March 13,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on March 14, 2012
La-Z-Boy Inc. (
NYSE: LZB) and Chinese retailer and upholstery producer
Kuka Home have formed a strategic partnership to develop the La-Z-Boy brand in mainland China.
Kuka Home has more than 1,600 stores throughout China. The partnership will focus on developing, manufacturing, distributing and retailing La-Z-Boy products, leveraging both companies' strengths and meeting the needs of Chinese consumers.
Kuka Home and La-Z-Boy will develop and launch a La-Z-Boy store concept this year that will focus on providing a broad range of recliners and motion furniture, as well as associated case goods and accessories. The product will be produced in La-Z-Boy facilities outside of China, as well as under license in Kuka Home's manufacturing plants in China. Kuka Home expects to open several hundred La-Z-Boy retail stores over the next few years.
"A major objective for us is to grow the La-Z-Boy brand globally, and China represents a significant opportunity for international expansion," said Kurt L. Darrow, chairman, president and CEO of La-Z-Boy. "Our model has always been based on strong relationships with local companies, and with Kuka Home's highly regarded reputation in the marketplace, we're very pleased they are our partners in China."
Jason Gu,chairman and CEO of Kuka Home, said, "La-Z-Boy is the most prominent and long-standing provider of motion furniture worldwide. The aim of the cooperation between Kuka Home and La-Z-Boy is to introduce high-quality motion furniture to Chinese consumers and help them live life comfortably. We believe that our cooperation will be a great model of how to create win-win partnerships between American and Chinese furniture companies."
The Kuka management team commented on the strength of the La-Z-Boy brand.
"La-Z-Boy Incorporated is one of the most successful North American companies in the furniture industry," added LI Donglai, president of Kuka Home. "La-Z-Boy has high standards and strong operational management processes and we look forward to using them as a valuable benchmark for Kuka Home. The cooperation with La-Z-Boy will help Kuka Home enhance our own management standards and approaches."
Doug Collier, president international and chief marketing officer of La-Z-Boy, added, "We are excited to combine our heritage, expertise and experience in motion furniture manufacturing and marketing with Kuka Home's local market knowledge and their tremendous furniture retailing and manufacturing expertise and strength in China. Our shared goal is to make La-Z-Boy the leading motion furniture brand in China."
March 12,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in economic news on March 13, 2012
from http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/13/news/economy/retail-sales/index.htm?section=money_topstories
Consumers were spending more in February, but a big part of the rise was caused by rising gas prices. Overall retail spending rose 1.1% in February compared to the month before, according to Tuesday's Commerce Department report. But spending at gas stations jumped 3.3% in the month, as gas prices rose almost continually throughout the period. Stripping out spending on gasoline prices, retail spending posted only a 0.8% rise in the period. There were other signs of strength in the spending report. Spending at auto dealers rose by 1.9%, as automakers reported the . And
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March 12,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in economic news on March 13, 2012
from http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2012/3/13/Importcontainervolumetoincrease10inMarch.aspx
Import cargo volume at the nations major retail container ports is expected to increase 10 percent in March compared with the same month last year, and year-over-year gains should continue through mid-summer, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
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March 12,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Bedding on March 13, 2012
from http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/feather_bedding_L3eYISlZ8lI7dps4R5NFsK
Henry Kravis KKR & Co. stuffed its Sealy Mattress company with too much debt, contributing to the manufacturers loss of 90 percent of its value, the second-largest shareholder in the bedding maker claims.
Distressed investor H Partners, in a letter to Sealy's corporate governance committee, also claims KKR, which owns 45 percent of Sealy, paid itself $900,000 for a CEO search and made strategic errors in management. Dean Nelson, head of KKRs consulting unit, comes under fire in the letter for having excessive influence on the Sealy board.
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March 12,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in on March 13, 2012
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z6090662249&z=1250249032
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Consumers were spending more in February, but a big part of the rise was caused by rising gas prices. Overall retail spending rose 1.1% in February compared to the month before, according to Tuesday's Commerce Department report. But spending at gas stations jumped 3.3% in the month, as gas prices rose almost continually throughout the period. Stripping out spending on gasoline prices, retail spending posted only a 0.8% rise in the period. There were other signs of strength in the spending report. Spending at auto dealers rose by 1.9%, as automakers reported the . And
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