Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
June 10,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on June 2007
The McNeill Communications Group, High Point, has promoted Cheryl D. Nocera from manager to director of creative services. The agency’s clients include companies in the home furnishings, telecommunications, education and non-profit organizations.
In this new position, Nocera will provide creative direction for branding, graphic design and marketing collaterals, including brochures, advertising, and Web sites, and will schedule and buy media. She also will oversee event planning.
“Cheryl is tremendously creative with a strategic focus on accomplishing our client’s goals,” said Karen McNeill-Harris, president of McNeill Communications Group. “Ever detail-oriented, she brings tremendous organizational skills and will be empowered to carry our creative services to new levels.”
Nocera has held several marketing and media management positions in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad region, and was owner of Creative Creations, a marketing and graphic design agency providing creative consultation, media planning and buying, event planning and promotional services.
June 7,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on June 2007
The High Point Market Authority is kicking off pre-registration for the Fall Market with a “Golden Ticket” promotion that will award free hotel stays to 10 winning retailers.
Brian Casey, Market Authority president and CEO, said the contest is tied to a new ad campaign with the theme, “The Premier Market For World Premieres.”
“Each advertisement in the series is marked by a blue admission ticket bearing the number 10.01.07—Fall Market’s official opening date—and a larger version of the blue admission ticket appears in a direct mail piece currently on its way to thousands of retailers and designers across the country,” Casey said Thursday. “But take note: Hidden somewhere inside the thousands of envelopes are ten gold tickets and each gold ticket entitles the recipient to five free nights at the Sheraton Greensboro Four Seasons during Market week.”
High Point’s Fall Market is scheduled for Oct. 1 to Oct. 7.
June 7,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2007
According to published reports, Warburg Pincus, a New York-based private equity firm, is in talks to acquire a major share of Shanghai-based Red Star Furniture Group, which operates 33 stores on China’s affluent east coast.
Reuters, citing anonymous sources involved in the discussions, reported Thursday that Red Star is thriving as China’s growing ranks of home owners spend heavily to decorate new apartments. Warburg Pincus has also expressed interest in purchasing a share of China’s Wanfujing Department Store chain.
The China Securities Journal reported that Warburg Pincus would buy a 20 percent share of the furniture retailer for about $196 million. Last year, the equity firm invested $125 million in Gome, China’s largest appliance chain.
According to the Chinese publication, the nation’s furniture market has been growing by more than 30 percent a year for the past three years.
With investments in more than 100 companies worldwide, Warburg Pincus has more than $20 billion in assets under management.
June 7,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2007
Cost Plus World Market, San Francisco, has grown to 296 stores with new locations opening Friday in Fort Union, Utah, and Tempe, Ariz.
“Customers come to World Market to experience an adventurous approach to home décor and discover food and wine selections that span the globe,” said Mike Allen, World Market’s executive vice president for store operations. World Market better enables residents to celebrate family gatherings with unique and festive items and furnishings.”
On May 24, the company reported a 2.4 percent decrease in revenues to $207 million and a net loss of $13 million. It projected a second-quarter net loss of $13 million to $15 million.
June 6,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Casual Furniture on June 2007
JRA Furniture Industries, Cerritos, Calif., which supplies outdoor furniture to Kmart, Sears and other major chains, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to published reports.
Founded in 1995, the company is expected to liquidate under Chapter 7. According to an Associated Press report Wednesday, the company manufactures Martha Stewart-brand patio sets for Kmart. In 2005, JRA Furniture Industries became a defendant in a class action lawsuit that asserted that patio furniture sold under the Martha Stewart name at Kmart “spontaneously shatters during ordinary use.”
The July 2005 lawsuit filed by Chicago-based Horwitz, Horwitz and Associates also named Kmart and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.