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July 9,
2006 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on July 2006
The deadline is fast approaching for submissions to this year’s American Society of Furniture Designers’Pinnacle awards for furniture design in a range of categories.
All entries for the competition are due August 4.
“ASFD is extremely proud and excited about the continued growth of the Pinnacle awards and the enthusiasm they have generated for the importance of design within our industry,” said Jack Lewis, ASFD vice president and Pinnacle chairman for 2006. “We look forward to an outstanding awards ceremony at the October market and would like to remind everyone of the change of date this year as well as the earlier deadline for Pinnacle entries of August 4.”
ASFD recommends that entries be express mailed to ASFD. The 2006 Pinnacle entry forms and instructions can be downloaded at
www.asfdpinnacle.com/news.php. Entry forms for the second annual ASFD President’s Award can likewise be downloaded or mailed.
FurnitureToday is the major underwriter of the 2006 ASFD Pinnacles. and its editor-in-chief, Ray Allegrezza will emcee the awards banquet Monday evening, Oct. 16 at the International Home Furnishings Center ballroom in High Point.
The 2006 Pinnacle sponsors are APA-The Engineered Wood Association, Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers, Elmo Leather, FurnitureFan Inc., Furniture Style, Hafele America Co., Hickory Springs Manufacturing, Home Furnishings Business, Home Lighting & Accessories, Leggett & Platt, The October Co., Weyerhaeuser and the World Market Center in Las Vegas.
This year’s judges judges are Richard Bennington, High Point University; Gary Evans, FurnitureToday; Leslie Fishbein, Kacey Fine Furniture, Denver, Col.; Francel Goude, RFG-Global Design Group; Jackie Hirschhaut, American Home Furnishings Alliance; Dan Minor, Boyles Furniture, Hickory, N.C.; Thelma Lazo-Flores, Savannah College of Art & Design; Sheila Long O’Mara, Home Furnishings Business; Max Shangle, Kendall College of Art & Design; Julie Smith, Furniture Style and its supplements; Steve Walker, North Carolina State University’s Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center; and Rhonda Wolf, Havertys, Atlanta.
July 6,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Leather Upholstery on July 2006
Full-line supplier Hooker Furniture Corp. reported second-quarter 2006 sales of $90.7 million and net income of $5.8 million, increases of 2.3 percent and 20 percent, respectively over prior-year performance.
“We managed a strong finish during the last two weeks of the quarter that propelled our top line increase,” said Paul Toms Jr., chairman and chief executive officer. “The late-quarter shipments surge was driven primarily by product availability. We were able to ship roughly $3 million of container-direct imported product sooner than expected, resulting in a record shipping month in May for container direct items.”
Toms credited increased volume and product mix for the improvement in profits.
For the six months ended May 31, 2006, sales were up 4 percent to $176 million, while net income of $9.4 million was 20.3 percent ahead of the first half of 2005.
Rising sales for Hooker’s imported wood and metal furniture drove revenue increases for both the second quarter and first half. Second-quarter sales of those imports increased 24.2 percent to $61.5 million, compared to the same period in 2005; and were up 24.8% for the first six months of 2006.
A decline in sales of domestic wood product offset increased import sales for both the quarter and first half. For the second quarter, sales of domestic wood declined 43.4 percent to $12.1 million; and was down 36.2 percent for the first six months of 2006.
“The rate of sales decline in domestically produced wood furniture has accelerated and necessitated the announced closing of our Roanoke Va. plant,” Toms said. “Aggressive pricing and discounting, reduced production schedules and the under-absorption of overhead have reduced profitability for domestically manufactured products over the last several years. Going forward, we expect overall profitability to improve as sales of domestically produced wood furniture become a smaller piece of the total business. We are committed to maintaining domestic wood furniture production through our Martinsville facility and anticipate improving operating performance there by late this year.”
During the late summer and fall periods, Toms added, “the company plans to transfer products from the Roanoke plant to Martinsville and begin production of a higher-end, solid wood bedroom that was well received at the Spring International Home Furnishings Market in High Point.” he added.
Overall second-quarter 2006 net sales for Hooker’s wood and metal furniture rose 3.8 percent compared to the prior-year period to $73.6 million; and are up 5.6 percent year to date to $143.1 million.
Net sales of Bradington-Young’s upholstered leather furniture experienced a decline for both the quarterly and six-month periods. For the second quarter, Bradington-Young sales declined 4 percent to $17.1 million compared to 2005; and were down 2.4 percent in the first half of this year to $32.9 million.
Bradington-Young’s sales decreases resulted from lower orders for domestically produced upholstered furniture, partially offset by double-digit growth in imported upholstered furniture.
“Soft business at retail is impacting Bradington-Young’s business,” Toms said. “On the positive side, Bradington-Young had a strong April market. Prior to the Spring 2006 market we moved Bradington-Young’s showroom into a space near our wood furniture showroom, which offered greater visibility to dealers for our upholstered furniture products.”
The improvements in operating income in the 2006 periods were partially offset by increases in selling and administrative expenses primarily resulting from higher warehousing and distribution costs. Contributing to these costs were “record receipts of imported product, which exceeded our receiving capacity, resulting in higher costs,” Toms said. Noting that the Company currently has record amounts of finished goods inventory and warehouse space utilization, he added, “Improvements in forecasting and supply chain management currently being implemented should enable us to operate with less inventory and warehouse space without compromising timely product shipments to our customers. We expect to see inventories stabilize over the next few months and then begin to decline.”
On June 7, Hooker Furniture announced that it plans to close its Roanoke production facility by the end of August 2006. The move results from declining demand for the Company’s domestically produced wood furniture and increased demand for and sales of its imported wood and metal furniture, and parallels the shift of furniture production offshore throughout the industry. As reported last month, the Company expects to record restructuring and related asset impairment charges of $4.5 to $5.0 million pretax ($2.8 to $3.1 million after tax, or $0.23 to $0.26 per share) to write-down certain assets, and for severance benefits and other related restructuring and disassembly costs. Hooker expects to record approximately 85 percent to 95 percent of pre-tax charges and expenses of $4.5 million to $5 million related to the closure of its Roanoke plant in third-quarter 2006. That closure should reduce fixed operating expenses by $2 million to $2.5 million a year.
In May 2006, Hooker completed the sale of substantially all of its Pleasant Garden, N.C., real property and remaining equipment for an aggregate consideration, including proceeds from an equipment auction held in December 2005, of $1.4 million ($1 million in cash and a note for $400,000), net of selling expenses.
Looking forward to the second half of the year, “we expect business conditions to remain very challenging for the near term,” Toms said. “We believe a number of factors, including rising interest rates, a slowdown in housing activity, higher energy costs and a weak stock market are causing consumers to stay on the sidelines. We don’t expect conditions to improve until late in the third quarter at best, at which time we will be in a strong inventory position to quickly take advantage of the upturn.”
July 6,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on July 2006
Mattress fabric supplier Culp announced Thursday that it has received an inquiry from the New York Stock Exchange regarding recent market activity in company’s stock.
Culp’s stock was up 7 percent in afternoon trading to $6.10.
The company said it has made no new business announcements since its fourth-quarter earnings release on June 26, and is unaware of any developments since that time that would account for the recent market activity in its stock.
The company said it is its policy and practice to release material news as soon as practical, and that it is not currently contemplating any such release.
July 6,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on July 2006
American Furniture Warehouse teamed up with Ashley Furniture and radio station KYGO-FM in Denver, Col., during June to raise $312,680 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
St. Jude, in Memphis, Tenn., is the world’s premier center for the research and treatment of cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases.
Throughout the month of June, Thornton, Col.-based AFW collected donations for St. Jude at all 10 of its Colorado locations. Later in the month, American Furniture Warehouse’s Englewood Mega Store hosted the 2006 Country Cares for St. Jude Kids Radiothon, which was broadcast live on KYGO over two days.
American Furniture Warehouse customers, KYGO listeners and the general public raised $312,680 for the hospital, which was founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas to help children and families everywhere.
This year’s radiothon included a visit from Denver-area St. Jude patient Garrett, whose family shared his St. Jude experience with the station’s listeners. Garrett is just one of the tens of thousands of children who have benefited from the cutting-edge research and treatment at St. Jude since its opening in 1962.
“We believe in helping those who need it most, and to us, children battling serious illnesses like St. Jude kids are at the top of the list,” said Jake Jabs, president and chief executive officer of American Furniture Warehouse. “The public was obviously moved by the stories of brave children and families who are served by St. Jude, as we were, and they joined us to make
a difference.”
Since its inception in 1989, the Country Cares program has grown to include more than 200 radio station partners raising more than $250 million in pledges.
In appreciation for its customers’ support of the effort, American Furniture Warehouse gave everyone who came into its stores in June the chance to register to win great prizes from KYGO and Ashley Furniture. Prizes included an Ashley living room set; a VIP suite for eight people to attend the 26th KYGO Birthday Show starring Brad Paisley and Sara Evans at Coors Amphitheater on June 23; a KYGO Flyaway trip for two to see country star Gary Allan and another KYGO Flyaway trip for two to see country star Toby Keith.
“Whenever we invite our customers to support organizations that do great work for people who are truly in need, they are right there with us, opening their hearts to make a difference,” Jabs said. “The St. Jude fund-raiser was no different, and we just wanted to let everyone know how much we appreciate their support,” Jabs said.
July 5,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on July 2006
The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued preliminary rulings in the cases of three so-called “new shipper” Chinese manufacturers of wood bedroom furniture, plants that had begun shipping the category after the time frame covered by DOC’s original antidumping investigation.
In its initial findings, DOC ruled that Dongguan Landmark Furniture Products Ltd., or Landmark, had not sold goods below fair market value, thereby placing no duties on its products; and assessed preliminary duties for two other manufacuters. “New shipper” reviews covered operations from June 24, 2004, through June 30, 2005.
Shenyang Kunyu Wood Industry Co., or Kunyu, received a preliminary duty of 222.04 percent for its wood bedroom furniture bound for U.S. markets; and Meikangchi Nantong Furniture Co., or Meikagnchi, received a 1.25 percent rate.
DOC also rescinded the new shipper review for WBE Inds. (Hui-Yang) Co., since it determined that the manufacturer had been shipping wood bedroom furniture to the U.S. market during the time frame examined during the original investigation.