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April 16,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Aggregated Content in on April 17, 2012
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z6312121927&z=1250249029
Plant officials assessed the situation Tuesday and told about 200 employees that production would be shuttered until some time next week. Office staff and shipping are to continue, said company president and CEO Gord Dilworth. âWe hope to be operating early next week,â he said. West Grey fire chief Phil Schwartz said firefighters were called to the century-old red brick factory on Lambton St. at 4:20 a.m. to respond to a structure fire. The sawdust distribution centre and a huge four-storey sawdust collection bin were on fire. The distribution centre is a garage-like shelter where tractor trailers are loaded
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April 15,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on April 16, 2012
Furniture industry veteran Gary Greenbaum has been named regional business manager for dealer-owned stores for Thomasville Furniture, a Furniture Brands International division.
The new position was created to put an increased focus on Thomasvilles retail partners and help them grow their Thomasville business.
Greenbaum has a wealth of furniture knowledge with many years of experience in the industry. He most recently was with Kinwai USA and also held leadership positions at Natuzzi, Boyles Furniture, Sherrill Furniture and Wayside.
Greenbaum reports to Kevin Kramer, vice president of Thomasville Retail Stores.
April 15,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on April 16, 2012
Furniture and accessories supplier Arteriors will introduce an iPad sales app that offers a streamline way for sales representatives to process sales orders.
The Visual Merchandiser for iPadVmimakes it easy for reps to create and submit orders on the go. The app also provides offline access to digital catalogs and can accommodate multi-line agencies and suppliers.
Arteriors has an uncompromising reputation for leading innovation in both product design and quality," said Mark Moussa, Arteriors CEO and founder. "We bring that same spirit to our sales and service processes. The old way of doing business is quickly becoming outdated. We are always looking for opportunities to push the envelope and are excited to implement VMi to both enhance our customer buying experience and equip our sales force with the most effective sales tools available.
Visual Merchandiser offers presentation and order capture tools that allows reps to create a visual and interactive sales experienceon the road or in the showroom using the hardware of their choice. Using the technology, reps can work with a retailer and graphically present and build merchandised orders of any complexity. The programs digital whiteboard allows reps and buyers to merchandise product as they build an order. Fixture and/or store sets can also be loaded allowing for groups, color-stories, accessories and rack programs to be added or created with just one click.
Were proud to be working with industry leader Arteriors on the roll-out of VMi, said Todd Litzman, president of Brandwise, developer of VMi. Our team has worked with numerous suppliers and sales agencies to demonstrate the new platform, and every one of them were blown away by its ease-of-use, graphical product presentation capabilities and functionality. Arteriors is the perfect early adopter partner as we bring VMi to market.
April 15,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Internet on April 16, 2012
Online furniture sales rose 5.7 percent annually over the five years to 2012, according to market research firm
IBISWorld.
IBISWorld, Los Angeles, anticipates those sales will grow another 9.9 percent in 2012.
"The ubiquity of Internet access has fostered greater growth of online shopping, as consumers increasingly turn to the web for increased convenience and often discounted pricing," said Caitlin Moldvay, industry analyst with IBISWorld. "These factors have led online sales of furniture to outperform traditional offline furniture sales over the past five years, even in the midst of the economic downturn."
IBISWorld added a report on online household furniture sales to its list of industry reports for several reasons: Although the recession slowed revenue growth, online retailers were less affected than traditional brick-and-mortar retailers; online competition is set to increase in coming years as new participants enter the industry to take advantage of the cost savings of operating online; and revenue will continue growing as the economy improves over the next five years.
The report includes e-tailers and traditional furniture stores with significant online sales platforms.
"Over the past five years, companies have continued to flock to the industry, attracted by its lower operational costs and sales tax collection advantages over traditional brick-and-mortar locations," said Moldvay. Consequently, the number of operators has grown to reach 1,234 businesses. The Online Household Furniture Sales industry is highly fragmented and exhibits a low level of market share concentration. IBISWorld's top two companies are
Williams-Sonoma and
Wayfair.
Over the next five years, continued economic improvements are expected to contribute to the industry's strong growth. Increases in per capita disposable income, consumer sentiment and homeownership rates will positively affect consumers' willingness to purchase big-ticket items, such as furniture. Additionally, broadband Internet adoption will grow in the next five years, boosting online retailers' accessibility. For more information, visit IBISWorld's Online Household Furniture Sales report in the U.S. industry page.
April 15,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Lighting on April 16, 2012
Lighting vendor Cal Lighting has remodeled its High Point Furniture Market showroom and expanded by more than 50 percent.
The company, which shows in a 2,233-square-foot showroom in Space 309 in the Design wing of the International Home Furnishings Center, has taken an additional 1,339 square feet in a neighboring space, for a total of 3,572 square feet.
For the upcoming market, Cal Lighting is redesigning the entire showroom to create a bigger "wow factor," said Bob Cooper, national sales manager. "We've hired the well-known design firm of Barbour Spangle in High Point to give us a completely new look. The expanded space will be much more open, with unique shelving and other display treatments that will really spotlight our products."
Because Cal Lighting's line has been steadily expanding, it needs the additional space to showcase the full range of what it has to offer, Cooper said. Its diverse line includes rustic, wrought iron, mission/mica, lifestyle, juvenile, traditional/classical, task/functional and track/display lighting, as well as wall mirrors.
This market, Cal Lighting will introduce about 40 chandeliers--a new category for the company--as well as 70 new portable table, desk and floor lamps in traditional, transitional and contemporary styling.
In addition to furniture stores, Cal Lighting sells a mix of lighting specialists, department stores, catalog companies, office furniture stores, hospitality design firms, hotels/motels, display/exhibit design houses and e-tailers. The company is based in Ontario, Calif., where it has a 100,000-square-foot warehouse that carries inventory of all of the items in its catalog, and manufacturing facilities in China.
With the expanded showroom space, Cal Lighting plans to serve lunch to retailers each day during market.