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April 25,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Mattresses on April 2007
While new federal requirements on fire-resistant mattresses take effect in July, it’s not clear how long it could take the Consumer Products Safety Commission to finalize and enact similar standards for upholstered furniture.
Groups including Citizens Against Government Waste have called for more urgent action, saying the CPSC has been considering regulations for over a decade. However, furniture industry groups say current voluntary guidelines have helped reduce cigarette-related furniture fires by nearly 80 percent. The National Home Furnishings Alliance, which sponsored a forum on the issue Wednesday in Greensboro, has joined other industry groups in calling for more research. The industry groups say the CPSC has over-estimated the benefits of additional regulations on upholstered furniture while under-estimating the cost of upholstery regulations.
At the AHFA-sponsored forum, Dale Ray, project manager for the CPSC’s upholstered furniture initiative, said the goal of the new mattress standard and upholstery regulations that are being studied is to reduce fire deaths by 20 percent from 1998 levels within six years. He said the agency is continuing to research test methods and is working with government, industry and fire officials on technical issues and address objections that industry organizations have raised.
Ray said many industry groups don’t oppose requirements to make sofas and chairs more resistant to fires started by smoldering cigarettes, but question the benefits of additional requirements focused on preventing fires ignited by open flames. The CPSC estimates that 88 percent of fire deaths involving upholstered furniture were caused by cigarettes.
Part of the CPSC’s research is focusing on how fire-safe cigarettes—which are now mandated in New York—could bring about additional fire reductions, if they become required by more states or adopted as an industry standard.
The new mattress standards that go into effect in July would impose penalties on retailers and manufacturers who sell mattresses manufactured after July 1, 2007 that don’t meet the CSPC’s fire-resistant standards. Retailers can continue to sell non-conforming mattresses made before July 1, 2007, but could face penalties for violations involving new mattresses made after that date. Allyson Tenney, who headed the CSPC’s mattress initiative, said it took seven years for the mattress standards to be enacted. Tenney said she couldn’t comment on possible penalties for violators on Wednesday. Among the penalties listed on a CPSC Web site is a fine of up to $8,000 for selling a new mattress or mattress set that doesn’t conform and isn’t backed up with a required mattress label certifying that it meets the CPSC standard.
April 25,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Mattresses on April 2007
Minneapolis-based Select Comfort, which operates more than 440 stores, reported that its net sales increased 2 percent to $216.5 million in its first quarter.
Net income dipped to $10.7 million from $11.7 million in the first quarter of last year, and first quarter earnings of 21 cents per diluted share were unchanged from the first quarter of 2006. Sales growth from new Select Comfort stores and other retail partners offset an 11 percent decrease in same-store sales in the first quarter. Select Comfort’s store count reached 447 during the quarter versus 402 last year.
“The year started much like we expected, with solid execution and continued operating improvement offsetting challenged revenue growth,” said Bill McLaughlin, chairman and CEO. “In keeping with our long-term focus, we protected margins and preserved brand integrity despite a highly competitive pricing and promotional environment.”
McLaughlin said he anticipates “the challenging macro-economic pressures will begin to stabilize,” and the company said it expects second-quarter earnings will be below year-ago levels due, in part, to investments in long-term initiatives and costs associated with new mattress flammability standards.
April 24,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on April 2007
Ethan Allen Interiors, Danbury, Conn., reported a 7.7 percent decline in net delivered sales Tuesday for its first quarter, but said positive sales trends have emerged in recent weeks.
Net delivered sales for the quarter totaled $246.5 million. Net income was $17.5 million-- or 54 cents per share--which was down from $20 million in the same period a year ago.
Chairman and CEO Farooq Kathwari said, “We are pleased to report quarterly operating earnings of 11.4 percent of sales (in the first quarter) despite continued softness within the home furnishings retail environment and a 7.7 percent decline in sales. As we have stated previously, results for the March 2006 quarter were favorably impacted by stronger economic conditions and our initiative to reduce lead times associated with the delivery of our products to the consumer, thereby substantially reducing our backlog during that period.”Commenting on business trends, Kathwari said, “While we recognize that the home furnishings retail environment remains uncertain, some positive trends have emerged in recent weeks. In addition, we continue to believe that our strategic initiatives provide us stronger positioning as conditions improve. As a result, we believe that we have the opportunity to generate earnings per share for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 in line with the current range of analyst estimates.”
For the nine months ended March 31, net delivered sales totaled $746.8 million, down from $794.4 million in the prior year. Net delivered sales for the company’s retail division increased 0.9 percent to $511.1 million while whole sale sales decreased 11.6 million to $493.2 million.
April 24,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Mattresses on April 2007
Tempur-Pedic International, Lexington, Ky., reported Monday that workers at its factory in Denmark “engaged in an unauthorized work stoppage,” but said hourly workers in the midsts of a local labor agreement negotation are expected to return to work quickly.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday, the company said a local labor board in Denmark had ruled that the work stoppage was prohibited and ordered the union to return to work immediately. That labor board also assessed hourly fines, according to the company. In a short, three-paragraph statement, the company said it expects to be resolved quickly, but said production had been disrupted.
On Thursday, Tempur-Pedic reported a 16 percent increase in quarterly sales, and company officials said its international business continues to be a strength as worldwide sales increased by 16 percent, too.
A company spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the strikers had returned to work.
April 24,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on April 2007
The National Association of Retailers, Washington, blamed bad February weather for an 11.4 percent drop in March sales of existing homes from a year ago. March sales were 8.4 percent lower than in February, which translates into the slowest sales pace in three years—a seasonally adjusted sales rate of 6.12 million units.
David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said he expected the decline. “For the last couple months we’ve been expecting a weather ‘hit’ on home sales finalized in March, but looking at overall activity in the first quarter we see that existing home sales averaged 6.41 million – a figure that is moderately higher than the sales pace during the second half of 2006,” he said. “We also may be seeing some losses as a result of the subprime fallout. However, this is masking improved fundamentals in the housing market, with lower mortgage interest rates and motivated sellers.”
The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $217,000 in March, which is 0.3 percent below March 2006.
Also, on Tuesday, The Conference Board’s newest Consumer Confidence Index for April dropped to 104, the lowest level since it declined to 100.2 in August. April’s reading was down from 108.2 in March and was slightly lower than the 105 many analysts had expected.