Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
January 19,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on January 20, 2012
Case goods supplier
Simply Amish recently revamped its online presence and netted a surge in traffic at the Web site.
The Web site, which was redesigned to meet the needs of retailers and consumers, was relaunched in the middle of last year. Since that time, the company reported a 97 percent increase in the number of new visitors online.
"We are continually looking at ways to better present our product and give value-added information to it," said Ryan Stead, director of marketing communications.
By nearly doubling the number of visits, the Web site also logged a 338 percent increase in the number of viewed pages, and time spent on the site jumped 123 percent. The company also said consumers searched for the closest Simply Amish retailer 30 percent more often than before.
"Overall, this effort improved access to our product and increased our visibility to search engines," Stead said. "Users now have an improved ability to find information and to find us to begin with, if they know about us already."
For retailers, Simply Amish added better online reporting options, easier access to clearance and quick-ship items and more marketing materials. Company co-founder Kevin Kauffman is most proud of the training materials added to the Web site.
"In June of 2011, we introduced an extensive training program for our dealers and put the training materials online," he said. "After downloading the information and going through the program, the sales people were given a certification test."
More than 300 salespeople have taken the test and passed with a score of 90 percent or better to earn the "Certified Simply Amish Consultant" title.
"It's been proven that the more our salespeople know about Simply Amish, the more they can sell," Kauffman said. "This is one tool that we provide for our retailers to get the most out of their investment in Simply Amish for their store."
Four names were drawn from retail salespeople who became Simply Amish certified. They were given certificates for $1,000 worth of Simply Amish furniture for their personal use. Those winners were: Bobbi Stevenson, Waterstone Products, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada; Mario Lodato,
United House Wrecking, Stamford, Conn.; Lisa Oliver,
Anderson Furniture, Duluth, Minn.; and Kristi Jensen,
Becker Furniture World, Becker, Minn.
Simply Amish plans to update the Web site with more retailer-focused features, including the ability to look up pricing on individual products with the retailer's unique markup already applied.
January 19,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on January 20, 2012
A new designer-friendly, members-only home furnishings private sale site, 250 Lloyds is going live today.
250 Lloyds aims to offer consumers instant online access to top brands for home furnishings, gifts and home décor items at discounted prices.
The new site, a subsidiary of BLVD Ventures Inc., bills itself as "a next generation social E-commerce retailer built on a robust technology platform." BLVD is spearheading the creation of an integrated online and mobile-commerce platform, and a portfolio of industry-specific social e-commerce ventures.
"Our goal is to improve the online shopping experience for consumers while increasing marketing and sales reach for home furnishings vendors," said 250 Lloyds CEO Sashi Chimala.
Home furnishings industry veteran Eric Bauer, who will serve as director of vendor relations, heads the 250 Lloyds U.S. office. Senior buyers include Vicki Bauer, an experienced home furnishings buyer, merchandiser and interior designer; and Steve Grobe, a former furniture, lighting, rug and accessory senior buyer for Dayton's and Marshall Field's department stores.
250 Lloyds looks to differentiate itself from U.S. competitors in online home furnishings flash sales business by innovating the flash-sale model with several unique sales formats on the site. In addition to daily flash sales, 250 Lloyds will host "Trunk Shows" and "Atrium Events" designed to help home furnishings companies build brand awareness and establish longer-term relationships with customers. "Trunk Shows" feature handpicked merchandise from one or two vendors and last up to 30 days; "Inspire Your Inner Designer"-driven Atrium Events last up to 90 days and are designed to function as mini E-commerce outlets within the site.
"Our intention is to push the envelope on the model and create new channels to make shopping easier and fun for our customers while helping our vendor partners showcase their products to the customer," Eric Bauer said.
The flash sale site model has gained popularity as a purchasing vehicle for fashion and home furnishings. The incidence of Americans visiting flash sale sites increased 68 percent in September 2011 compared with the same period the previous year and increased 314 percent compared to the same period two years ago, according to Experian Hitwise, an Internet-tracking firm.
250 Lloyds can be followed in the Two-Five-O blog; Facebook and Twitter.
January 19,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on January 20, 2012
The National Home Furnishings Association and DispatchTrack have partnered on a new program designed to save NHFA members time and money.
The program offers DispatchTrack's end-to-end furniture delivery operations software to members at reduced pricing.¨¨DispatchTrack is designed to manage furniture delivery and technician support operations. The solution consists of a device based on the Android mobile platform for the field resources and a web-based application for the office manager to effectively manage their field operations. ¨¨Key features include GPS tracking, routing, time window calculations, ability to capture job pictures, job notes and customer signatures in real-time, capture customer surveys, credit card swiper, and a delivery status tracking widget.
"DispatchTrack offers a simple and affordable solution to manage your delivery operations," said DispatchTrack CEO Satish Natarajan. "Regardless of whether you use one truck or a fleet of trucks, DispatchTrack provides real-time information at your fingertips and hence enables you to provide better service to your customers."
DispatchTrack Solution works on any computer that has access to the Internet. The mobile solution uses the Android Operating System from Google and can be purchased at any wireless provider store.¨¨DispatchTrack Solution integrates with most existing point-of-sale systems such as Red Praire, Profit, Storis, Furniture Wizard, FurnServ and FROG.¨¨DispatchTrack's partnership with NHFA includes a discounted pricing program for NHFA members.
For more information visit its Web site; or call NHFA at 800.888.9590.
January 19,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on January 20, 2012
Massood Logistics is expanding its menu of customized logistics offerings and has added two key executives to its management team to meet growing demand.
Massood Logistics has a state-of-the-art, 550,000-square-foot distribution center in Eden, N.C.
Tara Massood, a third-generation member of the business, has been named general manager of the concern. Formerly an executive manager with Thomasville Stores of New Jersey, Massood has relocated to the Triad area in order in her new role.
In addition, Paula Powell Cubberley, most recently an executive administrator with Furniture Transport Group in High Point, and known for her work with the former MGM Transport, Stanley Furniture Co., and the City of Hope's NHFA Board, has joined the Massood Logistics team as an account executive.
According to Edward Massood, president, both women are responsible for providing customers with a fully integrated platform of fulfillment services tailored to their business operations.
"We are extremely pleased that Tara will be following in the footsteps of her grandfather in her new role as general manager," he said. "We are also very lucky to have Paula join our team. Her energy and devotion to superior service make her the ideal interface for our customers, particularly in the fast-moving environment in which we are all operating today."
Cubberley will attend the upcoming Las Vegas Furniture Market to meet with customers.
"Massood Logistics is ideally suited to serve as any West Coast-based manufacturer's East Coast presence, she said.
January 19,
2012 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on January 20, 2012
World Market Center Las Vegas will debut a new made-in-USA pavilion for the Jan. 30-Feb. 3 Las Vegas Furniture Market.
Featuring American-made products from nearly 40 companies, the showcase follows on the launch of the American pavilion at Suites at Market Square at the Fall High Point Furniture Market, and gives manufacturers, buyers and designers who attend Las Vegas Market the opportunity to experience a West Coast version of the destination.
The new 5,000-square-foot pavilion, located in on the second floor of Building B, will showcase American-made furniture and home decor products and collections.
"As more and more consumers move toward the trend in supporting and buying local and domestically made products, Las Vegas Market wanted to present a single destination on the West Coast for those companies to showcase their goods," said Margaret Powers, vice president of tradeshows/Las Vegas. "This new pavilion gives all our manufacturers an opportunity to highlight their made-in-USA wares while providing buyers one-stop-shopping for these highly sought-after products. In particular we think our growing international buyer base will be anxious to visit this uniquely American market destination."
Las Vegas Market's partnership with Rick Dale and his shop, Rick's Restoration, featured in the hit History Channel show "American Restoration," is a highlight of the new destination. Rick's Restoration will showcase one-of-a-kind pieces featured on the show, as well as before-and-after looks of these professionally restored pieces of American history.
Las Vegas Market also has secured vintage pieces of local Las Vegas neon history through the Neon Museum and Boneyard(http://www.neonmuseum.org/). Select pieces of historical American neon from the heyday of Las Vegas glitz and glamour will be highlighted throughout the pavilion with these unrestored and unique pieces.
Exhibiting companies in the new Made in U.S.A. pavilion include Oak Design Corp., ITW Dahti Seating, Whittier Wood Furniture, Old Hickory Furniture Co., Sole/Divani Designs, McClure Tables, Supracor, Dapwood Furniture Co., Utah Mountain Furniture and Cambridge Mills Furniture.
The pavilion also will feature a product showcase with examples of American-made wares from many permanent Las Vegas Market exhibitors from across the campus. Those include ACME Furniture, Adagio Water Features, Anthony California, Best Home Furnishings, Capel Rugs, Fine Art Tapestries, Fireside Lodge Furniture Company, Four Hands, Furniture Traditions, Imagine That!, India House, Karastan Rugs, King's Rattan, Legends Furniture, Leggett & Platt Consumer Products Group, Manual Woodworkers, Marshfield Furniture, Montana Woodworks, Omnia Leather Furniture, Pacific Coast Lighting, Peninsula Home Collection, Pure Country Rustic Décor, Reliant Ribbon, Rene Cazares/RC Furniture, Rowe Furniture, Simply Amish and Veneman.
Las Vegas Market also will celebrate this new pavilion with a special "Party in the U.S.A." event, Jan. 31, 4-6 p.m., on the B2 floor, featuring all-American fare such as sliders, mac-n-cheese, special desserts and signature cocktails, adding to the domestically-inspired party.