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August 7,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Technology on August 8, 2012
Omaha, Neb.-based Nebraska Furniture Mart has selected supply chain specialist Logility's Voyager Solutions to support expansion and profitable growth.
To meet its goal of 75 percent growth by 2015, Nebraska Furniture Mart has embarked on an aggressive supply chain transformation project alongside a business improvement effort to streamline operations and accelerate the flow of information and products.
To do so, the retailer required end-to-end supply chain visibility from demand and supply planning to supplier collaboration and new product introductions through to freight planning.
"As we look to grow our business we must optimize our business processes and technology to ensure our success," said Jay Buchanan, director-global supply chain and logistics, Nebraska Furniture Mart. "Logility Voyager Solutions is the best fit for supporting our growth plans and delivering the end-to-end supply chain management we require. The intuitive and easy to use software includes streamlined workflow management that will enable our team to stay focused on improving supply chain efficiency."
In the retail business, managing new product introductions can be a challenge, especially for a company like Nebraska Furniture Mart which sells products across several categories including furniture, electronics, appliances, and flooring. Voyager Solutions will deliver improved demand profiles, more accurate forecasting and greater supplier collaboration to allow Nebraska Furniture Mart to manage new product introductions and store growth more effectively, develop robust inventory plans to minimize stock-outs and satisfy customer demand, and capitalize on the benefits of improved freight management.
"With an aggressive growth plan, Nebraska Furniture Mart is taking important steps to ensure its long-term success," said Mike Edenfield, president and CEO, Logility. "The addition of Logility Voyager Solutions will support their business and accelerate the company's ability to develop advanced supply chain business processes that will help drive bottom line results through improved supply chain efficiencies and better customer service. We look forward to working with Nebraska Furniture Mart as they expand their online and traditional retail operations."
August 7,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on August 8, 2012
High Point Furniture Markets new Fashion Focus campaign will highlight the link between fashion design and home design.
The campaign also will showcase the Markets role as an exciting fashion event in home furnishings.
The High Point Market is our industrys Fashion Week, defining style, trends, and innovation for the home, said Cheminne Taylor-Smith, vice president of marketing for the High Point Market. The Fashion Focus campaign showcases that by delivering an experience that is fresh, vibrant, and fashion-oriented through every marketing and advertising piece for the Market.
At the April High Point Market, fashion shoots with models were held in showrooms and locations throughout Market to develop the creative for the new campaign, which debuts in promotions for the Oct. 13-18 Market. The images for the campaign feature a full clothing collection called Pretty Birdie by Stephanie Teague, a Greensboro, N.C.-based fashion designer who has shown her line at New Yorks Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
Stephanies clothing is fun and fresh, but with an edge to it, said Taylor-Smith. Her line has a lot of depth, which allowed us to pair pieces with different styles of furnishings. An added bonus is that the collection was created with eco-friendly and recycled materials.
The integrated Fashion Focus campaign--including print, direct mail, and other targeted communications vehicles--is designed to promote the Market to the retail and design communities. Featured in 20 online and trade publications, the campaign was conceived in partnership with Emisare, the High Point Markets agency.
Campaigns developed by Emisare in collaboration with the High Point Market have won awards in the past. Recent awards include a 2011 Gold Addy Award for the Markets campaign, an award sponsored by the American Advertising Federation to recognize excellence in marketing; a 2009 silver Addy for Mixed/Multiple Media; and a 2009 International Association of Exhibitions and Events Gold Award.
August 7,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Technology on August 8, 2012
Boston-area furniture retailer Jordan's Furniture has chosen Unit4 Coda's financial management package to augment its enterprise resource planning system.
Jordan's will use the software to modernize its budgeting module.
"We have a great IT department that has been able to customize our ERP system over the years as we have grown," said Steve Wholley, vice president of finance, Jordan's Furniture. "But the financial module was no longer keeping up, and the temporary fixes had reached a point where they were expensive to maintain. While we initially thought we'd replace just the budgeting and planning module, it became clear through the RFP process that a best-of-class solution that co-exists well with our current system was the way to go."
With five high-volume stores across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, Jordan's management wanted to have real-time tracking and reporting capabilities across all locations, with the ability to drill down to a very granular level by multiple variables. The single ledger and flexible chart of accounts that Coda Financials offers will enable management to perform more accurate and detailed analysis than other solutions it examined.
"Ultimately, the budget and planning modules of Coda Financials, coupled with its ease of integration and deep functionality won the day," said Wholley. "As an added bonus, the UNIT4 CODA team has been very easy to work with, and this bodes well for our partnership well into the future."
"Jordan's Furniture's business is one of constant change, constant innovation, and customer-focus," said Steve Pugh, CEO of Unit4 Coda. "Every decision and purchase it makes has to show clear benefits and add significant value in how it operates in the high pressure world of retail. Jordan's has a clear vision of the future, and sees Coda Financials as a strategic system that will help it realize that vision."
August 7,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on August 8, 2012
Furniture, appliance and electronics retailer Conn's Inc. announced sales of $171.1 million for the quarter ended July 31, a 12.9 percent increase from the same period last year.
Beaumont, Texas-based Conn's same store sales for the quarter rose 21.5 percent over the comparable prior-year period.
Chairman and CEO Theodore M. Wright said, "We opened our new store in Waco, Texas in mid-June. The new Conn's Home Plus store delivered solid revenues in July--positioning it within the top 10 percent of our 65 stores ranked on sales."
The following provides a summary of items influencing the company's major product categories during the quarter, compared with the same quarter in the prior fiscal year:
* The continued growth in furniture and mattress sales was driven by enhanced presentation, product selection and increased promotional activity. The reported increase was tempered by the impact of previous store closures. Furniture same store sales growth was driven by a 36.5 percent increase in unit sales together with a 19.3 percent increase in the average sales price.
* Mattress same-store sales also increased reflecting a favorable shift in product mix from the Company's decision to discontinue offering low price-point products. As a result, on a same-store basis, the average mattress selling price rose 78.5 percent and was partially offset by an 18.8 percent decline in unit volume
* Home appliance sales increased during the quarter reflecting a 25 percent increase in the average selling price, partially offset by a 19.1 percent decrease in unit volume. Approximately one-third of the unit sales decline was attributable to the previous store closures. On a same-store basis, laundry sales increased 15.4 percent, refrigeration sales increased 7.5 percent and cooking sales increased 17.4 percent. Milder temperatures drove a 18.9 percent decrease in room air conditioner sales.
* Consumer electronic sales decreased modestly due to the previous store closures. On a same store basis, sales rose 4.6 percent with growth in televisions, home theater and audio sales partially offset by a reduction in gaming hardware and accessory item sales. With the company's decision beginning late last year not to compete for low-priced, low-margin television sales, the same store average selling price for televisions increased 32.1 percent, while unit sales declined 20.5 percent.
* Home office sales growth was driven by the expansion of tablet sales, as well as a 26.8 percent increase in the average selling price of computers. The reported increase was partially offset by the impact of store closures, a reduction in computer unit volume and lower sales of accessory items.
August 6,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in economic news on August 7, 2012
from http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/07/news/economy/housing-recovery/index.htm
Could the real estate freeze finally be thawing? After years of depressed activity, home prices and new construction have started to pick up in recent months as , suggesting the housing market may have finally bounced off the bottom.
"It feels very much like we've hit a bottom and we're starting to come off of that bottom," Stuart Miller, CEO of homebuilder Lennar told analysts in June.
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