Daily News Archive
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February 8,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Aggregated Content in Business Strategy on February 9, 2012
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If the City of Thomasville and Davidson County approve requested incentive grants in coming weeks, a company that builds frames for upholstered furniture plans to invest about $750,000 in a vacant facility at 215 Washboard Road in Thomasville and create a. minimum of 20 jobs.
The city and county are considering appropriating $14,000 each in a five-year incentive package to Carolina Frame Builders if they meet contract requirements as to investment, jobs and wages, which must be equal to or above the county average.
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February 8,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on February 9, 2012
Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN) reported fourth-quarter 2011 sales of $255.5 million, a decline of 7.4 percent from the prior-year period.
While St. Louis-based Furniture Brands lost $9.5 million in the three months ended Dec. 31, that was a big improvement over the $44.7 million the company lost in fourth-quarter 2010.
Sales for the full year 2011 of $1.1 billion were off 4.5 percent from 2010. Furniture Brands lost $43.7 million in 2011, compared with a prior-year loss of $39 million.
Fourth-quarter 2011 retail sales at the 64 company-owned stores and showrooms totaled $34.6 million, compared with retail sales of $38.8 million at 67 company owned stores and showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2010. Same-store sales at the 44 Thomasville stores that the company has owned for more than 15 months decreased 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 following a 15 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2010.
"2011 has been a year defined by continued progress on the cost and efficiency fronts but importantly, it also was a year where we made key investments to strengthen our infrastructure and improve our competitiveness for the long term," said Ralph Scozzafava, chairman and CEO. "Looking to 2012, our priority as an organization is to drive profitable sales. The progress we have made to reduce our operating losses the last few years has been driven by actions taken to align our cost structure with our revenue base, improve the efficiency of our manufacturing operations and drive profitable sales. This year we will focus on delivering the right product at the right price to the right retailers. We expect to improve our operational performance and generate positive free cash flow as we continue to make progress on the path to profitability."
Click here for the full Furniture Brands earnings announcement.
February 8,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on February 9, 2012
Chris Sanders has taken over as 2012 president of the Western Home Furnishings Association.
Outgoing WHFA President Angel Lopez of Los Angeles-based Dearden's passed the gavel to Sanders, of Everton Mattress in Twin Falls, Idaho, at the recent Winter Las Vegas Furniture Market.
New WHFA board members include: John Wilson, Wilson's Furniture, Ferndale, Wash.; Alex Vo, RoomsXpress Furniture, Modesto, Calif.; and Alex Macias, Muebleria Del Sol Furniture, Phoenix, Ariz.
As WHFA President, Sanders will oversee the implementation and administration of all policies and programs mandated by the WHFA Board of Directors. Sanders brings experience from his 20-plus years of manufacturing and retailing to the position of president. Today Sanders is a partner at Everton Mattress & Furniture, as well as vice president of sales and marketing of Therapedic-Restonic Bedding in Twin Falls, Idaho. Over the years, the fourth-generation, family-owned business has reinvented itself in order to exist, including a recent 10-store reduction. Today, there is one outlet of Everton Mattress and they are focusing their efforts on becoming a top-quality mattress producer.
As WHFA's 2012 President, Sanders said he is looking forward to, "working in a collaborative manner with a diverse group of passionate people that want to do whatever it takes to make WHFA the best that it can be."
Along with welcoming in their new president, WHFA thanked Angel Lopez for his time as the 2011 president.
"All of us at WHFA wanted to thank Angel for a great year," said WHFA Executive Director Sharron Bradley. "We moved forward on a lot of great projects in 2011, including launching our first annual Home Furnishings Industry Conference, and Angel was a huge part in making it all happen."
February 8,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on February 9, 2012
Case goods vendor Stanley Furniture Co. (NASDAQ-GS: STLY) announced it is using the Port of Virginia's new rail service to Greensboro, N.C.
The move improves supply chain efficiencies and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transportation of its furniture shipments from the Port of Virginia to the company's Martinsville, Va., warehouse facility.
Stanley says it is the first and only furniture brand to use the rail service, which began operations in October, and the company estimates that the new rail service will result in an overall supply chain cost benefit on all containers that pass through the port. Virginia-based companies that use the rail service also are eligible to receive a port tax credit from the Commonwealth of Virginia, further contributing to Stanley's overall cost reductions.
"The opening of the new Norfolk-Greensboro rail line provided us with a unique opportunity to simultaneously decrease our carbon footprint and improve our total supply chain efficiencies," said Steve Wolfe, Stanley's vice president of global supply chain and logistics. "We recognized the financial and sustainability benefits of participating in this type of rail program immediately and spent the last few months working to ensure that each of our shipping partners would participate. Because all of Stanley's imported products enter into the United States at the Port of Virginia, the supply chain benefits are significant, and we expect to use the service for 100 percent of Stanley's shipments by the end of February."
Before Stanley began using the new rail service on Jan. 15, it relied on standard container trucking services to carry its shipments the approximately 250 miles from Norfolk to Martinsville. With the opening of the rail line, the company is now able to transport the containers via train to Greensboro, where they are loaded onto trucking drayage services for the roughly 50-mile journey from Greensboro to Martinsville. Rail transportation allows a greater number of containers to be moved at a time and produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions than trucks. This new service helps Stanley reduce transportation costs and increase its sustainability by minimizing the number of miles that each container travels by truck. In addition, the company is exploring the use of its private fleet to handle the container moves from Greensboro, which would result in additional efficiencies and enhanced sustainability benefits.
"As one of the first brands to utilize the Port of Virginia's new Greensboro rail service, Stanley Furniture has demonstrated how the adoption of new transportation methods can have a positive impact on both a company's bottom line and the environment," said Daniel LeGrande, mid-Atlantic area manager for Virginia International Terminals, the operating company for the Virginia Port Authority. "We hope that other Virginia- and Carolina-based furniture companies will follow Stanley's industry-leading example and realize the benefits of using our new rail line in the coming months."
February 8,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Rugs on February 9, 2012
Kalaty Rug Corp. will hold a grand opening at its new permanent New York City showroom on March 13.
Hicksville, N.Y.-based Kalaty's 4,400-square-foot showroom at 7 W. 34th St., showroom 807, is already open for business and showcases Kalaty's entire program product line as well as a full complement of catalogs, marketing materials plus dealer merchandise display and sample racks.
"We feel that this showroom and its location will be a positive move for us," said company spokesman Kamran Kalaty. "We look forward to working with old and new customers at this new location, and we also look forward to welcoming guests to our grand opening celebration."
While the Kalaty family rug business originated in the early 1900s in Iran, Mirza Kalaty founded Kalaty Rug Corp. in the United States in 1979. Today, Mirza Kalaty and his five sons, Ramin, Mike, Farshad, Ariel and Kamran, operate the company.
Kalaty showroom locations include New York, Atlanta and High Point.