Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
April 17,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on April 2007
Year-over-year retailer purchases dropped 6.2 percent in March 2007 versus March 2006, according to the Furnishnet Index, a monthly tracking of furniture retail purchasing activity.
March’s decline was the first for 2007 and the first since October 2006. As a result, the 2007 year-to-date purchase trend dropped to 1.62 percent over 2006 levels through three months--well below the 5.1 percent year-to-date increase for the first quarter of 2006 over 2005.
Additionally, month-to-month retailer purchasing volume slipped by 1.85 percent in March compared to the purchasing volume in February. The March decline was significant when compared to a 12.12 percent increase from February to March of 2006.
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here for the complete view of the March report of the FurnishNet Index.
April 16,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Accessories on April 2007
Blake Dennard has been named vice president of sales for the Kaleen Rug division.
Dennard has more than 15 years of rug industry experience. Prior to joining the company, he was vice president of the Main Street Market Group at Oriental Weavers North America. In his new position, Dennard reports to Joe Barkley, executive vice president, and will manage and direct the company’s team of sales associates.
“We were absolutely amazed at the quality of candidates we had the pleasure of talking with during our search – each was a number one draft choice but Blake separated himself by his determination and track record of unquestionable success,” Barkley said. “Blake is a great fit to our team.”
April 16,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on April 2007
John “Jack” Johnson Jr. has returned to Foamex International, Linwood, Pa., as chief executive officer and a member of the company’s board of directors. From 1999 to 2001, he served as CEO of the company that makes polyurethane foam for the bedding, furniture, carpet cushion and automotive markets.
Ray Mabus has resigned as CEO and chairman of the board after successfully leading the company through its emergence from chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The company also announced Monday that Eugene Davis has been named non-executive chairman of the board of directors. Johnson has spent the last few years running his own management consulting business specializing in turnaround initiatives. He has been the lead director of Thermadyne Holdings for three years, but will relinquish the post to focus on Foamex.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to welcome Jack back to Foamex,” said David said. “Jack is a proven leader who brings to Foamex an ideal combination of skills and experience, having led the company at a time when it enjoyed then historic levels of profitability and growth. We are confident that Foamex will greatly benefit from his intimate knowledge of the company and industry experience as we continue to focus on driving shareholder value through growth and de-leveraging.”
In an announcement, Davis thanked Mabus for successfully completing Foamex’s financing restructuring and a bankruptcy process that resulted in the company’s creditors being paid in full. He said Mabus stepped down after having commuted to the job from his home in Mississippi for a long period.
April 16,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on April 2007
Sauder Woodworking Co., Archbold, Oh., North America’s largest manufacturer of ready-to-assemble furniture, announced today that it is acquiring key assets of another RTA major, O’Sullivan Inds. Inc., which temporarily shut down production earlier this month.
Sauder is purchasing all intellectual property, the O’Sullivan name, the Coleman garage license, plus select drawings, patents and raw materials.
“We did not buy the company outright; but after studying O’Sullivan’s business, we acquired selected portions we felt added value to Sauder’s operations and customer relationships,” said Kevin Sauder, president and chief executive officer in an announcement. “Clearly, adding major portions of the customer base and product placements of this $200 million company will significantly expand our sales, increase production at our Archbold facility and grow our market share.”
Sauder expects the acquisition to add around 200 jobs in Archbold. The company plans to run key O’Sullivan items through O’Sullivan’s Lamar, Mo., plant for a few months until Sauder can begin producing those items in its own facilities in Archbold.
“I believe our operation has the capacity and capability to absorb the new business without additional major capital investments,” Sauder continued. “This arrangement will help us retain our position as a world-class domestic producer, while bringing more jobs to Archbold. We expect it to keep us very busy for a long time to come.”
While the O’Sullivan plant will close eventually, Sauder said the operating agreement allows employees another few months of income while seeking other work and keeps product flowing to important retail customers.
The acquisition brings Sauder a significant relationship with Lowe’s and expands the company’s business with Staples, Big Lots, Shopko and Wal-Mart, among other retailers.
April 16,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on April 2007
An early Easter holiday and unseasonably warm weather in March led to a 3.7 percent increase in retail sales compared to the same month last year, according to the National Retail Federation’s analysis of figures released Monday by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Furniture faired well by the DOC’s calculation, with furniture and home furnishings sales up 4.2 percent over March 2006.
March retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, also rose 0.8 percent seasonally adjusted from February. By the same measure, furniture and home furnishings were up 0.6 percent over February.
“The big winners in March were clothing stores, whose shoppers splurged on new spring apparel,” said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells. “Clearly the weather and the early Easter had a desirable impact on retail sales.”
Clothing and clothing accessories stores sales saw the strongest gains with a 10.7 percent increase unadjusted over last year and a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent increase from February.
General merchandise stores sales also fared well, with a 6.6 percent increase unadjusted from last year and a 1.1 percent increase seasonally adjusted from February.
Building material and garden equipment supplies stores sales continue to decline with unadjusted year-over-year sales falling 5.7 percent. With a little help from the arrival of spring, sales increased 1.4 percent seasonally adjusted from February.