Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
January 24,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on January 25, 2012
Valerie Watters, owner of
Valeries Furniture & Accents, was awarded the 2011 Retailer of the Year Award by the Arizona Home Furnishings Representatives Association (AHFRA), in a ceremony in Scottsdale, Ariz.
According to AHFRA president Scott Donk, Watters was nominated and chosen from retailers throughout markets that member representatives serve including Arizona, New Mexico, parts of Nevada and beyond.
Everyone wants to sell to Valerie because of the quality of individual that she is," Donk said. "She was the overwhelming winner."
Watters is actively involved in the industry locally, regionally and nationally. She is an executive board member of
Western Home Furnishings Association.
I am extremely honored," she said. "I have known many of the reps for more than 25 years. I know how hard they work. They are an essential part of our industry. I am proud to be associated with them and recognized by them.
According to Donk, the recognition is often awarded to a store with multiple locations. While Watters has only one location, she is certainly doing something right to be selected from among the five nominees this year, he said.
Watters established the 6,500-squar-foot home furnishings store in 1989. She built and grew her brand, market share and reputation by dedicating herself to providing clients with one-of-a-kind western furniture and accessories, nearly all of which are American made.
Watters clientele is not limited to Arizona. A large number of her customers live throughout the country. Watters is known for her clever advertisements which run throughout Arizona and in national publications featuring playful tie-ins with classic old western themes.
Watters hand-selects each item in the store from artisans throughout the United States. She personally works with all the suppliers of accessories, rugs, fabrics, leather and case goods, Donk said.
In addition, Watters has established relationships with talented artists and scours the country for unique, sometimes antique, but always interesting western-influenced pieces.
Other recognitions Watters has received include Top 50 Retail Stars Award by Home Accents Today magazine and Best Cowboy/Cool Furniture from Phoenix Magazine. She has been a featured speaker at industry and media events throughout her career.
Watters is also known for her work for non-profit organizations, and animal rescue organizations are especially dear to her heart. Watters lives on a ranch in Cave Creek, Ariz., and currently has more than 15 adopted rescue animals on her property including five dogs, a donkey, a mule, a sheep, a llama, a cat, two pygmy goats, many hens and one ornery rooster.
January 24,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on January 25, 2012
Long-time leasing managers for the Las Vegas Market Russell Blair and Babs Blair are no longer with the
International Market Centers.
The couple's departure in November was part of the organization's personnel restructuring following the closing of the billion-dollar showroom property acquisition.
A group of furniture industry insiders is hosting a drop-in, come-and-go gathering during the upcoming marketing at the
Grotto Bar in the
Golden Nugget Hotel. The casual get-together will take place Monday, Jan. 30 from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.
January 24,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Markets on January 25, 2012
Lifestyle home furnishings vendor Four Hands is teaming with International Market Centers to increase its presence at furniture markets in High Point and Las Vegas.
In High Point, Austin, Texas-based Four Hands will move to a new 36,000-square-foot showroom on the fourth level of Showplace, serving as an anchor for the centrally located IMC property. That represents a 64 percent increase from Four Hands' prior High Point showroom in Union Square. The new showroom will open for the April 21-26 High Point Furniture Market.
In Las Vegas, Four Hands will more than double its presence at the Las Vegas Design Center at World Market Center to dominate the south end of Building A. The Las Vegas showroom, which will open before the July 30-Aug. 3 Summer 2012 Las Vegas Furniture Market(http://www.lasvegasmarket.com), jumps from 8,800 to nearly 20,000 square feet.
Four Hands President and CEO Matthew Briggs said the company is making a bold move in both markets to reinforce Four Hands' leadership position in the furniture industry. Established 17 years ago, Four Hands hundreds of large and small retailers around the globe and dominates a growing niche of contemporary and accessible design.
"Although we are a relatively young company by High Point standards, we remain on the forefront of thoughtful, smart design," said Briggs. "Our growing footprint requires us to expand our presence in both key markets--Las Vegas and High Point--and IMC is the ideal partner to facilitate our evolution."
Briggs added that the expansions ensure Four Hands will capture the attention of buyers who must make the most of their limited time at shorter markets.
"Convenience is still key for buyers of both large and small retailers, so it's important that we adapt to the times and make it as easy as possible for buyers, designers and consumers to experience our collections," said Briggs. "We are confident larger and more conveniently located showrooms will contribute to our future growth."
According to Bob Maricich, chief executive officer of IMC, the creation of IMC fosters enhanced cooperation between the markets in both cities. It ensures a unified approach that creates a value-added platform for the industry and exhibitors and allows for greater cross-promotion.
"Four Hands is the ideal example of a progressive brand that is taking advantage of the new synergy created by the recent IMC merger of Las Vegas and High Point," Maricich said. "Four Hands' expansion in both markets not only ensures the company's leadership position, it is helping to bridge the company's business on both coasts. We are delighted to count Four Hands as one of our signature brands that is helping to lead the modern living design revolution."
In Las Vegas, Four Hands is located within Las Vegas Design Center, a 42-showroom facility on the World Market Center Las Vegas campus that is open to the public as well as the trade. According to Randy Wells, vice president of Las Vegas Design Center, Four Hands' energy is contagious.
"Four Hands played a major role in LVDC's progression as the region's most comprehensive resource for home furnishings," said Wells. "Four Hands is one of the Design Centers founding fathers, and true to form, the company continues to raise the bar for leadership in our industry. In the past year, LVDC opened a record 11 new showrooms, and Four Hands is easily one of the most popular showrooms with both consumers and designers alike."
January 24,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on January 25, 2012
Bassett Furniture Inds. (NASDAQ: BSET) announced Tuesday that fourth-quarter 2011 sales fell 4.1 percent compared with the prior-year period to $63.3 million.
Net income declined to $600,000 from $1.9 million in fourth-quarter 2010, partly attributable to a $900,000 increase in income tax expense.
Company-owned store delivered sales increased 13 percent to $39.4 million, with a 4.9 percent comparable store increase.
Wholesale sales declined 11% to $43.7 million.
"As the Company grappled with the negative effects of the housing related downturn over the past several years, management's focus has been largely concentrated on stabilizing the health of its store network and on limiting balance sheet exposure," said Robert H. Spilman Jr., President and CEO of Bassett, Bassett, Va. "The emphasis has now squarely shifted to fine tuning the Company's operating performance. We made progress this quarter by improving corporate retail results, increasing wholesale margins, and reducing bad debt charges. The improvement in operating results was tempered by increased SG&A spending primarily related to next fall's launch of the new HGTV Home Division and restructuring charges related to closed plant demolition and store closure and relocation costs."
Wholesale shipments in the fourth quarter fell 11 perecent to $43.7 million compared with the fourth quarter of 2010, due primarily to fewer stores in the dedicated retail network in 2011 and shipping in the fourth quarter of 2010 of a backlog built in the second and third quarters of 2010. This decline was partially offset by increased shipments in the traditional and export channels in 2011.
Both wood and upholstery sales fell 12 percent for the quarter; and both are essentially flat for the year. Traditional and export sales channels increased 8.4 percent for the quarter, resulting from increased market share.
"In order to reduce accounts receivable exposure from underperforming retail licensees, the company ultimately ended 2011 with 15 fewer licensed stores than at year end 2010," Spilman said. "This reduction in store count was responsible for 97 percent of the quarter's decline in wholesale sales. Conversely, the wholesale volume derived from corporate retail stores and from independent retail furniture store sales grew by 9 percent. Despite the reduced volume, wholesale operating margins increased by 50 percent in 2011.
"For several years we have been dealing with the business challenges presented by the deteriorating health of our weaker licensed store operations. We made the decision to aggressively deal with most of the remaining delinquent licensee exposure in 2011, primarily through closures or takeovers. Although we definitely believe that this was the right decision for the Company, we are now dealing with the decline in wholesale sales that is a by-product of this process. Nevertheless, we were pleased that we were able to post improved wholesale margins for the quarter. We are focused on increasing our wholesale market share through our remaining store operations and with independent furniture retailers in both the Bassett and soon to be introduced HGTV Home Furniture Collection product assortments."
Company-owned store delivered sales in the fourth quarter increased 13 percent to $39.4 million, with a 4.9 percent comparable store sales increase. Written sales for comparable stores increased 7.2 percent compared compared with fourth-quarter 2010.
"The year over year improvement in operating performance accomplished by the company's retail division continued in 2011, marking the fifth consecutive year of improved results," Spilman said. "Once again, there was tremendous activity in our corporate retail division in 2011 as we acquired nine licensee stores and closed seven of our own. Against that backdrop, the 39 percent improvement in year-over-year operating results was impressive. Our team continues to streamline costs, upgrade the caliber of our design staff, and offer a high level of service to our consumers. We are excited about our new Torrance, Calif., location and look forward to opening a repositioned store in Richmond, Va., in February."
January 24,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on January 25, 2012
Gold Bond Mattress will not renew its lease at World Market Center Las Vegas, focusing instead on High Point Furniture Market and personal visits to retailers.
Company executives attend the upcoming Winter Las Vegas Furniture Market for informal meetings with dealers in attendance.
"The economy is having an affect on the independent dealers who make up the vast majority of our customer base," said Hartford, Conn.-based Gold Bond's president, Robert Naboicheck. "Over the past few markets, we have seen a precipitous decline in independent dealers attending the shows. We have made a hard decision to invest our dollars in High Point instead of Las Vegas, where we actually have seen an increase in traffic and business over the past few years."
Naboicheck said for Gold Bonds larger clients, Las Vegas has really become a "day and a half to two day" market, which limited the time they can spend at each manufacturer's showroom. Naboicheck added that the company also was finding increased success from a program it started two years ago, in which it takes a truck on the road and meets directly with dealers in personalized visits more geared to each dealers needs.
"As basic as this sounds, we load a truck up with product, set a route and go town to townwith pre-arranged meetings," he said. "We can pick specific product off the truck, set it up for the retailer, and because we are at their location, it is far more convenient for them to allocate time to us. We had added many new clients as a result of this program and are looking to increase our resources in this area."
Gold Bond also will fly customers to its Connecticut showroom.
Gold Bond currently ships to 40 states and five countries, and its products are available at more than 500 retail showrooms.