August 9,
2006 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on August 2006
Broyhill Furniture Inds. announced Thursday the sale of its particleboard facility in Lenoir, N.C., to North State Property Holdings. The 193,600-square-foot plant produces particleboard for Broyhill and other manufacturers.
“The primary reason for this sale is the changing dynamics of the global furniture industry,” said Broyhill spokesman Tom Lentz. “Broyhill no longer is the primary user of particleboard produced in this facility and operating a supply facility is not part of our current business model. Fortunately, we are very pleased that North State plans to purchase and continue operating this facility in Lenoir.”
Phillip Delp of North State Property Holdings said the plant will continue to supply the industry.
“Our intentions are to continue manufacturing particleboard for the current customers as well as seeking additional customers,” he said. “This is an excellent operation with fine associates and we expect to retain most of the current employees. We are looking forward to working with the community in Caldwell County to make this operation very successful.”
The particleboard facility began production in early 1996 and employs 52 workers. Broyhill will cease employing these associates no earlier than Oct. 9. Ownership of this facility will be transferred to North State after the close of business for the week ending Oct. 14, and expectations are that North State will employ the majority of the current work force as soon as the company assumes ownership.
August 9,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on August 2006
RoomChoices has named Doug Bravata vice president of business development. The industry veteran will manage the growth and licensing of RoomChoices gallery dealers.
Bravata has held management positions with retailers that include Seffner, Fla.-based Rooms to Go, and Kanes Furniture in Sarasota, Fla.
“Doug brings a new level of experience and perspective to our team,” said RoomChoices President Dale Nutter. “his retail background will be instrumental in the growth of our RoomChoices program.”
RoomChoices launched its concept of turnkey gallery programs for independent retailers last October. The program features goods from key manufacturers, as well as full-service logistics and technology.
McMinn’s of Odessa, Texas, opened the first RoomChoices gallery in March this year. Tom McMinn, a second-generation retailer, has dedicated 3,000 square feet of his store to showcase the private-label gallery program.
In April, Indian River Furniture opened a 3,000-square-foot RoomChoices Gallery in its 34,000-square-foot store in Rockledge, Fla. Owners Bridget Lilly and Forest Lilly are third-generation retailers who’ve developed a strong market niche in service and design for consumers.
RoomChoices added two more galleries in July with a 3,600-square-foot presentation at Colony House Furniture in Chambersburg, Pa.; and a 3,000-square-foot gallery at TEMA Contemporary Furniture in Albuquerque, N.M. Additional galleries set to open over the next few months include stores in Draper, Utah, and Traverse City, Mich.
Each of the RoomChoices galleries features private labeled full line furnishings from over 12 leading manufacturers, selected specifically to meet the needs of each market area and complement the stores’ merchandising strategy, with over 450 fabrics and a real time on-line inventory representing 100,000 square feet of product.
August 8,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on August 2006
Standard & Poor’s announced yesterday that it had lowered Furniture Brands International’s credit rating from BBB to BBB-minus.
In a release, S&P said FBI’s performance was weaker than expected, citing decreased pre-tax earnings, depreciation and amortization, increasing costs for raw materials, and weak sales in the key mid-price range for furniture.
While net income through the second quarter of 2006 is more than a third ahead of last year, FBI’s sales were only slightly ahead of the prior year.
August 8,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on August 2006
Canadian case goods and leather upholstery major Palliser will break into four operating companies for residential furniture, one for the contract market, and a real estate group to operate the 220 South Elm showroom building in High Point.
“The world around us is changing, our family is reaching a transition point, and we need to make important decisions to reflect the changing world in which we live and to fully engage the energy and abilities of the next generation of family members,” said Art DeFehr, president of Palliser.
Palliser’s new furniture operating entities include:
* Palliser Furniture, which incorporates the existing company’s upholstered furniture division, which has particular strength in leather. The new company has several plants in Canada, four factories in Mexico, and will import finished upholstered products from Asia. Art DeFehr will continue as president with Carsten Diercks, currently the senior vice president, as the senior manager. Executive Vice President of Sales John Philips and Adrian Price, vice president for Canadian sales and sales administration, will lead the sales effort. James DeFehr, nephew of Art DeFehr, is senior manager of Palliser operations in Mexico. Due to currency values, Palliser’s Canadian production will focus on the domestic market there, while Mexican plants will supply the U.S. and Mexican markets, augmented in the near future by product from Asia.
* DeFehr Furniture is based at Palliser’s 400,000-square-foot Winnipeg case goods plant, which was sold to third-generation family members in 2004. Andrew DeFehr, 38, nephew of Art DeFehr, and a 16-year veteran in wood manufacturing, heads this group, and has adjusted the product offering and customer base to keep it profitable in the face of imports and a more valuable Canadian dollar.
The operation also includes Palliser’s 500,000-square-foot-plus Logic plant, also located in Winnipeg, a fully integrated facility that includes its own sawmill, particleboard plant, veneer plant, laminating facility, and a European-style flat line for finishing.
The enlarged DeFehr Furniture will consist of 1,000,000 square feet of domestic wood manufacturing and more than 1,000 employees, and represents a combination of functions rarely found in North American furniture plants today.
* Blend Furniture Co., headed by long time sales and marketing veteran Roger Friesen, who serves as president of the new entity, represents Palliser’s operations for imported case goods. Philip Klassen, who has both domestic manufacturing and Asian sourcing experience, is vice president of operations. Ben Horch, a 35-year Palliser veteran, is vice president of sales. Blend Furniture will continue to operate out of Winnipeg.
* EQ3, a retail concept Palliser established in 2001, will continue under the leadership of Peter Tielmann, 34, and Art DeFehr’s son-in-law.
Tielmann conceived idea for EQ3 based on his European background and has developed the concept to allow for a full range of merchandise in all categories for a 10,000-square-foot retail footprint. EQ3 supplies both franchise stores that are exclusively dedicated to EQ3 merchandise as well as galleries in more traditional furniture outlets that seek to attract a younger customer. EQ3 sources most of its wood product in Asia but produces its own upholstered products in plants in Winnipeg and Mexico.
* Arconas is a specialty contract furniture company unknown to most customers of Palliser. Arconas specializes in “public seating” and has recently furnished the seating at the new Dallas International Terminal, Boston’s Logan International Airport, Abu Dhabi and many others. The company has been purchased by Dan Nussbaum, son-in-law of Art DeFehr, and is based in Toronto.
While DeFehr believes that a conglomerate structure such as Palliser’s previous organization is possible for a major furniture supplier today, emerging competitors’ focused strategies and product lines demanded a similar approach from Palliser, especially as new generations enter family businesses that have grown beyond the founders’ expectations.
“Creating a cluster of smaller, more focused companies also creates opportunity for third-generation family members to again become entrepreneurs and re-discover the excitement and opportunity of their parents and grandfather,” he said. “Given the history, relationships and shared locations the ‘new’ companies have the opportunity and freedom to co-operate where that is in their interest but to be flexible and creative where that is required. In one instance, the case goods import business, leadership will pass to a group of senior management rather than a family member.”
Palliser or its shareholders will continue to own and manage the 220 Elm showroom facility in High Point plus other investments.
Palliser has considered becoming a public company from time to time but the DeFehr family has always opted for the personal freedom that comes with private ownership.
“The world is changing, the industry is changing and we need to change as well,” DeFehr said. “Part of that change is simply to get out of the way and let the next generation of owners and managers create their own space in a confusing world.”
August 7,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on August 2006
Martha Stewart has reached an agreement to settle her 5-year-old insider trading civil case with the Security and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay a $195,000 fine and promising not to serve as director of a publicly held company for five years.
The agreement means that the home design and entertainment expert, who served a five-month term in federal prison after rejecting any plea bargain, appears to have put the long-running case behind her.
Stewart has a licensed line of furniture with Bernhardt, and was in High Point earlier this summer for a preview of her furniture introduction at October market.