Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
March 6,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on March 7, 2012
E.B. Walthall has joined luxury mattress brand Pure
LatexBliss to develop sales for the companys expanding eastern division.
As we continue to build our brand we need strong leadership at a regional level to help support our expansion, said Atlanta-based Pure LatexBliss Co-Founder and CEO Kurt Ling.
Walthall joins Pure LatexBliss with decades of combined production and sales management experience in the mattress industry. Before joining Pure LatexBliss, Walthall spent seven years as vice president of sales at International Bedding Corporation, overseeing the companys largest region. Prior to IBC, Walthall worked as a sales representative and production manager at
Simmons Company.
March 6,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on March 7, 2012
City Furniture and GE Capital have renewed their consumer financing agreement.
GE Capitals Retail Finance business, the operating entity that provides financial solutions to retailers and dealers to help grow their customer sales, will continue to manage the City Furniture relationship and service the account.
Tamarack, Fla.-based City Furnitures credit card program, which originated in 1990, provides approved consumers with flexible financing options such as extended-term financing and access to enhanced online account management tools.
GE Capital has been a key partner, playing an integral role in our growth over the years, said Garry Ikola, senior vice president of Sales for City Furniture. Theyre expertise and support has been important to our evolution, expansion and ability to continue delivering a great customer experience.
City Furniture has 15 namesake showrooms and nine Ashley Furniture HomeStores in South Florida.
March 5,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Green on March 6, 2012
The American Home Furnishings Alliance presented its 2011 environmental leadership awards at the recent 2012 Sustainability Summit in Raleigh, N.C.
The awards recognize both individuals and companies that have shared their expertise and time to help develop solutions to complex environmental and safety challenges within the home furnishings industry.
Barry Branscome, vice president/director of engineering and environmental compliance at Vaughan-Bassett; and Mike Zimmerman, innovation and sustainability scientist for Sauder Woodworking, received the Environmental Leadership Award, which is presented annually to an individual and is based on environmental knowledge, overall environmental background and contribution to AHFA's environmental programs and regulatory initiatives. The recipients are chosen by members of the ACE committee (Action Committee on the Environment) along with AHFA staff.
In presenting the awards, AHFA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Bill Perdue thanked Branscome and Zimmerman for their dedication to both the AHFA and the industry, as well as to their respective companies. Both joined Perdue on trips to Washington, D.C., in 2011 to educate legislators and regulators about the compliance challenges presented by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, formaldehyde emissions standards, the Environmental Protection Agency's boiler rule and other environmental and safety regulations. In addition, Branscome serves on the Board of Examiners for AHFA's environmental management programs, EFEC and Sustainable by Design.
Century Furniture received AHFA's Environmental Excellence Award, which goes to a company that demonstrates exemplary environmental management and an ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship. The corporate leadership award also is selected by the ACE committee and AHFA staff. Perdue commended Century for continually raising the bar in its environmental management efforts. All three of Century's domestic manufacturing facilities were registered in the EFEC environmental management program in 2009, and the company completed Sustainable by Design registration in 2010, thereby extending sustainable practices throughout its supply chain. The company's vice president of global logistics, Roger Jones, participated on a committee that helped develop and review AHFA's new Responsible Sourcing Manual.
Barbara Nuckles, director of regulatory affairs for Ashley Furniture, received the 2011 Product Safety Leadership Award, a new recognition for individuals or companies that have taken a leadership role on product safety issues. From bunk bed safety to furniture tip-over to testing for lead and formaldehyde, safety and health issues require vast amounts of research and testing to ensure regulations are effective. The fast pace of proposed new standards and revisions to existing standards in today's regulatory environment makes member company involvement critical. Perdue cited Nuckles for work "above and beyond the normal call of duty," including participation in face-to-face meetings with EPA, CPSC and CARB staff.
Finally, AHFA recognized Assured Products Group as its environmental Supplier of the Year. The company supported the 2012 Sustainability Summit as a sponsor and exhibitor. In addition, CEO Jim Chester was a frequent webinar presenter in 2011, lending his expertise to AHFA and its member companies in efforts to meet the complicated challenges of environmental and product safety compliance. In July, AHFA announced a strategic partnership with APG on an industry-specific "compliance advisor" software program that helps companies maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation for chain of custody, general conformance certificates, Lacey Act compliance and more.
"AHFA presents these awards, because we know we could not effectively advocate for our industry if we didn't have individuals to provide 'the face' of home furnishings manufacturing to legislators and regulators," said AHFA CEO Andy Counts.
March 5,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in High Point on March 6, 2012
The High Point Market
has produced an interactive video to showcase a buyers discovery of the home furnishings show and what it offers.
The Discovery video puts a spotlight on the depth and breadth of the Market and its reach around the world. As the buyer in the video learns more about the Market, viewers can interact with the video, discovering embedded clues that lead to more information and opportunities to register for prizes.
We want viewers to connect with this innovative Discovery Video by interacting with it, said Cheminne Taylor-Smith, vice president of marketing for the High Point Market Authority. The idea is to inspire them to explore and discover not only the videos hidden clues, but to learn more about the High Point Market itself.
The video uses a clickable service called WireWax that embeds motion-tracking hotspots into the video. When a viewer places a cursor over a hot spot, a box pops up to provide up more information or to lead them to register for drawings for prizes.
The prizes in the video also offer ways for buyers to learn more about the High Point Market, Taylor-Smith said, adding that viewers can win airfare and hotel vouchers for the upcoming market.
Drawings for the prizes will be held April 1, and winners will be notified April 2.
The buyer in the video, Sara Miles, will continue to reach out to her friends on Twitter as she discovers the Market. Follow her journey at @sarandipitiLA.
Check out the Discovery Video online.
March 5,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on March 6, 2012
Two furniture retailers are the proud owners of lifetime memberships to the National Home Furnishings Association and the Western Home Furnishings Association.
The associations raffled off the memberships during last month's Winter Las Vegas Market.
Tessa Malette, inventory manager at Furniture King, in Ontario, Canada, and Ann and Robert Badasci, owners of Lemoore Furniture, Lemoore, Calif., were the recipients of the first ever Lifetime Membership.
Sponsored by Emerald Home Furnishings, every retailer that joined the associations during Market was entered into the raffle.
"Congratulations to the Badasci's and Tessa Malette on their prize of membership for life," said David Beckmann, president of Emerald Home Furnishings. "Emerald is deeply committed to The Home Furnishing Association and the cause it represents. We are very pleased to see the groups grow, not just in size, but also in stature. These associations meet and exceed the expectation of helping to make retailers stronger, by making this industry stronger as well."
The NHFA Member for Life winner, Furniture King, provides customers in Petawawa furniture, home décor and mattress. Ninety percent of their floor is Ashley Furniture.
"When we were at the Vegas show, we just figured we should finally become a member of NHFA," Malette said. "We were very excited and very happy to win the lifetime membership."
Lemoore Furniture was the winner of the WHFA Lifetime Membership. Ten years ago, Ann and Robert purchased the building next door to their hardware store. The business that used to occupy the building had been a furniture store, and having dabbled in selling furniture occasionally at the hardware store, Ann and Robert decided to get back into the furniture business.
"It was great to find out that we won the lifetime membership," said Badasci of Lemoore. "We were ready to leave Market on Wednesday, and Robert told me to go back to the RRC and sign up for the membership then, because if I waited, I wouldn't do it. Then when we got home, and I got the news that we won-it was just so wonderful!"
Lifetime membership winners receive a membership to the WHFA and NHFA for the life of their business. With this membership, they have access the tools and a community of dedicated industry professionals that are a part of the Association.