Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
May 31,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on June 2007
Fabric supplier Tietex has strengthened its international manufacturing presence with the introduction of TradeWinds, an offshore fabric program.
TradeWinds will be operated as an international brand and is geared toward customers that have already made significant investments to a global strategy. Mike Durham, Tietex president, said the company is ready to serve customers who have their own cut-and-sew operations in Asia or companies with alliances with cut-and-sew partners.
The initial TradeWinds offering consists of 50 patterns and 500 SKUs ranging from contemporary to traditional styles. The lineup includes body cloths and coordinating patterns to round out merchandising programs.
“We have assembled integrated resources and developed a strategy to help mid-market customers manage the growing complexities of offshore sourcing,” Durham said. “There’s not one customer out there who doesn’t struggle to balance price point advantage against a broad array of other nagging issues.”
Durham said Tietex’s manufacturing facilities in Thailand and its existing partnerships with Asian companies gives Tietex an advantage in meeting the needs of its customers looking for offshore opportunities.
“When you own the facilities and bring in your own people on site in Asia, anything’s possible,” he said. “This goes way beyond product development and manufacturing. This means we have the administration functions to do business in Asia with other Asian companies. This means we control quality with the same processes and equipment of our U.S. operations.”
May 31,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2007
Blaming bad weather and the housing slowdown, Restoration Hardware, Core Madera, Calif., said Thursday that it posted a loss of $13.8 million in its first quarter as revenues rose 7 percent to $142.1 million.
“The first quarter was particularly challenging, reflecting a combination of factors that affected our financial performance,” said Gary Friedman, chairman, president and CEO of the 111-store chain that also sells via catalogs and the Internet. “We experienced below plan sales in April, primarily in our outdoor and seasonal businesses, with the majority concentrated in the Eastern region of the country. We believe this was due to the fact that the second mailing of our Outdoor catalog dropped on April 5 during adverse weather conditions in the East. We also are experiencing ongoing softness across our business due to the challenging home furnishings environment and the effects from the slowdown in the home building industry. While we continue to operate in an uncertain macro environment, we believe the growth initiatives we have underway, combined with our cost cutting efforts, will enable us to achieve our previously stated financial guidance for the second quarter and full year 2007. We expect full year sales growth in the range of 9 percent to 11 percent and improved operating margins in the range of 1.4 percent to 1.8 percent.”
He said the company is continuing to extend the Restoration Hardware brand with first-quarter initiatives that include a new Restoration Hardware Bed & Bath catalog and Restoration Hardware Trade, a direct sales division targeting home and hospitality developers. A new brand, Brocade Home, is delivering promising results after debuting last fall.
May 31,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on June 2007
The High Point Market Authority has established a new calendar of Spring and Fall Market dates through the year 2015, effective for next year’s Spring market. The 2007 Fall Market dates, Oct. 1-7, remain the same.
Market will continue to maintain its new Monday to Sunday pattern.
Starting next Spring, the new calendar for the High Point Market Spring and Fall editions is as follows: 2008, April 7-13, and Oct. 20-26; 2009, April 27-May 3, and Oct. 19-25; 2010, April 19-25 Oct. 18-24; 2011, April 4-10, Oct. 24-30; 2012, April 23-29, Oct. 15-21; 2013, April 22-28, Oct. 21-27; 2014, March 31-April 6, Oct. 20-26; 2015, April 20-26, Oct. 19-25.
May 31,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on June 2007
The owner of the nation’s ugliest couch will be named in September during an appearance on the television show, “Live with Regis and Kelly,” as part of the 11th annual edition of the Ugly Couch Contest sponsored by Sure Fit, Allentown, Pa., which makes furniture covers.
The company’s announcement Thursday didn’t address whether new sofas displayed at furniture markets around the country would be eligible.
The company is seeking photos of “old, worn, unsightly, revolting, repulsive, lumpy grumpy or just plain ugly” sofas. Entries are being accepted through August 3. The winner is promised a $5,000 cash prize plus a selection of Sure Fit products. In September, three finalists will fly to New York, where the “Live” show’s studio audience will select the winning sofa. Entries can be submitted at
www.Surefit.com, which also displays a selection of past winners.
May 31,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2007
Anne MacDonald has resigned her position as chief marketing officer of Macy’s and been replaced by her predecessor, Peter Sachse, Federated Department Stores, Cincinnati, announced Wednesday. Sachse, chairman and chief executive officer of macys.com, will assume an additional role as the company’s chief marketing officer and president of Macy’s corporate marketing.
Sachse was the company’s first Chief Marketing Officer in June 2003, when he became president of the Macy’s Corporate Marketing division being created at that time. He was named to the newly created position of chairman of macys.com in April 2006.
Before serving as president of Macy’s Corporate Marketing and chairman of macys.com, Sachse was president and chief operating officer of the company’s Bon Marche division (now Macy’s Northwest). Sachse began his retail career with Macy’s in Kansas City in 1980. He was named division merchandise manager at Macy’s Bullock’s division in 1987 and in 1992 moved to The Bon Marche as senior vice president/general merchandising manager. In 1997, Sachse was named executive vice president/general merchandise manager at Macy’s East in New York where, in 1999, he was promoted to vice chair/director of stores.