Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
March 22,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on March 2007
Broyhill Furniture Inds. has opened a new West Coast distribution facility in Rialto, Calif. that more than doubles the size of its previous West Coast warehouse.
Broyhill will share the new space with Thomasville Furniture, another subsidiary of Furniture Brands International. The Rialto facility totals 700,000 square feet, 400,000 of which will be operated by Broyhill.
“With the success of previous warehouses in Chino and Riverside we understand the importance of properly supporting our West Coast dealer base,” said Steve Wolfe, vice president of logistics and distribution. “Rialto will allow Broyhill to service a larger portion of our extensive case goods assortment and certain upholstery selections will be available for immediate distribution. This offering will build on Broyhill’s current status as an industry leader in upholstery turnaround time.”
By lessening the demand on the east coast distribution facilities, Broyhill will be able to provide eastern dealers with improved service and turnaround times.
March 22,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on March 2007
RiversEdge has subscribed to the order management Extranet service FurnishWEB. The system pushes the Lynchburg, Va.-based case goods importer’s critical order and product information to the Internet making it available to password-protected users online.
Providing product and order information, stock availability and other reports to sales reps and RiversEdge dealers allows them to answer their own inquiries on orders and inventory, improving response time and accuracy.
By logging into a secure account from the RiversEdge Web site, sales reps and dealers can explore a wide variety of information that until now could only be accessed by the corporate office.
Internet Databases Corp. of Blacksburg, Va., developed FurnishWEB.
March 22,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on March 2007
In announcing a $52.8 million net loss for its most recent fiscal year, The Bombay Co., Fort Worth, Texas, said it has hired William Blair & Co. to “explore strategic alternatives that would provide additional liquidity” to enable the company to return to positive cash flow. The company operates 441 stores.
The announcement did not state what those alternatives might be. The company did see some positives in its annual results, including an uptick in fourth-quarter revenues and signs that its efficiency initiatives are having positive results. In the fourth quarter, revenue increased 0.7 percent to $188.2 million, while same-store sales decreased 3.1 percent. The net loss for the quarter ended Feb. 3 was $1.7 million, a sharp decline from the $25.1 million loss the company posted in the same quarter a year earlier.
For the year, revenues decreased 5.1 percent to $536.3 million. The $52.8 million loss for the year exceeded the $46.7 million in the prior fiscal year.
“Although we are disappointed with our 2006 financial results, we are very pleased with our accomplishments during the year, which included renegotiating lending agreements, restructuring for cost reductions and efficiency, and continued strong growth in our direct-to-customer business,” said CEO David Stewart. “Our increased fourth-quarter revenues are reflective of these efforts and encouraging in light of the continuing difficult conditions in the retail sector. It is particularly noteworthy that we were able to grow our fourth-quarter sales with a reduced marketing spend. Our current focus is on continued execution of our stabilization plan to return the company to positive cash flow and improved operations.”
March 22,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on March 2007
Berkline/Benchcraft, Morristown, Tenn., announced a plan Thursday that will provide it with $40 million in new financing. As part of its recapitalization plan, the company’s “stakeholders,” which the announcement did not name, will exchange $40 million in outstanding debt for new equity securities.
The new capital will be used to support an operational reorganization that began in June 2006 and will fund product innovation and expansion.
“This agreement reflects our stakeholders’ confidence in our ability to not only remain competitive in our market segment, but also to position ourselves for continued profitable growth,” said William Wittenberg, president and CEO. ”This new financing solidifies Berkline’s status as a premier manufacturer of upholstered furniture in North America.”
Wittenberg said the company’s reorganization over the past nine months has included closing or consolidating four factories; streamlining sourcing and usage of off-shore operations; integrating manufacturing operations and systems; rationalizing the company’s product offering; and significantly reducing fixed costs.
March 21,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Technology on March 2007
Home Furnishings Business is pround to announce the debut of its overhauled Web site at hfbusiness.com.
The new and improved site features a variety of easy-to-use features and elements not found in the monthly print edition of the magazine.
“Our new Web site is designed to be a growing community for our readers and business partners to use in gathering and sharing information,” said Sheila Long O’Mara, editor in chief of Home Furnishings Business. “We hope you like the new look, the new features and the user-friendly features we’ve added.”
In addition to daily news items, visitors to the site can check in with Amy Kyle, publisher, via her video blogs and read frequent blog postings from the editors.
Currently, Senior Editor Jo Fleischer, through his blog, is searching for clues to uncover the story behind a whiskey bottle he bought in a Jamestown, N.C., antique store. He writes, “Celebrating my adopted hometown as ‘The Furniture Capital of the World,’ this beautiful decanter I paid $24.99 for would have been a bargain at twice the price, even though the whiskey it contained had been poured away decades ago.” Take a look and feel free to share your suggestions on the decanter’s origins.
Online visitors can also browse through our Job Connection section and learn about our ongoing Webinar series. The Web site also includes a link to the digital version of Home Furnishings Business where the current issue of the magazine can be read online complete with pictures and enhanced benefits. Contact information for the Home Furnishings Business staff is readily available, as well as an in-depth About Us section that tells a brief history of the magazine.