Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
November 29,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Accessories on November 30, 2012
Wall art vendors Propac Images and Paragon have leased side-by-side flagship showrooms on Floor 12, Building 1 of AmericasMart Atlanta.
The new showrooms will be ready for the Jan. 9-16 Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market.
The closely held companies are run by second-generation siblings: Vince Glassco is the president of Propac Images; Lendell Glassco is the president of Paragon; and Malanta Glassco-Knowles is vice president and works with both companies in product development and marketing. Together the companies will occupy 8,400 square feet. Propac will exhibit its full line in 12-A-2, and Paragon will exhibit in the showroom next door in 12-A-8. Leasing adjacent showrooms means the companies can share technology, hospitality facilities, meeting space and customer service desks, creating a superior, seamless experience for buyers.
We are excited about the prospects both these powerful companies bring to the 12th Floor, said Dave Savula, executive vice president of leasing, AmericasMart. These are long-time successful, family-owned companies that offer diverse product collections, which helps ensure our buyers can find the breadth of wall décor product they look for when shopping in Atlanta.
As more retailers look to provide their customers with products that are made in America, the two companies are proud of their U.S.-based production.
We are based in Alabama so the southeast is our prime customer base, and we want to provide the best showroom experience possible in Atlanta, said Lendell Glassco, president of Paragon. Paragons first show was in the temporaries in Atlanta over 37 years ago, so we are extremely proud to offer a permanent, corporate showroom in AmericasMart.
In addition to their Market presence, the showrooms offer buyers an opportunity to shop throughout the year, ensuring continued access to the full collections in both showrooms--an option especially important to the interior design community.
We also look for increased exposure as the showroom will be open on a daily basis, said Vince Glassco, Propac president, which will allow for more opportunities for us to work with the areas residential and hospitality designers on projects.
November 29,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on November 30, 2012
Furniture retailer Havertys Furniture reports saving $2.2 million in lighting with GEs LED retail lamps.
Havertys, Atlanta, retrofited existing stores with GEs 14-watt Energy Smart LED retail PAR38 lamps and will use those lamps for new construction moving forward. The switch will translate to an average $22,300 lighting cost savings per store per year (based on a $.10 kWh rate and 4,000 hours of operation) or $2.2 million company-wide. The move also is part of a larger environmental initiative.
Our goal was to save money and be good stewards by reducing our energy footprint, said Glenn Boone, director of construction and design for Havertys. The GE lamps were an important ingredient in our cost-saving equation.
With the implementation of new GE indoor LED lighting as an element of its integrated energy management systems, Havertys Fairfax, Va., store is showing a 65 percent reduction for June 2012 compared to June 2011--attributable to a combination of new GE LED lighting and high efficiency HVAC systems.
Meanwhile, among stores retrofit with LED lighting only, Havertys reports an average 25 to 35 percent energy reduction, with its Austin, Texas, location alone seeing a more than 40 percent decrease.
To date, Havertys has purchased 10,000 LED Retail PAR38 lamps, with an additional 5,500 scheduled for delivery. All of its locations are expected to be completed by 2015. The average Havertys store houses 734 lighting fixtures traditionally fit with 90-watt halogen lamps, each costing $36 to operate annually. By comparison, each GE ecomagination 14-watt LED lamp will cost $5.60 to power for a year.
In addition to indoor LED lighting, Havertys is implementing more efficient HVAC and utility control measures across many of its stores to drive costs down further while shrinking its energy footprint. To date, the company reports an overall 21 percent reduction in electricity usage and is working toward even greater reductions over the next year.
The goal of HVTerra, Havertys environmental stewardship program, is to achieve a 25 percent reduction across our portfolio versus our 2008 baseline by the end of 2013. Currently, we anticipate reaching this goal by the end of 2012, one year early, Boone said. We feel very strongly that going forward with our current level of investment in LED lighting, HVAC upgrades and EMS systems, its possible to achieve a 45 to 65 percent reduction overall."
November 29,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Markets on November 30, 2012
Dallas Market Center announced that the Jan. 18-21 Dallas Temp Show has added hundreds of new resources for buyers and more made-in-U.S.A. products than ever before.
The show takes place during the Jan. 16-22 Dallas Total Home & Gift Market.
Exhibitors offering products made domestically will be identified by a bold logo on their booth signs, which allows U.S.-made products to be easily recognized throughout the Temporaries.
More than 500,000-square-feet of product are presented in the Dallas Temp Show with a total of 21 categories. New categories include:
* Luxury Home FINDS, a juried collection of high-end home décor, furniture and home accessories located on World Trade Center (WTC) 1st floor with exhibitors including Authentic Models, Design Legacy by Kelly ONeal, The Elizabeth Lucas Company and Tritter Feefer.
* Boutique2Go, an immediate-purchase category including higher-end fashion and fashion accessories such as apparel, jewelry, handbags, linens, headwear and footwear located in Market Hall. Exhibitors include Aimees Linens, Annettes Touch of Class, Dian Malouf, Double D Ranchwear and Treasures of the Ozarks.
* Vintage Fashion & Gift, an immediate-purchase category featuring vintage-inspired apparel, fashion accessories and gift product located in Market Hall. Exhibitors include Bobby Boyd Designs, Le Muse, Rodeo Royalty, Silver Spoon, Tara Gasparian and Vintage Rose Wraps.
Recently launched categories showing for the first time during the winter edition include:
* Foodie FINDS, gourmet food and beverage items including candies, jams, sauces, mixes and more on WTC 12th floor with exhibitors including Angelic Gourmet, David Mountain Nut, Jennifers Gourmet, Jimmy Os, Hint Mint and Spicewood.
* Table & Housewares FINDS, a collection of functional gifts, dining, cooking and entertaining wares as well as clever items for the home located on WTC 12th floor with a range of exhibitors including Artistic Creations, Creative Gift, Dansk, Gorham and Lenox.
November 29,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Upholstery on November 30, 2012
The American Home Furnishings Alliance says the jury's still out on upholstery flame retardants that garnered headlines in news reports this week.
A recent Duke University/University of California-Berkeley study found that a majority of sofas contain some level of flame retardant chemicals," read the position statement AHFA issued in response to the study. "The American Home Furnishings Alliance is not aware of any evidence, and there is none in this study, linking the level of flame retardants typically found in home furnishings to human health problems.
"Nevertheless, we agree with the authors of the study that additional research should be conducted on the chemicals currently used as flame retardants. These chemicals are used in the home furnishings industry for the sole purpose of meeting a stringent flammability standard mandated by the state of California."
AHFA noted that California regulators themselves are now questioning their standard and the reliance it created on flame retardant chemicals.
"AHFA is working with those state officials in their efforts to balance the desire for the highest possible level of fire safety with the equally important goal of limiting exposure to potentially harmful chemicals," the statement continued.
AHFA pointed out that over the past 25 years, the number of U.S. household fires involving upholstered furniture has been reduced by more than 85 percent, due to compliance with the voluntary Upholstered Furniture Action Council standard; fewer smokers; increased use of residential smoke detectors; and, most recently, development of reduced ignition propensity cigarettes.
Because of the positive results achieved by these industry and societal changes, AHFA has for many years advocated a federal flammability standard based on the UFAC smolder test--and argued that point before a Congressional subcommittee in Washington, D.C. as recently as August 2012.
November 28,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on November 29, 2012
Home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) announced fiscal 2013 third-quarter sales of $425 million, a 10.9 percent increase over the prior-year period.
Earnings per share for the three months ended Nov. 24 were $0.22, compared with $0.21 in third-quarter 2011. Comparable store sales for the quarter increased 7.9 percent on top of last year's 7 percent gain. Three-year cumulative comparable store sales for the third quarter have increased 25.1 percent.
Through fiscal 2013's first nine months, comparable store sales increased 7.3 percent versus a comparable store sales increase of 9.2 percent in the year-ago period. Total sales for the first nine months increased to $1.153 billion from $1.057 billion for the same period last year.
Pier 1, Fort Worth, Texas, estimated the impact of lost sales and costs associated with Hurricane Sandy to be approximately $0.02 per share, net of tax, for the third quarter of fiscal 2013. In the days immediately following the storm, up to 225 stores were closed, primarily due to power outages in affected areas, and 50 stores operated on reduced hours. All stores were reopened and fully operational by the end of the second week in November, with the exception of one store located in Long Island, N.Y., which remains closed due to storm damage.
"While a large number of our stores experienced closure and disruption due to Sandy, our focus was directed first and foremost on the safety and well-being of our associates and others in need," said CEO Alex Smith. "I am extremely proud of and grateful to our associates for their efforts to reopen our stores quickly, even though their own lives were, and in some cases still are, disrupted.
"We're pleased to deliver strong sales growth this quarter, as customers responded particularly well to our fall assortments. Excluding the impact of Hurricane Sandy, we estimate that third quarter comp store sales would have increased slightly over 9 percent."