Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
January 18,
2007 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on January 2007
Fairborn, Ohio-based retailer Morris Furniture Co. will open a 30,000-square-foot Ashley Furniture HomeStore in Springfield, Ohio. The new store should open this spring after remodeling of an existing building located in Springfield’s growing Bechtle Avenue shopping district.
Morris Furniture already operates five Ashley stores in Dayton, Beavercreek, Cincinnati, and Columbus, Ohio, and Crescent Springs, Ky.
“It is exciting to be opening our newest store in Springfield’s most vibrant shopping area,” said Larry Klaben, president and chief executive officer of Morris Furniture, and a Springfield native. “New stores like Kohls and Bath & Body Works give area shoppers new reasons to shop locally instead of taking shopping dollars outside the marketplace.”
He said the timing is right for a expanding into the Springfield market, noting that Roberds closed a store there in 2000 and that Value City Furniture also left the market.
In addition to a full line of Ashley products, the new store will include a Sealy Sleep Shop that Mike VanAutreve, vice president of merchandising for Morris Furniture, will have the area’s largest selection of Sealy mattresses.
The store will have an expanded home accents department that will feature accessories to complement a wide range of home styles.
“An expanded selection of area rugs, lamps, vases, floral arrangements and other gift items will be showcased,” said Robert Oda, director of Ashley stores at Morris Furniture.
In addition to its Ashley stores, Morris Furniture Co. owns and operates two Morris Home Furnishings locations. Morris also operates the Dayton area’s only Thomasville showroom; the Midwest Clearance Outlet in Fairborn.
January 18,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on January 2007
Levitz Furniture has retained the New York advertising agency DeVito/Verdi to handle its national advertising account.
According to the agency, New York-based Levitz’s media budget is around $45 million.
Prior to retaining DeVito/Verdi, Levitz did its own creative work in-house. DeVito/Verdi’s first major campaign for Levitz will break in March.
DeVito/Verdi has provided its services to such clients as Sony, BMW, Pepsi, Circuit City and Meijer Stores, according to its Web site.
January 17,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on January 2007
Hooker Furniture, Martinsville, Va., is shutting its last remaining wood furniture factory by the end of March to focus on stronger-selling imports, Chairman and CEO Paul Toms announced Wednesday.
The company, which has closed a plant each year since 2003, said sales of products the 82-year-old factory has been producing have been declining while sales of imported wood and metal furniture have been increasing. Closing the plant will reduce fixed operating expenses by $2.8 million to $3.5 million per year. About 280 people work in the factory that will close by the end of March.
“While we come to the close of one era, we see a bright future as we embark on a new era in our history,” Toms said, according to the company’s written announcement.
The company will maintain its headquarters and central distribution in Martinsville. Hooker’s Bradington-Young Subsidiary operates two upholstery assembly factories and two upholstery supply facilities in North Carolina. Company officials said affected employees will receive a severance package and are eligible for placement counseling under Trade Act programs. Hooker, one of the nation’s 10 largest publicly traded furniture companies, will record restructuring and related asset impairment charges of $7 million to $7.8 million on a pretax basis in connection with the closing.
January 17,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on January 2007
The World Market Center has struck a deal with Vegas.com that will enable Las Vegas Market visitors to book reservations for restaurants, shows, golf and tours through concierge desks located in the lobbies of Building A and B during the upcoming Jan. 27-Feb. 2 market.
The services, also accessible through a link to Vegas.com at Lasvegasmarket.com, will also include front-of-the-line passes for top nightclubs such as Rain, Studio 54, Ghostbar, Jet and Light.
Bryan Allison, Vegas.com vice president of marketing, said, “World Market Center is a very prestigious trade show operation that has made a huge impact on the city. Many of the show’s attendees are new to Las Vegas and we believe this on-site service can help them navigate the many choices in a very convenient way. This is an important alliance for Vegas.com as it marks the first time our company has partnered with a trade show and we are thrilled to be a part of Las Vegas Market.”
January 17,
2007 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on January 2007
IKEA is moving into North Carolina with a Charlotte store scheduled for opening in the spring of 2009.
The store will bridge the gap between the company’s locations in Woodbridge, Va., and Atlanta. Additional stores are set to open this year in Sunrise, Fla., and in Orlando.
Pending city approvals and infrastructure improvements, construction of the IKEA Charlotte store could begin as early as next summer.
The 345,000 square-foot IKEA Charlotte, with 1,700 parking spaces, will be built on 25 acres at the northeastern corner of Interstate 85 and the City Boulevard exit, and will reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. In addition, IKEA will be selling about three acres that will be available for complementary retail and restaurant uses, and Crescent Resources, the seller of the property, will develop the surrounding 135 acres, after the store opens.
“We are thrilled to be locating an IKEA store at this site in Charlotte where we can complement our Southeastern presence established in Atlanta, and the stores underway in Florida,” said Doug Greenholz, IKEA real estate manager. “We know IKEA Charlotte will be more convenient to existing customers while also introducing the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience to new shoppers throughout the Carolinas.”
In addition to offering nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, IKEA Charlotte will feature three model homes, 50 room settings, a supervised children’s play area, and its trademark restaurant serving Swedish specialties, along with American cuisine. Other family-friendly features will include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store.
In addition to jobs created during the construction phase, approximately 400 coworkers will join the IKEA family when the new store opens.
“We also look forward to being a partner in the local community,” continued Greenholz.
IKEA has more than 250 stores in 34 countries, including 29 in the U.S. Other planned store locations include Brooklyn, N.Y.; Draper, Utah; Portland, Ore.; Somerville, Mass.; and Westchester, Ohio.