Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
July 10,
2006 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on July 2006
The nation’s major container ports are expected to see record cargo levels this summer and fall, but should be able to handle the added workload without congestion problems that have strained the industry’s supply chains in the past.
That’s according to the July Port Tracker report released Monday by the National Retail Federation and economic research firm Global Insight.
“We’re beginning to see numbers this summer that are higher than the peak for the entire year of 2005,” said Global Insight Economist Paul Bingham. “Last year’s records look like they’ve already been broken, and we should be hitting new records all summer and right up through November. Despite the volume, the ports are operating without congestion from harbor to gate and out onto the rail system. There are challenges to sustaining system performance because of the growth in volume, but we expect shippers will get through the season without significant congestion.”
All ports covered by Port Tracker–Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma and Seattle on the West Coast, and New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast–are currently rated “low” for congestion, the same as last month.
Nationwide, ports surveyed handled 1.34 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs)–which represents a 20-foot cargo container or its equivalent–of container traffic in May, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. That was up 1.2 percent from April and 9 percent from May 2005.
Projected volume for June was expected to be 1.38 million TEUs, already above 2005’s peak of 1.37 million set last October, the traditional peak month of the shipping season. Over the six-month forecast period of the report, volume is expected to climb to a peak of 1.49 million TEUs this October–up 8.7 percent from October 2005–before settling to 1.39 million TEUs in November.Port Tracker, which is produced by the economic research, forecasting and analysis firm Global Insight for NRF, looks at inbound container volume, the availability of trucks and railroad cars to move cargo out of the ports, labor conditions and other factors that affect cargo movement and congestion.
July 10,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on July 2006
Furniture manufacturing and retail powerhouse Ethan Allen gave the investment community a heads up Tuesday on its most recent fiscal year, which ended last month.
“We are pleased to report that delivered sales for the year ended June 30, 2006, totaled $1.066 billion,” said Farooq Kathwari, chairman and chief executive officer. “Annual sales exceeding $1 billion represents a milestone for the company. As stated previously, we remain comfortable with the analysts’ current range of earnings estimates for both the quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2006.”
Ethan Allen’s fiscal 2006 sales performance represents a 12.3 percent increase over 2005’s $949 million, and a considerable rebound, especially compared to the $955.1 million Ethan Allen rang up in fiscal 2004.
Ethan Allen will issue a final report on quarterly and yearly earnings at the end of this month. A live Web cast and replay of an 11 a.m. Eastern Time conference call will be available at http://www.ethanallen.com/investors.
July 10,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Occassional Tables on July 2006
Case goods, occasional and leather upholstery importer Homelegance will open its 14th U.S. warehouse, located in El Paso, Texas, by the end of this month.
The 55,000-square-foot high-cube facility with seven loading doors will serve the greater El Paso area, including portions of New Mexico and the immediate border areas of Mexico.
Homelegance offers retailers options for local warehouse service, or product via mixed container and/or direct container shipment.
“With the addition of the El Paso warehouse we are building upon our strength as an unparalleled source for all categories of imported furniture,” said Jamie Collins, vice president of sales and marketing. “Not only is this the 14th warehouse from which retailers can draw product locally, but with our five warehouses placed strategically in Malaysia, Vietnam and China it brings our total warehouse count to 19.”
July 9,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on July 2006
Canadian solid wood case goods manufacturer Durham Furniture will return to the Toronto Furniture Show this summer with a permanent showroom in Canada’s Furniture Mart, the event’s venue in Mississauga, Ont.
Durham hadn’t been at the show, scheduled for Aug. 14-16, for three years. The company’s new 6,700-square-foot showroom is in Suite 229 at the International Centre, site of Canada’s Furniture Mart, and where around 50 suppliers keep permanent spaces.
“Returning to Canada’s Furniture Mart re-affirms our commitment to building true partnerships with Canadian furniture retailers, who have been unwavering in their support of Durham Furniture for over a century,” said Keith McSpurren, chief executive officer of Durham.
“We are committed to building our business in Canada and believe there is an increasing demand on the part of the consumer for high-quality, made in North America solid wood bedroom furniture.”
The showroom will highlight every collection offered under both the Durham and Orville & Mead brand names as well the Mount Vernon Collection. When the showroom opens in August, it will be first time that Orville & Mead and the Mount Vernon Collection have been shown in Canada.
Durham’s showroom will remain open year-round, Tuesday through Thursday; and on Saturdays, except for summer and long weekends. The showroom also will open for the Canadian Home Furnishings Market next January.
To celebrate the opening of the showroom, Durham will unveil selected key items from the latest offering in the Mount Vernon Collection for the first time anywhere. An official opening reception and ribbon cutting is also planned during show time but the exact day and time has yet to be set.
July 9,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on July 2006
Case goods supplier Sandberg Furniture will showcase a new top-of-bed merchandising program in parternship with Melrose Home Collections at Las Vegas market.
Additions to Sandberg’s platinum and namesake Sandberg lines will be accented with ready-to-ship spreads, pillow cases and shams from Melrose.
“We understand the need for the furniture retailer to have beautiful vignettes in their stores,” said Sandberg President John Sandberg. “The addition of the Melrose Ready-to-Ship program offers a fresh alternative to how we sell our case goods.”
The new Melrose top-of-bed collections will complement Sandberg’s new designs, which include traditional and transitional, as well as a new contemporary look.
“We saw this as a great marriage of our two companies to work on this program,” said John Emrani, president of Melrose Home Collections.
Melrose Home Collection supplies fashion soft home furnishings to national retailers. Melrose currently caters to the mass and specialty sectors of the home retail market and has launched this program for small to mid-size retailers.
“This new concept keeps the furniture looking great on retail floors and educates the consumer how the bed will look in their homes,” Sandberg said.
Sandberg’s Las Vegas showroom is space 700 in Building One of the World Market Center.