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July 12,
2006 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on July 2006
The National Retail Federation urged the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday to approve legislation that would grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations status to Vietnam.
“NRF and American retailers strongly support the bilateral trade agreement that was concluded on May 31, 2006, between the United States and Vietnam as part of the process to complete Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization,” NRF Senior Vice President Steve Pfister said in a letter to committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. “In order for the United States to realize the benefit of this agreement and Vietnam’s membership in the WTO, we whole-heartedly endorse congressional passage of legislation to grant Vietnam Permanent Normal Trade Relations status as soon as possible.”
The Finance Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing today on a bill that would grant permanent normal trade status to Vietnam, a move that is necessary in order for the United States to take advantage of reductions in trade barriers provided under the May 31 agreement.
“Vietnam is still a comparatively small but growing supplier to the U.S. market of such basic consumer goods as furniture, footwear, apparel, coffee and seafood,” Pfister wrote. “Extending PNTR for Vietnam will provide the business predictability necessary for retailers to expand commerce ties and investment in Vietnam.”
Pfister urged senators to reject U.S. textile makers’ demand for continued quotas on imports from Vietnam, saying the demand is unfounded because Vietnam accounts for only 3.2 percent of U.S. textile and apparel imports by dollar value and 1.9 percent by volume. He said that more than 90 percent of all clothing imported from Vietnam is produced by privately owned companies rather than state-owned enterprises, “a positive trend that would be further reinforced by eliminating quotas on those products.”
The bilateral agreement calls for the United States to eliminate all existing textile and apparel quotas on Vietnam as soon as Vietnam’s WTO membership becomes official, and in return requires that Vietnam eliminate all WTO-prohibited subsidies to its textile and apparel industries. As an enforcement mechanism, the United States would be allowed to impose temporary quotas on imports from Vietnam for up to a year if violations of the subsidy prohibition were proven.
July 12,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on July 2006
The Rowe Cos.’ second-quarter 2006 net shipments of $67.7 million were off 15.2 percent from the same prior-year period; while the upholstery manufacturer and operator of retailer Storehouse’s loss almost doubled from $2.5 million in second-quarter 2005 to $4.9 million for the three months ended May 28.
Gross profit as a percentage of net shipments showed improvement, though, rising to 33.6 percent, from 30.3 percent for the second quarter of 2005. Price increases announced in the late fall took effect during the quarter, manufacturing efficiencies were implemented as part of the company’s turnaround plan, and higher-margin retail shipments increased as a percentage of total shipments due to 12 new Storehouse stores opening since the beginning of 2005.
Second-quarter 2006 included two charges--a pre-tax charge of $1 million to write-down the value of excess, discontinued and slow-moving fabric inventory (created from a combination of duplicate fabric orders, quantities ordered in excess of customer needs and a lack of system visibility as to quantities on hand and on order from fabric vendors) in the manufacturing segment; and a $350,000 pre-tax charge to increase the company’s bad debt reserve due to the uncertain retail environment. The inventory charge was included in cost of goods sold, while the bad debt charge was included in selling and administrative expenses.
“During the second quarter we continued to achieve cost reductions in our manufacturing operations as part of our turnaround plan, contributing to an improvement in manufacturing gross margins compared to the second quarter of 2005,” stated Gerald Birnbach, chairman and president. “In our retail unit, the 12 new stores opened since the beginning of 2005 also contributed to our overall higher gross margin. However, incoming orders have been below prior-year levels at our manufacturing unit, and on a same-store basis at our retail units. As a result, we have adjusted our capacity by reducing employee head count, and through these reductions and attrition, the staffing level in our manufacturing unit is down 29 percent compared to May 2005. Selling prices and delivery fees were increased in both operating units during the quarter. Management of our retail unit has initiated a number of cost saving efforts including a hiring freeze, travel restrictions, and has committed to engage an outside consulting firm to assist in further cost saving efforts. These steps are in addition to those reported in our first quarter release.”
For the first six months of fiscal 2006, Rowe’s net shipments fell 7.3 percent to $134.8 million, compared to the comparable prior-year period. The first-half net loss from continuing operations was $8.3 million, compared to a prior-year loss of $5.5 million.
The Rowe Cos. operates two subsidiaries: Rowe Furniture Inc., a manufacturer of quality upholstered furniture for the middle and upper middle market; and Storehouse Inc., a multi-channel, lifestyle home furnishings business including 71 retail home furnishings stores.
July 11,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on July 2006
Jennifer Convertibles, owner and licensor of the largest U.S. group of sofa-bed specialty retail stores, reported unaudited fiscal 2006 third-quarter revenue of $35.5 million and net income of $2.245 million, respective increases of 16.4 percent and 63.5 percent over prior-year performance.
Through Jennifer’s first nine-months of fiscal 2006, which ended May 27, the company reported a 21.4% revenue increase to $104.2 million. Year-to-date net income was $3.65 million, compared to a loss of $6.5 million through the first three quarters of fiscal 2005.
“We are extremely pleased to again report significant increases in revenues and operating results for our third fiscal quarter,” said Harley Greenfield, Jennifer Convertibles’ chief executive officer. “This marks our fifth consecutive profitable quarter. Strong demand for our product offerings has continued, and we anticipate reporting increasing revenues, while maintaining operating margins, resulting in continued profitability. We believe the results, which have been achieved during the previous five quarters, confirm that our plan is on course to restore profitability and growth. We expect this to continue into the future.”
Jennifer closed a store in Las Vegas in the third quarter, and has closed three fiscal year to date. In fiscal 2005, the company closed 20 stores.
Jennifer Convertibles’ retail network includes 175 Jennifer Convertibles stores and 16 Jennifer Leather stores. As of May 27, the company owned 167 stores and licensed 24 locations, including 23 stores owned and operated by a private company on a royalty free basis.
July 11,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on July 2006
Senior management of Leath Furniture, backed by the owners of Value City and top management of Planned Furniture Promotions, has purchased the 27-store Atlanta-based retailer, which operates 20 locations in five midwestern states, and seven Modernage Furniture storefronts in Florida.
Leath President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Phillips, Chief Financial Officer Barbara Snow, and Jolene Takemura, vice president of merchandising, have joined with SB Capital Group--an affiliate of Columbus, Ohio-based Schottenstein Stores Corp., owners and operators of Value City Department Stores, DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, Value City Furniture and American Eagle Outfitters--and PFP managers to acquire the company, which will continue to operate all its stores under the Leath Furniture and Modernage names.
Phillips will continue as CEO of Leath Furniture.
“Leath is an acquisition that fits squarely within our strategy of acquiring retailers with growth potential,” said Scott Bernstein, principal and chief operating officer of SB Capital Group. “Through our successful history of buying businesses and intellectual property, we know how to rebuild a company’s assets. We are excited to be a part of this venture and have the opportunity to work with Ron and his team and the senior managers of Planned Furniture Promotions to make Leath the predominant furniture retailer in its niche markets.”
July 10,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on July 2006
Case goods importer Master Design has relocated its corporate office to High Point from Ontario, Calif.
The company’s new office is at 210 Lexington Ave., and currently has an eight-member staff. That should grow to between 10 and 15 people by the end of the year, said Joe Elmore, executive vice president of sales, marketing and product development.
All sales, marketing, product development and corporate administration functions are now performed at the High Point headquarters.
“We’re putting a punctuation mark on the fact that our corporate identity has moved from California to High Point,” Elmore said. “The main reason we need to be here is because the infrastructure for the furniture industry is in High Point--the logistics, designers, and photography, finish and hardware suppliers are close by.”
Plans also are in the works to establish a distribution center for Master Design in the High Point area.
“We don’t want to lose what we have in California, and that operation will continue as a regional warehouse,” Elmore said.
In addition, Felix Zatary has been named vice president of sales administration. An 18-year Master Design veteran, he had been vice president of operations.
“He will coordinate between or product management and sales management teams to ensure efficient coverage of our customer base,” Elmore said.
Jackie Osborne has been named director of product management, as well.
Vice President of Sales Bill Archer will maintain offices both in High Point and in South Beach, Fla.