Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
March 27,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on March 2007
Donald Trump sparked lots of laughs from a crowd of more than 350 buyers, reporters and others who gathered at Lexington Home Brands Tuesday for the launch of Trump Home.
In brief remarks and a question-and-answer session, he touched on his long-running feuds with Rosie O’Donnell and Martha Stewart. At one point, he said of O’Donnell. “We build a very high-quality bed, but they’re not strong enough for her.” He later asserted that he was unimpressed with furniture from Stewart’s collections she showed him “when we were on speaking terms.”
Trump said he’d seen many individual pieces from the collection, but Tuesday marked the first time he’d seen the entire collection in a showroom setting. He was so impressed, he said the collections will be used in a planned expansion of a new Las Vegas hotel project and in model apartments of a building he’s renovating that will include one apartment priced at $43 million. He said the furniture may also have a role in future seasons of his hit TV show, “The Apprentice.”
Following his remarks, Trump mingled easily with reporters and buyers—posing for a succession of photos with buying teams and asking detailed questions of buyers about their plans for Trump Home rollouts. He said New York-based Macy’s, which sells a line of licensed Trump apparel, has committed to Trump Home, and other retailers at the event also expressed confidence the line will generate strong sales.
March 26,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on March 2007
As part of its ongoing reinvention, Levitz is introducing consumers to a new side of its stores that steps away from price.
The retailer’s new television campaign that starts this week in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and other markets emphasizes the company’s overhaul of its stores.
In the four different spots, consumers barely get through the once-staid retailer’s door before realizing it is not what they were expecting. One features a crying baby who cheers up immediately upon entering the store. Another shows an amorous couple finally breaking their embrace once they see the store. Similar spots include a ventriloquist’s dummy and a chatty valley girl both of whom are overwhelmed by the change in the stores.
The 15-second spots call attention to the remodeled look at most stores without the need to actually show the new merchandise, new furniture and new styles that have been introduced.
The television campaign will run for the next two months.
To view the commercials, see below.
March 26,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on March 2007
As Ikea moves toward opening two stores in Florida this fall, the company announced plans for a third Florida store—in Tampa—that could open in the summer of 2009. The Swedish retailer, which now has 29 stores in the United States, said construction of the Tampa store could start as early as spring 2008, depending on city approvals and the pace of infrastructure improvements.
Combined with new stores that will open in Orlando and in the Broward County town of Sunrise this fall, the proposed Tampa location is part of a major Ikea expansion in the Southeast that began two years ago with the opening of a location in Atlanta. The company also is slated to open a store in Charlotte, N.C., in the spring of 2009.
“We are thrilled to be submitting plans for an IKEA store at this site in Tampa where we can build upon our southeastern presence established in Atlanta, and build upon the success of our two Florida stores set to open this fall,” said David Iemolo, IKEA director of real estate. “We know IKEA Tampa would be more convenient to existing customers while also introducing the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience to new Tampa Bay and Sun Coast shoppers.”
With a U.S. headquarters in Conshohocken, Pa., Ikea has been opening about five stores a year. Other store locations in the planning or construction stages include Brooklyn, N.Y., the Salt Lake City area, Portland, Ore., and Somerville, Mass.
March 26,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Leather Upholstery on March 2007
DeCoro, Hong Kong, announced Monday that it will open a new factory in Huizhou, China, this summer to produce finished wood components such as legs and trim. The 700,000-square-foot facility will replace the company’s current 250,000-square-foot factory.
“The new factory will give us the capacity we need to meet all customer demands and continue to grow our business in the United States and also all across the world. We already have the best modern equipment, but we simply needed more space” said Luca Ricci, president and CEO. “The new location is also much closer to our main factory.”
Cushman Wakefield is supervising construction of the building, which will provide component parts to the 2 million-square-foot factory DeCoro built in 2003, which the company says is the largest upholstery factory in the world. The new facility will open in August or September.
“We are taking the steps required to support our growth, particularly the strong demand we have experienced for traditional styles with wood accents. The new factory will allow us to ship all segments of our product offering faster and more consistently. With many stores experiencing a difficult retail climate, we will continue to focus on timely delivery to be a better partner to our customers” said Heath Corso, DeCoro’s executive vice president.
March 26,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on March 2007
Danbury, Conn.-based Ethan Allen announced Monday that earnings for its current quarter will likely fall below the estimates of Wall Street analysts.
According to published reports, analysts had expected the company’s quarterly earnings per share to be 59 cents per share when the company releases its earnings report on April 24. On Monday, Ethan Allen released a statement in advance of a planned presentation at an investor forum scheduled for Wednesday. “As has been stated by others in our industry, the economic environment for home furnishings retail remains challenging,” said Chairman and CEO Farooq Kathwari. “In addition, in the prior year quarter ended March 2006, we experienced strong growth with sales increasing 15.5%, making prior-year comparisons very challenging. Despite these factors, at this stage, we believe we have the opportunity to generate quarterly earnings per share in the range of 53 cents to 56 cents as compared to 59 cents in the prior year quarter.”
Ethan Allen sells a full range of furniture products and decorative accessories through a dedicated network of 307 design centers in the United States and abroad. The company also has nine manufacturing facilities in the United States.