Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
February 15,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Store Openings on February 16, 2012
Home furnishings manufacturer and retailer Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH) opened its latest Ethan Allen Design Center last week in Miami, Fla.
Ethan Allen, Danbury, Conn., joined representatives from Miami City Ballet for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and fundraising event at the 9775 S. Dixie Hwy. location.
"The new Design Center showcases products from our five signature lifestyles--and a majority of them are new designs, with even more on the way for a total of 60 percen new products since September 2011," Kathwari said. "Our focus on providing not only diversity of style and good value but also complimentary design service and white-glove home delivery are major differentiating attributes that set us apart, and we are very pleased to be back in the South Miami area."
At the grand opening event, guests mingled and toured the state-of-the-art facility, where the newest Ethan Allen products are arranged in room displays. They also bid on silent auction items that included gift certificates for fine dining, tickets to a world-class ballet performance, and furnishings from the company's own five signature lifestyles. All proceeds benefited Miami City Ballet, one of the largest ballet companies in the country, led by founding artistic director Edward Villella.
"We appreciate the warm response we've received from our friends in Miami and the surrounding communities," Kathwari said. "We look forward to continuing the expansion of our Design Center network in the months ahead."
Ethan Allen plans to open several new Design Centers in the U.S. and abroad this year. The company currently has around 300 locations in the United States and abroad.
February 15,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Special Events on February 16, 2012
The American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation has opened nominations for new candidates for induction into the American Furniture Hall of Fame later this year.
Foundation members are eligible to nominate, second and vote.
An independent Industry Fellows Selection committee will choose the best qualified candidates for the ballot. Industry Fellows are then determined by the combination of a vote of the membership and a points-based rating of each nominee by the Selection Committee.
"As a Foundation member, you are entitled to nominate a candidate to become an Industry Fellow and then to elect members to the Hall of Fame," said Kurt Darrow, president of the Foundation. "Please consider nominating a peer who exemplifies enduring excellence, superior accomplishments, innovation and creativity, and philanthropic generosity of their time, talents and resources. There is no higher honor than to be nominated by ones peers in recognition of a career of achievement and service."
Each nominee must conduct business in the United States; have served in the industry for at least 15 years and have created a legacy as a positive influence and champion of the industry. If deceased, the individual may not have died in the 12 months prior to the date of the nomination.
Members may make nominations between Feb. 15 and March 16. Ballots, along with a list of nominees and their biographical information, will be mailed in early June. The winners will be announced and inducted at the American Furniture Hall of Fame banquet on Oct. 14 during the Fall High Point Furniture Market.
Nomination forms and lists of current members, previous nominees and inductees are available on the Foundation Web site. Printed copies of the documents are available by calling 336.882.5900.
To make a nomination, re-nomination or posthumous nomination, Foundation members should complete the Nomination Form found on the Web site. A print or digital 300 dpi photo of the candidate must be enclosed. All nominations must be seconded, in writing, by another Foundation member. An independent selection committee will choose best qualified candidates for the final ballot. If selected for the ballot, there is a nomination and re-nomination fee of $500 to cover the costs of the nomination process.
The completed nomination package must be postmarked no later than March 16, and sent to American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation Inc., 202 Neal Place, High Point, N.C. 27262.
February 15,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Social Media on February 16, 2012
High Point Furniture Market has received international recognition as one of the top brands using the social media site Pinterest.
Social media and branding experts such as Hubspot, Social Media Today, Likable Media, eModeration, and FrontLine touted the Market's Style Spotters program as a unique way to take advantage of brand building on Pinterest.
The Market also announced its newest roster of Style Spotters for the April show.
Named alongside such top-shelf brands as The Today Show, Whole Foods, Pillsbury, and Random House, the High Point Market was listed as a brand that creatively used Pinterest as part of its overall marketing plan. Style Spotters, launched during the October 2011 Market, recruited home fashion trendsetters to showcase their favorite products and top trends from Market exhibitors on Pinterest, a website that lets users organize and share photos on virtual pinboards.
Pinterest has become one of the fastest-growing social networks on the Internet and is now driving more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn combined.
"At the High Point Market we have a clear strategy for social media," said Cheminne Taylor-Smith, vice president of marketing for the High Point Market Authority. "We use it to increase brand awareness, to build a community within the home furnishings world, to provide customer service and respond to feedback, and to quickly circulate information about the Market.
"There is also a less tangible, but no less important, reason that we use social media tools, and that's to create excitement about the Market. We've done that at every recent event, from a flash mob in the fall of 2010, to viral behind-the-scenes videos in April 2011, to our Style Spotters event last October."
The Style Spotters program will continue this April, with a new roster of trendsetters on the lookout for top products and trends. The Spotters will present exhibitors with signs that highlight the Style Spotter's name with a QR code and URL for the Market Pinterest board. Market attendees can also participate by voting on the pinboards and products, generating "likes" or re-pinning.
Style Spotters are also promoted on the Market's Facebook page and on Twitter, using the Market hashtag #hpmkt.
The April 2012 Style Spotters include:
* The winning Style Spotter from October, Tobi Fairley, Tobi Fairley blog, @tobifairley.
* Crystal Gentilello, Rue Magazine, @CrystalG.
* Shay Geyer, Designer Detective, @designershay.
* Jamie Meares, I Suwannee, @jamiemeares.
* Jennifer Mehditash, Dec-A-Porter, @decaporter.
* Mat Sanders, Dominos Quick Fixes, @thematfinish.
* Patricia Shackelford, Mrs Blandings, @mrsbdreamhouse.
* Traci Zeller, Traci Zeller blog, @tracizeller.
Click here to learn more about the Style Spotters.
February 15,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on February 16, 2012
Import cargo volume at the nations major retail container ports is expected to be down 6.8 percent in February from the same month a year ago, but should show year-over-year increases through most of the remaining first half of 2012, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the
National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
With consumer confidence building, retailers are optimistic that the economy is recovering but are continuing to be cautious with their inventory levels, said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy. Merchants want to be sure that growth will be sustained and that demand will be there to meet supply.
U.S. ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.17 million, 20-foot equivalent units in December, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. That was down 6 percent from November since holiday merchandise was already on the shelves but up 2 percent from December 2010.
January 2012 was estimated at 1.17 million TEU, down 3.3 percent from January 2011, and February, historically the slowest month of the year, is forecast at 1.03 million TEU, down 6.8 percent from a year ago. Increases are expected to resume in March, forecast at 1.18 million TEU, up 8.6 percent from last year. April is forecast at 1.25 million TEU, up 2.4 percent; May at 1.28 million TEU, down 0.7 percent; and June at 1.28 million, up 3 percent. The first half of 2012 should total 7.18 million TEU, up 0.5 percent from the same period last year.
Current statistics suggest that the economy will continue to improve as we continue into 2012, Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said. The question is will wholesalers and retailers be able to manage their inventories as well as they did in 2011? Most likely, yes.
Global Port Tracker covers the U.S. ports of Long Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.
February 15,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on February 16, 2012
Jeff Horowitz, president and CEO of
LS Direct Marketing, has been named to the furniture industry board
Greater Metropolitan Furnishings Association's board of director.
The formation of the Greater Metropolitan Furnishings Association came on the heels of a December 2011 vote to merge two furnishing groups in New York and New Jersey. The Greater New York Home Furnishings Association and the Metropolitan Furnishings Association of New Jersey both experienced a decline in membership over recent years due in large part to the consolidation of home furnishing retailers.
To eliminate operational redundancies and strengthen the organizations ability to represent its trade, their union makes sense," Horowitz said.
The goal of GMFA is to provide educational seminars, networking and professional development to their members, who include area home furnishing retailers, supplier representatives and service providers. The newly formed organization has more than 200 members from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, plus a LinkedIn group of nearly 500. They are also affiliated with the International Home Furnishings Representatives Association. http://www.ihfra.org
Horowitz brings both retail experience and marketing expertise to the board. He served 10 years as vice -president of Suffern Fine Furniture, a store his family owned and operated for nearly seven decades, before opening his own marketing business in 1997. Now nearly 15 years later, LS Direct Marketing is a provider of customized direct mail for North Americas furniture industry.
Ive been on both sides of the equation as a retailer and a service provider, so the solutions my company builds come from a 360-degree marketing perspective," he said. "When it comes to serving the GMFA, Im pleased to be focused on membership development. Merging the NY and NJ home furnishings groups is the right move and is in pace with furniture industry trends. Working as one, GMFA hopes to better the services and benefits we offer our colleagues.
The Greater Metropolitan Furnishings Association will operate under the direction of Patrick Cory as president. Cory is managing partner of
Cory 1st Choice Home Delivery.