardens furniture collection from Universal Furniture at its store in Green Bay, Wis., on July 28.
Drawing significantly from the expertise of editors at Better Homes and Gardens magazine, who took cues from their nearly 40 million monthly readers, the collection provides a large array of classic, multi-functional and affordable furniture designed to meet the lifestyle needs of the Better Homes and Gardens woman.
“Demand for the collection has been overwhelming,” said Randy Chrisley, president and CEO of Universal Furniture, High Point. “Better Homes and Gardens delivers trust, appeal and quality--three powerful ingredients that resonate with retailers and consumers alike.”
Chrisley said the collection is one of the largest roll-outs in furniture industry history, with hundreds of retail locations slated to feature Better Homes and Gardens in coming months.
The Carson Pirie Scott retail debut will include a live radio remote and book-signing with Editor-in-Chief of Better Homes and Gardens, Gayle Goodson Butler, as well as a Better Homes and Gardens “Test Kitchen Taster” sweepstakes.
The event also will feature an interactive “Mix It Up” presentation from Beverly Rivers, founding editor of the Better Homes and Gardens Creative Collection of 40 newsstand magazines. The presentation will show consumers how to use pieces from the new collection to put together an eclectic room.
The Green Bay opening is one of many planned dealer events across the country featuring Better Homes and Gardens editors, which will provide consumers with expert design advice to incorporate the versatile collection into their homes.
July 19,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on July 2007
Icovia, a provider of online design and space planning tools, has taken a permanent showroom at the Las Vegas market, which starts July 30.
The Londonderry, N.H.-based company will show in space 536 of the World Market Center’s Building A.
“It’s unusual for a software company such as ours to secure permanent booth space at a market” versus showing in a resource center for retail services, said Steve Street, founder and CEO of Icovia. “It’s important for us to be out there where the traffic is, since we sell to manufacturers, retailers and designers. It’s a significant investment, and a sign of our commitment to the industry.”
In Las Vegas, Icovia will launch a special version of its Icovia Business Edition for rug manufacturers and retailers. Company C will be the first rug manufacturer to implement the space planning tool on their Web site, and this site will go live when the show opens.
Icovia’s customers are in a number of industries such as home furnishings, real estate, Internet retailing, consumer electronics and interior design. Clients include La-Z-Boy, Kohler, Nautilus, Re/Max Capital, Halstead Properties, Real Estate One and Samsung.
July 19,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on July 2007
Tempur-Pedic International, Lexington, Ky., reported an 18 percent increase in net sales and a 30 percent increase in earnings Thursday. With those strong results, the mattress maker boosted its full-year forecast—saying sales will be 13 percent to 15 percent higher than in 2006.
According to a statement Thursday, the manufacturer of mattresses and pillows saw second-quarter sales rise to $257.6 million. Earnings per share increased to 39 cents from 30 cents during the same period of 2006.
President and CEO Thomas Bryant said, “Our sales and marketing teams continue to deliver outstanding results. Account productivity is improving and distribution of our products is expanding quickly. Our new mattress models began shipping during the second quarter and continue to roll out across our retail partner base. Importantly, our existing product line also gained additional floor space within our established accounts.”
He said price increases that were put in place in the first quarter have improved margins for the company and retailers.
Tempur-Pedic boosted its outlook for the year. It now expects net sales to rise to $1.065 billion to $1.085 billion. Officials had previously said full-year sales could reach $1.040 billion to $1.070 billion. At the new, higher level, sales would be 13 percent to 15 percent higher than in 2006.