Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
June 18,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Store Openings on June 19, 2012
Home furnishings retailer West Elm will open a new retail store in Scarsdale, N.Y., on June 28.
Located in the Vernon Hills Shopping Center, the Scarsdale store will be the first to offer the brand's complete Fall collection featuring new furniture, textiles, decorative accessories and gifts created in collaboration with artists from South Africa. To celebrate the store opening, the brand is hosting a special sweepstakes offering a chance to win a $2,000 shopping spree and access to a special pre-opening event benefiting ArtsWestchester, a local non-profit dedicated to supporting cultural organizations and artist residencies in the community.
"We are excited to open a store in Scarsdale, an area that embraces local artists and design as much as we do," said Jim Brett, president of West Elm. "The new Fall collection is one of my personal favorites, and we're looking forward to launching it first at the Vernon Hills store."
West Elm, a William-Sonoma retail brand, offers modern furniture and room decor, including, modern dinnerware, wall shelves, and modern bedding in 38 retail stores and online.
June 17,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on June 18, 2012
Home furnishings, electronics and appliance retailer Conn's has expanded its use of Diakon Logistics to the Waco, Texas, market.
Founded in 1890 and headquartered in Beaumont, Texas, Conn's operates 78 retail and clearance stores in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.
Diakon and Conn's have been partners since the 1990s, and in addition to the Waco, Texas, market, Diakon provides Conn's delivery and ware housing services in Austin, Beaumont, Dallas and Houston in Texas and in Lafayette, La.
"Our corporate strategy is based on one philosophy, 'It's Mrs. Jones' Day', a premise based on the principle that each delivery is done with the thought that it is the only delivery we are making that day...making it Mrs. Jones' day," said Charles Johnson, Diakon president. "Our retailer clients are recognizing the competitive advantage of our customer service approach and it is driving the continued growth of our Company. The difference is in the details and we will continue that focus in making our retailer clients even more successful."
June 17,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on June 18, 2012
Import cargo volume at U.S. retail container ports should rise in June according to the latest Global Port Tracker report.
Port Tracker is released monthly by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
In addition to an expected 4.8 percent in June in-bound container volume compared with the same month last year, the report anticipates continued year-over-year increases into the holiday season shipping cycle.
Retail sales have seen 22 straight months of year-over-year sales increases, and these import projections suggest retailers should see growth into the two-year mark and beyond, NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. Cargo numbers dont correlate directly into sales numbers, but they are an indicator of how much retailers think they can sell.
U.S. ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.23 million 20-foot Equivalent Units in April, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. That was up 3.9 percent from March and 1.5 percent from April 2011.
May was estimated at 1.29 million TEU, up 0.5 percent from a year ago, and June is forecast at 1.31 million TEU, up 4.8 percent from the same time last year. July is forecast at 1.36 million TEU, up 2.5 percent; August at 1.42 million TEU, up 7.3 percent; September at 1.45 million TEU, up 9 percent, and October at 1.53 million TEU, up 19.9 percent over unusually low numbers last year.
The first half of 2012 should total 7.3 million TEU, up 2 percent from the same period last year. The total for 2011 was 14.8 million TEU, up 0.4 percent from 2010s 14.75 million TEU. NRF projects 2012 retail sales will grow 3.4 percent to $2.53 trillion.
Consumer demand for durables has been weak for quite some time and dropped further in May, yet at the same time consumer confidence is at its highest level since 2007, Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said. Confused? So is the average consumer.
Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by the consulting firm Hackett Associates, covers the U.S. ports of Long Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.
June 17,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on June 18, 2012
Home furnishings retailer West Elm and pre-fab home builder Connect:Homes are teaming with interior designer Kishani Perera to outfit the builder's latest home.
The Connect 2.1 Modern Prefab Pop-Up at the June 22-24 Dwell on Design exhibition.
We are thrilled to be partnered with West Elm and Kishani Perera, said Jared Levy,
co-founder of Connect:Homes. West Elms clean, simple design aesthetic and affordable
range of products really complements our own company ethos to connect people to the modern, sustainable homes in which they aspire to live. We really feel its important to bring our pop-up prefab to life, showing people what it would be like to live in our homes.
The Connect 2.1 consists of two modules that each will be completed to 95 percent at the factory before being transported and installed at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the show.
The 640-square-foot home features one bedroom, an open living/dining space, and an outdoor deck that serves to expand the living space by another 40 square feet.
I think people have the mistaken preconception that living in a modern prefab means that the space must be exclusively modern, Perera said. I see the Connect 2.1 as the perfect home for a young couple or as an ideal backyard studio or guest house. My design for the space will blend vintage, modern, eclectic and traditional pieces to show how versatile the Connect Homes are, and how easily they can reflect the personalities and aesthetics of a broad range of home owners.
Its exciting to partner with Connect:Homes and Kishani Perera because we share many of the same design priorities, said West Elm Creative Director Vanessa Holden.
Its important to all of us that design is affordable, accessible, sustainable, and personal."
Founded in 2011, Connect:Homes produces a patent-pending modular system to build completed homes to be shipped anywhere via truck, rail or ocean freight.
West Elm, a member of the Williams-Sonoma Inc. portfolio of brands, sells modern furniture and room decor, including, modern dinnerware, wall shelves, and modern bedding is available in 38 retail stores and online.
June 17,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on June 18, 2012
Home furnishing industry marketing services vendor Wright Global Graphics has expanded operations in China to accommodate growing business.
While the Thomasville, N.C.-based company has had a presence in Asia for almost 15 years, growing customer demand for lower price points in the last year in its top-of-bed and woven label lines, both domestically and abroad, led Wright to open an office as well as continue to increase production in China.
For time sensitive orders, including Wrights five-day turnaround Express Program, Wright will continue to manufacture products in its domestic facilities. The complete design process will be done in the United States as well.
Expanding our Wright Global Graphics facility in China was a strategic decision that allows us to offer customers more competitive pricing, without compromising the award-winning design process for which we are known, said Wright President and CEO Greg Wright. "With the expansion, customers will also have the option of having small orders filled locally and the balance of their order can be produced in China at a lower cost. Strategically, establishing a permanent presence overseas allows us to continue to grow our international business.
Wrights Chinese office is located centrally located in the Shunde district, the largest furniture wholesale market and distribution center in China. Ron Wright, senior vice president of strategic planning at the company, is overseeing the Chinese operations.