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April 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on April 11, 2012
Expanding on existing lean manufacturing processes, Harden Furniture is planning a significant investment in new equipment and software.
Scheduled for installation in August the new equipment will incorporate new technology that will allow the 168-year-old company to convert some existing batch processes to a "batch one" system and improve efficiency, reduce costs, enhance quality and allow greater flexibility in accommodating custom orders.
"This investment, combined with perhaps the most talented cabinetmakers in the industry, establishes Harden as a technology and process leader, allowing us to add new dimensions to our product offering and marketing," said Greg Harden, CEO of Harden.
The first products converted to the new process will be the company's Cabinetmaker's Cherry collection, with the expectation that additional hardwoods and case sizes will be available when the modernization project is complete.
Harden's April High Point Market introductions will include a Cabinetmaker's Cherry serving console in solid black walnut and a second version offered in quarter-sawn white oak. Expanding on a custom finish program that features more than 40 finishes, the optional wood species will be available in an additional seven finishes.
The opportunity to appeal to consumers' appetites for custom products was critical in Harden's opinion.
"The majority of our products are sold by design-focused retailers and design professionals," he said. "The ability to customize merchandise to match their client's needs is a critical issue for them, and a great opportunity for Harden."
April 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on April 11, 2012
Wright Table Co. and Charleston Forge, both western North Carolina makers of upper end furniture, are partnering to offer their customers a broader collection of wood tops and metal table bases.
Wright Table, known for its artistry in woodworking, has developed an exclusive line of finishes and wood textures for Charleston Forge to add to its line of hand-forged metal table bases.
The new offerings will be presented in the Charleston Forge showroom at Market Square during the upcoming High Point Furniture Market. The showroom space is 110 A.
"Our companies share a lot of the same customers and we both enjoy a reputation for quality products," said Art Barber, chairman and CEO of Charleston Forge. "We feel the industry will appreciate us combining our talents to offer some gorgeous new pieces. The colors and textures that Don Wright and his artists have developed for us work really well with the transitional and contemporary pieces we will be showing at market. Reactions at premarket were very flattering."
The two companies recently furnished the new Rooster's Wood Fired Grill restaurant in Charlotte, N.C. for Jim and Karen Noble, former owners of Noble's Restaurant in High Point. Designed by Holly Carter of Aiken, S.C., Wright Table made the banquets and barstools and Charleston Forge made custom light fixtures and a massive wine rack that measures forty feet long by ten feet tall.
April 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on April 11, 2012
Hooker Furniture (NASDAQ: HOFT) reported fiscal 2012 sales of $222.5 million and net income of $5.1 million, increases of 3.3 percent and 56.1 percent over 2011.
For the fourth quarter, which ended Jan. 30, Hooker's sales dipped 1.1 percent to $54 million, but the company netted $628,000 versus a loss of $182,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.
Chairman and CEO Paul B. Toms Jr. attributed the slight sales dip to soft demand at retail and to sourcing transitions that delayed shipments of recent introductions.
"As we work through some vendor shifts from China to Vietnam and Indonesia, initial shipments of several well-placed new collections were delayed a few months, which impacted the fourth quarter," he said.
Hookers's casegoods and upholstery divisions each achieved sales increases of slightly over 3 percent for the year. Within the upholstery division, Bradington-Young's imported leather sales were up nearly 9.4 percent, and Sam Moore's domestically produced custom upholstery line increased shipments by almost 13.6 percent. Shipments of Bradington-Young's domestically produced line decreased approximately 7 percent year over year.
"All things considered, we had a very good year," said Paul B. Toms Jr., chairman and chief executive officer. "Progress in many areas of our operations this year enabled us to grow profits over 50% on a 3.3% sales increase. As the year moved forward, we reduced excess inventory, improved our cash flow and cut operating losses in our upholstery division substantially."
Looking ahead, Toms said the company expects "the sourcing transition from some of our vendors in China to vendors in Vietnam and Indonesia will continue to result in somewhat longer lead times and shipping delays, which will likely impact sales throughout the first quarter and to a diminishing degree in the second quarter. We'll have a lot of help in getting our arms around these sourcing challenges from our new Vice President of Asian Operations, Bill Reece, an industry veteran who recently joined Hooker. Bill is highly respected and has over 20 years of experience in Asia. We believe his expertise will help us improve our vendor performance and vendor alignment, matching our product line with those sources that best fit our customers' expectations for quality, on-time delivery, and value.
"While most macroeconomic indicators are continuing the long thaw that began a year or so ago, certain concerns still exist, such as the slow rebound of the housing market, global economic instability and, most recently, rising fuel costs. We expect consumer confidence and furniture retail demand to improve as we progress through the year. On the sales side, we're going up against a nearly 14% sales increase in the comparable quarter a year ago that was driven by our heavy discounting at the time. Yet due to our operational improvements, reduced discounting activity and more favorable freight rates, we're hopeful we can deliver better profitability, even on reduced sales, in the first quarter this year."
Click here for the full Hooker Furniture release.
April 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Retail Technology on April 11, 2012
Retail automation vendor Storis will highlight new features for its Vision9.1 system at High Point Furniture Market.
Storis' forthcoming release, set for this summer, will provide users with increased pricing and payment features, particularly in the areas of point-of-sale discounts, impact fees and extended receivables.
"This Vision release is about getting back to business," Mt. Arlington, N.J.-based Storis Director of Product Management David Berger said. "With the release of Vision9.0 in 2011, we introduced an enhanced interface that focused on better quality user experiences. With 9.1 our development efforts targeted essential business operations that can easily be implemented by retailers utilizing the Vision9 interface."
With this newest Vision application suite, users will have the enhanced ability to layer multiple price discounts throughout an entire order. These new features can be applied in conjunction with the line item, subtotal, contractor, and designer discounts. Increased functionality will allow discounts to be linked to specific general ledger accounts, providing for precise financial audit trails. With security settings configured in a manner that is conducive to the respective Point of Sale business model, users can manage the application and crediting of discounts by employees with authorized access.
Increased capabilities for governed Impact Fees are also included in this newest Vision release. These enhancements allow retailers to adhere to the various forms of municipal laws such as local road improvement, environmental/recycling, and/or sanitation disposal. The fees can be applied to sales transactions as line items or as general receipt charges.
Vision9s Extended Receivables suite has been enhanced to enable retailers to provide more financing and credit payment options to their customers. Staying with the "back to business" philosophy, Vision9.1 now incorporates all of the Financing, Revolving, and Collections accounts receivables features found within prior releases, with the newest inclusion of Contracted Installment Receivables. System permissions grant access for contract activation, cancellation, merging, and refinancing during sales order entry and/or from back office touch points. V9.1 provides the ability to defer contract payments, change due dates, extend contract terms, grant additional grace days, and adjust balances. Additionally, businesses can perform automated late fee assessments and apply State/Province rules for interest calculations, non-filing fees, and rebates.
April 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on April 11, 2012
Classic Leather has doubled the size of its High Point Furniture Market showroom, space D1141 in the International Home Furnishings Center.
The showroom, which now totals 4,100-square-feet, provides more room for the company to show its diverse line of upper-end leather upholstery, including its extensive custom capabilities, said Kim Long, director of merchandising.
Classic Leather moved to the IHFCs Design Center from the Hamilton-Wrenn showroom district in 2010.
"Our traffic in the Design Center has been very strong," Long said. "We attract a good mix of high-end furniture stores and designers--our core customers."
At market, Classic Leather will expand the Classic Designs collection, a custom program aimed at the designer market. Product line extensions to Classic Designs include, for the first time, the addition of sectionals in multiple configurations.
"Classic Designs has taken off in the last year, particularly among small design showrooms," said Long. "We market it in a separate catalog so that it has its own identity."
Classic Leather also will introduce a new "urban chic" collection this market designed by TAG Galyean. An innovator in the design community for more than 45 years, Galyean is known for his luxury resort work for destinations such as The Greenbrier, The Broadmoor and Casa Palmero at Pebble Beach. Galyean's designs have a distinct, elegantly casual appeal, according to Long.
In addition, Skip Culler, one of Classic Leathers key designers since the mid-1990s, has designed three new groups for introduction this month. The groups all feature more transitional elements, expanding that category and providing additional alternatives to the companys traditional offerings.