Daily News Archive
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August 30,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on August 31, 2010
Furniture buyer registration for Fall Pre-Market is at its highest point in its four-year history as a formal event, according to organizers.
So far, 201 buyers are set to attend, and 80 furniture vendors are signed up for the Sept. 13-14 event.
"Buyers are continuing to register for the Fall Pre-Market, with requests coming in almost daily," said Brian Casey, president and CEO of the High Point Market Authority, who acts as spokesperson for the event's sponsors. "The response has been fantastic and we look forward to a very strong event."
"Pre-Market continues to grow, both in the number of exhibitors and in the number of buyers who are attending," said Kevin O'Connor, CEO of Samson Marketing, parent company of Legacy Classic and Universal Furniture. "We've been through a challenging period in this industry, but it has also been a time of closer collaboration between manufacturers and retailers. Pre-Market offers our 25 Sponsor exhibitors the unique opportunity to work closely with buyers to fine-tune their offerings and to create success on retail floors with those product line-ups.
Furniture First, one of the largest U.S. furniture buying groups, also is holding its annual symposium in conjunction with the Fall Pre-Market.
"The timing of the Furniture First meeting emphasizes the importance of the Pre-Market for buyers," Casey said.
Building sponsors for Pre-Market include the International Home Furnishings Center, 220 Elm and the Merchandise Mart Properties Inc.
The 25 exhibiting sponsors are:
American Drew/Lea/Hammary
A.R.T. Furniture
Aspenhome
Bernhardt Furniture
Broyhill Furniture
Casana Furniture
England
Fine Furniture Design
Hekman
Hooker Furniture
Kincaid Furniture
Lane Home Furnishings
Leather Trend
Legacy Classic
Magnussen Home Furnishings
Natuzzi
Palliser
Pulaski Furniture
Riverside Furniture
Samuel Lawrence Furniture
Stanley Furniture
Universal Furniture
Vaughan-Bassett Furniture
Vaughan Furniture
Wynwood
August 30,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on August 31, 2010
Furniture retailer RoomStore (OTC:ROOM.B) has re-launched its e-commerce site with Blueport Commerce.
The new site includes improvements to the online customer experience to drive results online and in stores.
"The Blueport platform is specifically designed for big-ticket retailers that have complex delivery models and rely heavily on their websites to drive traffic to local stores," said Ned Crosby, chief merchandising and marketing officer at RoomStore. "The company understands our unique business challenges and addresses them with a solution architected around the need for multi-channel localization."
The re-launched RoomStore site includes new features such as:
* Precision Localization: The site automatically adjusts based on a user's location. Selection, pricing, promotions, delivery details and closest stores are all dynamically localized to provide a seamless cross-channel shopping experience.
* Collection Browsing: Offering an engaging shopping experience, this interactive widget allows users browsing a category such as bedrooms the ability to flip through a series of styled room setting versus a standard list of search results.
* Shoppable Images: Interactive information tags are displayed on room settings, allowing shoppers to get information on the items in the room and add items to their shopping cart directly from the room setting.
* Collaboration Bar: The additional resources needed for big-ticket purchases are available through a single tool where shoppers can find a local store displaying an item, print a store-ready page, chat or get advice via social media.
* Live Chat/Click-to-Call: Shoppers can now choose how they want to communicate with customer service representatives--via online chat or phone. The dynamic icons reflect real-time availability of customer service reps including when theyre able to chat, connect via phone or request a call-back.
* User-generated Product Reviews: User-generated reviews are a powerful tool in converting browsers into buyers. Now, consumers can rate the products they purchase on RoomStores site including photos and videos of their new rooms.
* Social Bookmarking: Consumers can now share products they are interested in via Facebook, Twitter and other popular social networking sites at the click of a mouse
* Enhanced Checkout Process: During the checkout process, customers are now offered dynamically generated value added items, such as stain and damage protection and wood care kits.
* Akamai Acceleration: Localized instances sites are cached around the country, ensuring fast page loads of localized content.
RoomStore, Richmond, Va., has more than 70 stores in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, and Texas; and has more than $325 million a year in sales.
Blueport Commerce serves retail chains representing more than 2,300 stores and more than $8 billion in sales.
August 30,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on August 31, 2010
ArrestSalesKillers.org, a retail-industry resource for information on lost sales and revenue-driving opportunities, launched Tuesday.
The new Web site is dedicated to raising awareness of "Sales Killers" and providing retailers the tools needed to minimize lost sales due to walk-away traffic. ArrestSalesKillers.org is sponsored by
retail automation vendor Escalate Retail.
ArrestSalesKillers.org identifies and addresses retailers' "most wanted" culprits responsible for as much as $275 billion a year in lost sales, including:
* Out of stocks (AKA: The hit and run shopper)
* Shopping cart abandonment (AKA: The serial offender)
* Mobile competitive shopping (AKA: Armed and dangerous)
* Time-starved shoppers (AKA: The time bandit)
"ArrestSalesKillers.org offers a fresh perspective on serious issues in retailing," said Andrew Gaffney, editor and publisher of
Retail TouchPoints. "I find it very interesting how the site frames the fugitives that cause retailers to lose sales and identifies areas where retailers can take better advantage of sales opportunities in every channel. The outdated processes and disconnected sales channels still employed by many retailers are leaving money on the table. This problem is only going to be accelerated with emerging technologies such as mobile and social media."
Retailers can stay apprised of all the latest information on lost sales, profiles of the sales killer culprits and tips for arming their business with the right tools to combat this lost sales at ArrestSalesKillers.org, and by
following them on Twitter. The Web site will be updated regularly with new content including white papers, surveys/polls, industry news, visitor commentary, videos and more. ArrestSalesKillers.org outlines the telltale signs that businesses are being hit by walk-away traffic and addresses ways to fortify the relationship between shoppers and retail brands at every turn.
August 30,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Obituaries on August 31, 2010
Wendell Sawyer Sr., founder of Sawyer Furniture in Prichard, Al., died Sunday, the Press-Register reported Tuesday.
Sawyer, 73, had been fighting leukemia. A 54-year furniture retail veteran, he worked for Sokol Furniture in Prichard. That business closed in 1970, and Sawyer opened Sawyer Furniture, which now has five locations, the same year.
"You knew when you walked in that store it wasn't just about furniture," said longtime friend Spencer Adams in the report. "He made every customer feel like they were his best friend, and that was a rare trait."
"He was committed there because his customers were committed to him," said son Wendell "Dell" Sawyer Jr. "He always treated people like he wanted to be treated."
Sawyer is survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist North Mobile in Saraland. Interment will be in Mobile Memorial Gardens.
Memorials may be made to the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society Donor Services, P.O. Box 4072 Pittsfield, Mass. 01202; or to Luke 4:18 Church Building Fund.
August 30,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Accessories on August 31, 2010
Accent furniture vendor Sterling Inds. has moved its High Point Market showroom to space 223 of the International Home Furnishings Center's Hamilton Wing.
"Sterling is moving to the heart of IHFC," says John Scott, CEO and founder of Atlanta-based Sterling. "Buyers will find us on the second floor and at the top of the main escalator from InterHall."
The move puts Sterling in the fashion-forward, design-oriented section of Hamilton Wing.
At Market, Sterling will launch a new series of heirloom-quality accent furniture in hand-painted and hand-distressed finishes; and introduce decorative accessories, including new styles of boxes, jars and bowls in metal and ceramic, and a selection of table lamps, floor lamps, chandeliers and mirrors.
Sterling also will launch of a new line of jewelry at Market. The company will hold a ribbon-cutting at 8 a.m., Oct. 16.
August 30,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Rugs on August 31, 2010
Six rug companies have received GoodWeave certification, which works to end illegal child labor in the carpet industry.
With the addition of Diane Paparo Studio, I+I srl, Inigo Elizalde Rugs, The Miller Davis Group, Modern Fever and Tania Johnson Design, GoodWeave now licenses 75 North American companies to import rugs bearing the GoodWeave label.
GoodWeave licensees adhere to a strictly monitored no-child-labor policy, and make a financial contribution that helps fund education and other services for rescued children and those at risk of entering the work force.
"With nearly 80 North American companies now signed up with GoodWeave, we are moving ever closer to our goal of ending illegal child labor in the carpet industry," said Nina Smith, executive director of GoodWeave USA.
Through the support of GoodWeave's industry partners, more than 3,600 children have been rescued from exploitation on carpet looms and offered rehabilitation, education, vocational training, and other services. Worldwide, 7.5 million rugs have been certified as child-labor-free since 1995. An estimated 1,500 retail outlets carry GoodWeave certified rugs in the U.S. and Canada alone.
August 30,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Closings on August 31, 2010
Ashley Furniture Homestores in Redding and Yuba City, Calif., closed Sunday, the Record-Searchlight reported Monday.
An Ashley Furniture Homestore in Chico will re-open under the Evans Furniture brand. Evans is based in Yuba City.
Stephen Forsey president of Denver-based SPCI, which has been managing liquidation sales at the Ashley stores in Redding, Chico, and Yuba City., told the paper the closings, which took place after inventory had been sold off, will not affect the delivery of furniture to customers at the old stores who are waiting for orders.
"A lot of those have been filled and will be filled," Forsey said in the report. "Whatever customer orders we have we will still be fulfilling even after the stores close."