Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
February 14,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Wicker on February 2007
Textile and apparel brand Woolrich Inc. has teamed up with Whitecraft Inc. to produce a collection of outdoor furniture. The collection will be introduced at the Chicago Casual Show in September as well as the High Point Market in October.
Woolrich already has an existing licensed line of indoor furniture with Lexington Home Brands.
The Woolrich lifestyle collection will offer 16 items including seating and dining with an array of exclusive outdoor fabrics; and an exclusive custom honey-tone finish. Frames will incorporate materials such as faux wood and woven UV resistant vinyl wicker on aluminum frames that are designed specifically for year-round, all-weather outdoor use.
“As the original outdoor company, all-weather furniture is a ‘natural’ extension of our brand,” said Dennis Marxen, vice president of licensing for Woolrich. “The Woolrich consumer enjoys a lifestyle that embraces outdoor entertaining and activities. These new furnishings perfectly complement our broad assortment of products for the home.”
Woolrich cited a recent national consumer study that strongly reaffirms the importance of functional, durable, quality products with novel styling and a connection to the outdoors.
“We are very pleased to have an opportunity to work with Woolrich as we launch this wonderful new assortment of outdoor furniture,” said Dave Hill, vice president of sales and marketing for Whitecraft. “The look is something consumers have been asking for and will definitely connect with. The design really lends itself well to a rustic lodge lifestyle and expresses a relaxed sophistication that is unique in the marketplace.”
February 14,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on February 2007
The latest retail sales figures from the Commerce Department show an overall flat month for January, but furniture stores managed to post a 0.8 percent increase.
The numbers are the poorest performance since a 0.2 percent drop in October.
Analysts had been expecting a retail sales gain of 0.4 percent based on reports from chain stores that consumers had been cashing in on holiday gift cards, as well as buying outerwear for the late arriving winter.
The overall numbers were hit by a 1.3 percent decline in automobile sales—the largest one-month drop since a 2.4 percent decline in June. Take auto sales out of the equation and retail sales eeked out a 0.3 percent increase.
The report noted that sales at furniture stores and hardware stores were relatively strong, with both posting 0.8 percent gains.
Sales at electronic and appliance stores, following Christmas demand for the latest electronic gadgets, fell 1.2 percent in January.
February 13,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Recliners on February 2007
La-Z-Boy, Monroe, Mich., reported that net sales in its third quarter were down 9.6 percent to $403.9 million. The decline resulted in a per-share loss of 15 cents. In its earnings announcement Wednesday, the company also said it is in discussions to sell its Pennsylvania House and Clayton Marcus units, saying those divisions are not a strategic fit for La-Z-Boy’s future direction.
Separately, La-Z-Boy announced an agreement to sell its Sam Moore business to Hooker Furniture.
For the nine months that ended Jan. 27, net sales totaled $1.2 billion, a decrease of 2.8 percent compared with the prior-year period. “Despite the challenging sales environment pervasive throughout our industry, we were able to improve margins in our wholesale businesses while doing an excellent job managing our inventory, reducing our debt and generating cash,” said President and CEO Kurt Darrow, referring to the company achieving an operating margin of 7.6 percent during the quarter. “In our company-owned retail segment, we continued to execute against our strategy to strengthen our performance and, therefore, expect meaningful improvement in our next fiscal year.”
Looking ahead, Darrow expects a difficult fourth quarter. The company expects sales to be down 8 percent to 10 percent, and earnings per share to be in the range of 3 cents to 7 cents.
“Although we have made strides in our wholesale divisions from a margin perspective, the challenging retail environment persists and we believe the industry, overall, will continue to go through a difficult period,” he said.
February 13,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on February 2007
An extranet launched by Furniture.com in November is being used by Toronto-based Leon’s Furniture to enable 21 affiliate stores to sell furniture online, according to a Furniture.com announcement Wednesday.
Furniture.com President and CEO Carl Prindle said the extranet was developed for furniture retailers like Leon’s that have networks of independent affiliate stores operating under the retailer’s brand. In the case of Leon’s, the independent stores sell from Leon’s online catalog and can set local pricing for their region.
“Furniture retailers who rely on independent dealers can now offer e-commerce to their customers,” Prindle said. “Independent dealers can add advanced e-commerce capabilities that would be difficult for them to replicate on their own. The end result is a seamless experience for customers and significant sales lift for retailers and dealers alike.”
In addition to Leon’s, Furniture.com serves as the e-commerce platform for Levitz Furniture and Harlem Furniture.
February 13,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on February 2007
Fort Worth-based Pier 1 Imports was granted a temporary restraining order against The TJX Cos. to prevent TJX from filing any judicial proceeding or lawsuit against Alex Smith, other than making a claim for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association.
Smith has been named as the successor to Marvin Girouard, who is retiring as chairman Monday. Pier 1 had alleged that TJX was interferring with Smith’s hiring by Pier 1 as its top executive.