Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
June 22,
2006 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2006
Christopher Dodds has been elected to the board of directors of Cost Plus, the parent of World Market.
Dodds, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Charles Schwab Corp., will serve as the board’s financial expert.
He joined Charles Schwab in 1986 and has held a variety of financial positions in treasury, financial planning and analysis and corporate development.
“We are very fortunate to have someone of Chris’ financial caliber join the board,” said Barry Feld, president and chief executive officer. “As a CFO of a major public financial services company, Chris brings a strong working knowledge of emerging accounting issues and financial trends.”
Cost Plus currently has 274 stores in 34 states.
June 22,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 2006
Fort Worth, Texas-based Pier 1 Imports has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents per share on the company’s outstanding shares of common stock.
The dividend is payable Aug. 16 to shareholders of record on Aug. 2.
The announcement follows the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting during which Marvin Girouard, chairman and chief executive officer, told shareholders not to expect a quick turnaround of the specialty retailer’s financial situation.
“This next quarter doesn’t look any better than the first quarter,” he said. “We believe in the third quarter and certainly in the fourth quarter [that] we have a good chance to get back to profitability.”
The company posted a first quarter loss of $23.2 million recently, and sales for the quarter dropped 3.6 percent to $376.1 million. Same-store sales for the quarter fell 6.6 percent.
Girouard repeated his mantra that the retailer is in the midst of remerchandising its product lineup with a more contemporary look to better connect with changing consumer tastes.
June 22,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on June 2006
American Furniture Warehouse will sponsor a weekend of entertainment and golf to raise money for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, a non-profit organization providing support to families who have lost a loved one serving in the military.
The event will take place July 14-17 at Heather Ridge Country Club in Aurora, Colo.
Jake Jabs, president and CEO of Thornton, Colo.-based American Furniture Warehouse is encouraging members of the furniture industry and businesses everywhere to join him in supporting TAPS.
“Members of the military are out there defending our country each and every day,” Jabs said. “Many of these brave men and women unfortunately lose their lives to protect the freedom that you and I enjoy, and it is only right for us to give back to those left behind after their loved ones make the ultimate sacrifice for all of us.”
Singer and songwriter, Gary Morris, who starred as Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables” on Broadway and whose songwriting credits include “Wind Beneath My Wings,” will serve as event host for the weekend’s events. Other celebrities and congressional delegates are slated to be in attendance. Bo Cottrell, a long-time friend of Jabs, is organizing the event.
Other highlights include a celebrity invitational golf tournament, an evening of music featuring top songwriters, as well as group dinners and awards ceremonies.
“It is shaping up to be a wonderful weekend for a very important cause, and we hope that our friends in the furniture industry and business community will join us to raise as much as we can for families struggling to cope with the loss of their loved ones killed in the line of duty,” Jabs said.
Various sponsorship and participation levels are available for the event. For more information, contact Bo Cottrell at (303) 842-1348, (303) 696-0450 or via email at lcottrell@aol.com. More information about TAPS can be found at
www.TAPS .org.
June 21,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on June 2006
Cathy Smith has been named vice president of merchandising for Weiman Furniture.
In the role, she will be responsible for product development, fabric selection, creation of new sales aids and product presentations at market.
“Cathy will be instrumental in defining the overall style and design of both the Weiman and Preview upholstery collections” said Carl Philips, president of Interlude Home, parent company of Weiman Furniture. “She will work closely with executives and designers at Interlude Home in broadening Weiman/Preview’s contemporary offerings with new occasional furniture and accessories.”
Philips said Smith will work as a liaison to new and existing contemporary designers in fashioning for both Weiman and for Interlude Home.
Prior to joining Weiman, Smith was with Lazar Inds. where she was a director with duties encompassing textiles, sales support, merchandising and showroom coordination. She also administered the implementation of a new proprietary manufacturing computer system at Lazar.
June 21,
2006 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on June 2006
Case goods importer Legacy Classic officially announced plans for a new distribution center and corporate office in High Point today.
The 347,000-square-foot high-cube warehouse facility includes 40,000 square feet of offices for Legacy Classic’s corporate staff. The company will relocate from its original 200,000-square-foot facility located in Whitsett, N.C., east of Greensboro.
“With our future growth demanding an increase in space, we feel this expansion will benefit us greatly for many years to come, allowing us to expand the building to 500,000 square feet in time,” said Kevin O’Connor, president and chief executive officer.
O’Connor noted that the new location is closer to the High Point market and is in the middle of what he called the best furniture transportation hub in the country. The High Point warehouse and office will be ready for occupancy in Spring 2007.
The company received a $305,000 incentives package from the city of High Point to support the relocation. Legacy Classic is affiliated with Chinese manufacturer Lacquer Craft and also sources goods from Markor.