Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
May 21,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on May 2007
The Furniture First buying group has added five members to its roster, taking its total membership to 135 companies with almost 300 storefronts.
New members are: Michael Moss of Bear’s Furniture, in Franklin, Pa.; Craig Reis of Best Furniture, Fort Thomas, Ky.; David Capperella of Capperella Furniture, Bellefonte, Pa.; Michael Davidson of Davidson’s Furniture, Hornell, N.Y.; Randy Hansen of Hansen’s Furniture, Atwater, Calif.; Patrick O’Connell of Henco Furniture, Selmer, Tenn.; Sam Jernigan III of Jernigan Furniture, Goldsboro, N.C.; Joe Redeker of Redeker’s, Boone, Iowa; and Paul Thompson of Susie’s Furniture, North Lewisburg, Ohio.
In addition to its new members, the group announced it will hold two membership meetings this summer.
The first will be held in St. Louis June 19-21, and Tom Phillips of Weekends Only Furniture will sponsor a store tour for Furniture First members.
The other meeting is set for Aug. 21-23 in Denver, Col., where Sam and Leslie Fishbein of Kacey Fine Furniture will host a tour of their store.
Jody Seivert of OneXOne Cos., a specialist in raising retail sales, will be the keynote speaker for both meetings. In addition, the meetings will include information on advertising, private labeling, operational idea sharing and networking.
“These meetings present a real opportunity for Furniture First members to come together, share ideas, promote our supplier partners and better their business in a non-competitive environment,” said Bill Hartman, Furniture First president.
May 21,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on May 2007
Year-over-year retailer purchases of home furnishings jumped more than 35 percent in April 2007 versus April 2006. April’s increase was the largest for 2007 and represents a significant rebound compared to April last year when sales fell by 7.5 percent.
As a result, the 2007 year-to-date purchase trend climbed to 8.93 percent over the same point in 2006--and well ahead of the 2.07 percent increase for the same four-month period of 2006 over 2005.
Additionally, month-to-month retailer purchasing volume bounced 18.18 percent in April compared to the purchasing volume in March. The April increase was significant compared to the 17 percent decline from March to April of 2006.
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here for the complete view of the April report of the FurnishNet Index.
May 21,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on May 2007
Wickes Furniture Co. Inc., Wheeling Ill., will celebrate the opening of its downtown Chicago flagship store with a multi-day celebration that starts this Wednesday with a 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting and media tour, and a consumer grand opening event Saturday through Monday.
The two-story, 48,000-square-foot showroom at 2606 North Elston Ave. is the first Wickes location to carry “Urban Innovations,” a new line of furniture and accessories designed for stylish and comfortable living in smaller spaces, such as city condos and apartments.
“We’re proud to open our new flagship showroom in downtown Chicago with the debut of the Urban Innovations line,” said Wickes CEO John Disa. “This new product line was specifically designed to meet the special needs of our consumers living in a city environment.”
The ceremony will kickoff Wickes “Urban Innovations Challenge” with the unveiling of room vignettes designed by local media celebrities utilizing furniture and accessories from the new furniture line. Consumers can vote for their favorite celebrity-designed room in the showroom.
All celebrity participants will receive furniture to donate to the local charity of their choice, while the winner will receive an additional furniture package for their selected charity. The winning room in the challenge will be donated to an individual who recently moved out of Lathrop Homes, a residential Chicago public housing complex.
Michael Payne, host of HGTV’s “Designing For the Sexes,” will make in-store appearances on Saturday, May 26 and Monday, May 28, conducting design seminars on how to approach interior design when living in smaller spaces, and signing free copies of his book, Let’s Ask Michael. Payne has a licensed furniture collection with importer Powell Co.
Wickes has 37 showrooms nationwide located in Illinois, Indiana, Oregon and California, plus 5 distribution centers, and is owned by private investment firm Sun Capital Partners Inc., Boca Raton, Fla.
May 21,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on May 2007
Furniture Classics Limited, an importer of antique reproduction furniture based in Norfolk, Va., has promoted Michael Ricks to president of the company. He was previously vice president and general counsel.
He reports to his father, CEO Douglas Ricks, who relinquished his role as president of the company this year. Prior to joining Furniture Classics in 2002, Ricks practiced law with a Norfolk firm.
In addition, former sales manager Alex Boyer has been named vice president of sales and marketing. Furniture Classics, which is also the North American distributor for Morgan Hill Furniture, has opened a Las Vegas showroom and doubled the size of its Atlanta and High Point showrooms over the past year. It also introduced a new casual division, Two Palms Casual.
May 21,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Mattresses on May 2007
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs announced Monday that Sleepy’s, which operates 400 mattress stores in seven states, has agreed to pay $200,000 as part of a settlement to resolve consumer complaints and “settle deceptive sales charges.”
According to an announcement, the agreement concludes the agency’s investigation into approximately 300 consumer complaints over the past three years that were registered with DCA or referred through the state Attorney General’s office and the Better Business Bureau.
“We are pleased that Sleepy’s has agreed to do right by their customers, both those injured in the past and others moving forward, and that they have promised to adhere to important licensing and consumer protection regulations,” said DCA Commissioner Jonathan Mintz.
As part of the agreement, the DCA release said Sleepy’s has agreed to charge no delivery fees when customers return damaged merchandise within the first three months after the purchase. It has also agreed to notify customers of their legal rights to return merchandise for credit when it is not delivered on time. It also agreed to honor manufacturer warranties for all merchandise, including goods with alleged stains.
In other news, the Newark Star Ledger reported Friday that an attorney representing Sleepy’s said the company will offer as much as $20 million to acquire the 180-store Rockaway Bedding chain, which filed for bankruptcy last month. According to the report, Sleepy’s attorney Michael Blumenthal expressed the company’s interest during a bankruptcy court hearing. Attorneys representing Rockaway said other competitors have also expressed interest in acquirng the Randolph, N.J., retailer.