Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
April 3,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Casual Furniture on April 2007
Casual furniture specialist Laneventure said in statement last week that it will contest the lawsuit Brown Jordan International filed recently against Laneventure and Lloyd/Flanders alleging patent infringement on all-weather goods.
Laneventure said its Harbor Breeze collection has been targeted for infringing patents BJI acquired from Sun Isle USA.
Arthur C. Thompson, Laneventure’s President and CEO, stated “We are actively reviewing the infringement allegations with our lawyers to try and understand BJI’s claims. At this point, we see absolutely no substance to the lawsuit and BJI’s claims of patent infringement, and plan to vigorously contest these allegations.”
He concluded by saying, “It has always been the policy of Laneventure to respect the rights of others and to defend our company’s intellectual property rights when called into question. However, our company policy prohibits further comment on matters in litigation.”
Laneventure is a part of Lane Home Furnishings, a division of Furniture Brands International.
April 3,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Accessories on April 2007
Decorize Inc. has partnered with Klaussner Furniture Inds. to design and source an exclusive line of home accessories, lighting, wall decor and accent furniture to be marketed under Klaussner’s Complements brand. About 350 SKUs are available in Complements, including top of bed collections, rugs, lamps, wall decor tabletop accessories and permanent botanicals.
“Complements is a whole-room concept, allowing Klaussner to provide a comprehensive line of furnishings for the home,” said Jeff Davis, senior vice president of business development for Klaussner. “We selected Decorize as a partner because of their impressive ability to design and manufacture multiple home furnishing categories. We are thrilled to have Decorize as a single source for accessories that complement our upholstery and case goods assortment.”
The proprietary line targets accessory shops, interior designers and specialty boutiques, as well as the furniture stores that make up the bulk of Klaussner’s traditional customer base.
Decorize President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Crowder said, “We are excited about the opportunity to work with Klaussner Furniture, one of the five largest furniture manufacturers in America. This further validates that Decorize has the design breadth and sourcing model to provide value to major furniture manufacturers.”
April 3,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Mattresses on April 2007
Leggett & Platt, Carthage, Mo., announced Tuesday that it has sold its Prime Foam operations to Comfort Co., a company controlled by Catterton Partners, a private equity firm based in Greenwich, Conn.
Leggett & Platt expects a pre-tax gain of $24 million from the sale of the business that had 2006 revenues of approximately $200 million. The deal is the largest divestiture in Leggett & Platt’s history. The Prime Foam operation mainly produces foam used in cushioning in upholstered furniture and mattresses. The company will continue to produce foam used in carpet underlay.
President and CEO David S. Haffner said, “This divestiture is consistent with our previously stated intention to actively manage our portfolio of businesses. We will continually evaluate the strategy and competitive positions of our individual businesses, and plan to participate only in markets in which we can be a market leader and generate an attractive cash flow return on investment ... Although the business is performing well and has some opportunity for growth, our market position is small and the business is not strategic to Leggett.”
April 2,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Technology on April 2007
Three-store Seattle-area retailer Furniture Factory Direct has completed its conversion to Storis Management Systems’ Vision R8 store automation system. FFD decided to switch to Mt. Arlington, N.J.-based Storis’ product last Fall.
“While looking at technology systems, I was most impressed by Storis’ outstanding reputation, their robust technology, elite client base, and unparalleled experience in the furniture industry,” said Zarko Todorov, president of Furniture Factory Direct. “We were looking for a system that could provide us with ‘real-time’ inventory. We found that capability with Storis.”
Furniture Factory Direct is utilizing Storis’ real-time inventory applications: Radio Frequency Barcode to track multiple locations and Mobile Vision. Mobile Vision uses Microsoft Pocket PC technology, which supports WiFi radio-frequency connectivity and bar code scanning capability, with the goal of providing the retailer’s sales force with instant information access. By scanning a product’s bar code and using WiFi capabilities, salespeople gain instant access to product descriptions, pricing and real time inventory availability.
April 2,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Leather Upholstery on April 2007
Natuzzi, Italy’s largest furniture manufacturer, reported a 9.8 percent increase in revenues to $924.2 million during 2006, but saw sales in its latest quarter increase by a much slower pace, 1.3 percent, according to an announcement issued Monday.
For the full year ended Dec. 31, the company recorded net earnings of $15.5 million after having posted a loss of $18.2 million the previous year. Natuzzi reports most results in euros, but provides a few key results in dollars. Sales in the latest quarter are being negatively affected by the Americas, where net sales declined 9.9 percent in the fourth quarter. In the same period, net sales in Europe increased 5.5 percent.
“We are pleased with the positive net sales performance reported year over year, return to profit and strong cash flow from operations achieved in 2006,” said Ernesto Greco, CEO. “The business scenario, unfortunately, has been and continues to be very soft due to the very aggressive pricing competition and unfavorable exchange rates ... In this challenging market, we remain committed to invest in the repositioning of the Natuzzi brand and reorganization of our sales activities, and we continue to be focused on the current restructuring process of our operations so to regain competitiveness and profitability.”