February 13,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on February 2007
Marcy Muhlnickel has been named vice president of sales for mass accounts for the Powell Co.
Reporting to David Gingrich, Muhlnickel will work with Powell’s sales representatives and major mass market accounts to build on Powell’s growing multi-channel sales.
Prior to joining Powell, Muhlnickel was senior vice president for Impact Resource Group and prior to 1999 was vice president for Great Western Trading Co. She has been instrumental in growing the home décor and home furnishings business for key national accounts for both companies.
“Marcy’s strong background in manufacturing and sales with major retailers are an excellent fit here,” said Bill Benton, Powell’s chief executive officer. “Her skills will further strengthen Powell’s presence in this channel. We are very pleased to have her join the Powell sales team.”
February 13,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on February 2007
Hooker Furniture Corp. has signed a letter of intent to acquire Sam Moore Furniture from from La-Z-Boy Inc., the companies announced Tuesday. Under the terms, Sam Moore President Mike Moldenhauer would continue with the company.
La-Z-Boy had acquired Sam Moore, a 63-year-old Bedford, Va.-based manufacturer of upscale occasional chairs with an emphasis on fabric-to-frame customization, in 1998. The transaction, for an undisclosed amount, should close in second-quarter 2007.
Sam Moore’s upper-medium price range, dealer-base compatibility and item orientation make the company a “great fit,” according to Paul B. Toms Jr., chairman, chief executive officer and president of Hooker.
“This acquisition would help us attain one of our strategic goals to further diversify into fabric upholstery,” Toms said.
In 2003, Hooker acquired upscale leather seating company Bradington-Young. Toms said in a release that the combination of the two seating resources under the Hooker Furniture umbrella “would create approximately $100 million in annual upholstery sales for the company, and also would take our total revenues closer to the $400 million mark.”
Kurt L. Darrow, president and chief executive officer of La-Z-Boy, said, that while Sam Moore is a great company with an excellent product line and customer base, it doesn’t fit with La-Z-Boy’s long-term strategic direction.
Toms said he believes domestically produced upholstery has a good future, especially in customized goods--60 percent of Sam Moore’s business is special order.
“Sam Moore is well positioned with the interior design trade, which would further another Hooker strategic goal to strengthen business with the designer distribution channel,” Toms added.
According to the terms of the letter of intent, the acquisition would be a cash purchase of all Sam Moore assets, including property, plant, equipment, inventories and accounts receivable. Sam Moore’s has a 325,000-square-foot plant facility and corporate offices in Bedford.
“We are delighted at the prospect of becoming part of a Virginia-based company that is growth focused and enjoys the same fine tradition of high-quality furniture as Sam Moore,” Moldenhauer said. “This is a very positive announcement for our employees, customers and suppliers.”
Toms anticipated that Sam Moore would operate autonomously on a day-to-day basis.
Marketing and merchandising synergies the transaction would offer include rounding out the product assortment for Hooker’s SmartLiving ShowPlace retail galleries and complementing Hooker’s import accent chair business.
“We already have an $8.5 million business with our imported decorative chairs that are sold from our warehouse or through our container direct program,” Toms said. “We can visualize taking some of the best-selling frames in our current line and offering them with special order fabrics utilizing the expertise of Sam Moore.”
February 13,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on February 2007
Home furnishings colors will turn to classic, reliable black and white patterns in the coming months, especially in home accents, to provide striking contrasts in interiors.
That’s the prediction from the latest Color & Trend Report from Capel Rugs, which came out Tuesday.
“Black and white motifs will range in character from the elegance of ‘Old Hollywood’ to the pop sensibilities of ‘80s New Wave when mixed with punches of golden yellows and Chinese red,” said Lou Webster, director of product development and design at Capel Rugs. “For an even more dramatic effect, rich textures will add ever greater emphasis to more casual black and white patterns and designs.”
With just a splash of color, dark hand tufts provide perfect accents to contemporary settings, and hand knotted rugs, with their luxurious texturing, work in both casual and formal settings, Webster said.
February 12,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on February 2007
Shermag announced Monday it will close two Quebec factories and shift production to Asia in a move that will eliminate 283 jobs. The news came in an third-quarter earnings statement in which the Sherbrooke, Quebec-based company reported a loss as revenues fell 17.3 percent during the quarter.
The company, which reports its earnings in Canadian dollars, said it posted a third-quarter loss of $7.7 million. For the first nine months of the year, gross revenues declined 12.7 percent to $131 million, and the company’s year-to-date net loss was $13.2 million.
“The decision to close the (two) facilities is made necessary by a significant domestic over-capacity arising from our outsourcing strategy,” said Shermag President and CEO Jeff Casselman. “We continue to pursue our strategy of global sourcing of mass-produced products blended with the domestic production of (customized) products. This difficult transition has been amplified by a general softness in the home furnishings retail market, which has been underlined by first-half losses to bankruptcy of several customers.”
February 12,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on February 2007
Pier 1 Imports has filed a lawsuit against The TJX Cos. seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the parent of TJ Maxx from interfering with the employment of Pier 1’s new president and chief executive officer.
Pier 1 announced last month that it had hired Alex Smith to succeed retiring Marvin Girouard as its top executive. Smith is set to start work with Pier 1 Feb. 19
In a statement, Pier 1 said TJX, Smith’s former employer, has been “threatening Alex with legal action in an effort to prevent his reporting to work at Pier 1 next Monday.”
“Since Pier 1 is not a competitor with any of the TJX companies, those threats are improper,” said Tom Thomas, a member of Pier 1’s executive committee. “The lawsuit we filed was necessary to assure that Alex will be at his post next Monday to oversee the beginning of Pier 1’s return to profitability.”