Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
May 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Green on May 11, 2012
The Sustainable Furnishings Council will offer a free "Sustainability Essentials" webinar at noon (EDT), Monday, May 21.
This one-hour webinar provides a grounding in the environmental issues related to home furnishings, including the factual basis for climate change, problems with indoor air quality, toxic waste, and water conservation. Source documents are public records such as the U.N. IPCC 4th Assessment Report and the U.S. EPA, translated from technical jargon into easily understood concepts with common references all explicitly linked to the home furnishings industry.
Content also includes a synopsis of GREENleaders, the industry first certified sustainability training course. The webinar is intended to give participants useful information they can begin using in their business immediately as well as answer questions about getting the most out of SFC membership and participating in the full exam program to receive credentials as a local expert in green furnishings. To reserve a seat at the webinar, follow this link.
May 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on May 11, 2012
The International Sleep Products Association upgraded its own Web site and those of BedTimes and the Better Sleep Council.
The look, content and functionality have been improved for a more positive experience for ISPA site visitors. Along with its main Web site, ISPA's upgrades include its Better Sleep Council consumer education arm, and ISPAs industry magazine, BedTimes. Both sites have improved users' experience when visiting the sites, increased visibility on the Web and decreased maintenance costs.
Online communication is an important part of our overall communications strategy, said ISPA Vice President of Membership and Communications Mary Helen Uusimaki. With the redesign, weve improved each sites navigation so visitors can find relevant information quickly. Visitors will also enjoy a wider use of multimedia and visuals. And with a more robust search engine optimization strategy, our messages will reach a wider audience than ever before.
Specific changes follow include:
* BedTimes: All news and feature stories are slotted into categories, making it easier for visitors to find relevant information. Share buttons allow articles to be quickly distributed via email or social channels.
* Better Sleep Council: Improved navigation makes information related to sleep versus mattresses and top-of-bed products easier to find. Increased content on improving sleep and mattress selection adds value for the consumer audience, while resources for the retail community help spread timely messages around BSC campaigns, including May is Better Sleep Month.
* ISPA: Refocused content and an increase in multimedia and other visual elements improve efforts to communicate with members effectively.
May 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Financial Reports on May 11, 2012
from http://www.hfnmag.com/furniture/dorel-net-falls-64-percent-home-furnishings-profit-down-253-percent
In a rough start to its fiscal year, Dorel Inds. posted a 6.4 percent decline in net income in the first quarter, to $29.2 million.
This included a 25.3 percent plummet in operating profit in the companys home furnishings segment, to $5.8 million. Home furnishings revenues were off 5.1 percent to $130.7 million in the quarter, which ended on March 31.
A Dorel statement attributed this to reductions in sales of ready-to-assemble and folding furniture, along with the fact that the first quarter of last year saw strong results in shipments of initial customer rollouts.
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May 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on May 11, 2012
Bedding components manufacturer Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) has unveiled a super-charged music video that explores how the term hybrid relates to the mattress industry.
The video, "Get Hybrid" combines rap, humor and bedding knowledge to draw attention to the Ultimate Hybrid, a mattress made with the company's Comfort Core products. The video was created by Second City Communications, the corporate services division of the improv-based comedy theater in Chicago.
"When it comes to comedy, nobody does it like The Second City," said Mark Quinn, segment vice president of marketing. "In addition to being professional improv comedians, their team knows how to intersect a business objective with a creative solution."
May 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on May 11, 2012
Orient Express Furniture has named Timothy Bullin regional sales manager for the Western part of the United States, a new position for the company.
Bullin has held sales and management positions for more than 15 years in the furniture industry at Master Design, Chromcraft-Revington, Four Hands, Primo International, and Moe's Home Collection.
"We are fortunate to have someone with Timothy's experience and familiarity of the west coast market as the latest addition to our management team," said Anders Johnson, president.
Bullin reports to Johnson and will work with Christian Cousins, director of sales and product development. In his new position, Bullin will focus on sales plan development and allocation for the Western United States.