Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
September 6,
2006 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on September 2006
Phil Haney has been named president and chief executive officer of Lexington Home Brands, succeeding, Bob Stec who resigned in June.
Haney, former executive vice president of marketing and sales for Stanley Furniture, starts at the Lexington headquarters in Thomasville, N.C., Monday.
Haney joined Stanley in 2002 after working in the rug business, including a one-time post at Karastan Rug and Home where he oversaw the company’s move into luxury textiles.
Stec left Lexington in June, and Sun Capital named Asher Lepkin as acting chief executive.
September 5,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on September 2006
Haverty Furniture Cos. reported August sales increased 12.7 percent to $77.1 million, compared with $68.4 percent during the same month last year today reported sales for the month ended August 31, 2006.
Same-store sales for the month increased 10.3 percent.
The Atlanta-based retailer also said sales for the first eight months of the year increased 6.7 percent to $570.6 million, compared with $535 million during the first eight months of 2005.
“Our August results mark the fourth consecutive month of strong comparable-store sales,” said Clarence H. Smith, president and chief executive officer. “We believe our Havertys Collections merchandise has made a strong connection with our target customer and combined with an improved in- stock position are the driving factors in our sales performance. August total written sales increased approximately 7 percent over last year and September is off to a very good start as total written business for the first four days, which includes the Labor Day weekend, is up by a mid-teen percentage.”
September 5,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on September 2006
The Western Home Furnishings Association will host its bi-annual retail academy in Phoenix, Ariz., on Oct. 12.
The educational seminar includes two concurrent management workshop tracks. One focuses on sales management, and the other is all about operations management.
Each session will feature dynamic speakers and workshop presentations. Steve Smith, sales management trainer, will conduct the sales management workshop, covering topics like observing and coaching for better performance and gaining insight on your advertising and marketing effectiveness.
John McCloskey, president for Profitability Consulting Group, will lead the operations management workshop. He will speak on pertinent topics such as managing your back-end operations to raise performance, streamlining your operations process and increasing profits, and adding to your bottom line through quality control. A joint networking luncheon will follow, providing attendees from both tracks with the opportunity to share ideas.
To register, contact WHFA at (800) 422-3778 or e-mail events@whfa.org. Overnight accommodations at the Embassy Suites Hotel Phoenix-Airport are available for $169.00 plus tax. The deadline for reservations is Sept.28. Be sure to mention that you are with the Western Home Furnishings Association Academy.
Registration fees are non-refundable and include lunch. If you have any questions, please refer to whfa.org for more details.
September 5,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on September 2006
O’Sullivan Industries reported today that it will be ramping up production in its Lamar, MO production facility. With an expected increase in sales, and in light of increased reliance on the Lamar facility, the company reports they will hire over 100 new employees in the next few weeks.
The facility seeks candidates to fill positions in production, material handling, and distribution to supplement the nearly 800 associates that already work at the Lamar facility. Recruiting partners in the surrounding communities have joined the effort; local branches of the Randstad and Manpower Staffing Firms have teamed with O’Sullivan to find the right candidates to fill the openings.
O’Sullivan says a sustained need for increased production at the Lamar plant is combined with continued increases in warehousing and distribution of sourced product. “O’Sullivan is making great strides in utilizing capacity in our North American manufacturing facility,” said Kelly Terry, SVP of Operations.
Candidates are invited to apply in person at O’Sullivan’s Lamar facility or through its recruiting partners Randstad and Manpower.
September 4,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on September 2006
Pulaski Furniture and case goods importer SLF merged last week under a new holding company named Home Meridian International.
SLF President George Revington is president and chief executive officer for Home Meridian; and John Oakley, who was chief financial officer of Pulaski Furniture, will be the chief financial officer of the combined enterprise. Larry Webb will resign his position as president and chief executive officer of Pulaski after assisting the new company in its transition. The two companies will continue to operate as stand-alone entities and brands under their existing management, while leveraging the combined resources and strong executive teams to achieve their goals.
Through the merger, Home Meridian International will have both East and West coast distribution space totaling more than 1 million square feet, and inventory in Asia to support quick-ship direct-container and mixed-container programs. The combined companies have more than 90,000 square feet of showroom space in High Point, and 25,000 square feet in Las Vegas. The company carries a full assortment of products, including collections, promotional bedroom, promotional dining room, youth, juvenile, entertainment, accents and curios.
“As a result of the operational and financial success of each of these companies, there is tremendous potential to leverage best business practices to increase our sales growth and accelerate our operational efficiencies. The companies are complementary in their price points, categories, and customer bases; and our combined scale makes it possible to implement world class supply chain, quality and new product development systems,” Revington said. “The globalization of our industry has created many business opportunities, from which both companies have benefited. These trends will continue and accelerate, and Home Meridian International is perfectly positioned to build the best global business model to serve the furniture industry and to be a platform for future growth.”