December 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on December 2, 2011
Bassett Furniture Inds. has signed a multi-year lease at World Market Center Las Vegas.
The 20,000-square-foot showroom, WMC-A953 will be open for the Jan. 30-Feb. 3 Winter Las Vegas Furniture Market.
This move will position Bassett as a major exhibitor, giving retailers who attend the Las Vegas Market, particularly those west of the Mississippi, the opportunity to shop new product, purchase and conduct business with the industry leader.
"Showing in Las Vegas enables us to better serve our western dealers and our stores there, not to mention acquiring new accounts who we do not currently serve in High Point. This is a key step in our strategic plan for growth," said Robert Spilman, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. "The new synergy between Las Vegas and High Point presents us and our customers with an incredible opportunity to expand our business and our brand. By significantly positioning our company in both markets, Bassett will be better poised to achieve our global business objectives."
"This announcement marks the addition of yet another major exhibitor to our growing list of key resources offered at World Market Center Las Vegas," said Tom Mitchell, president of furniture for International Market Centers, parent company of World Market Center Las Vegas. "We believe this partnership with Bassett will also attract more noteworthy industry leaders to the Las Vegas Market, driving continued growth for our exhibitors and give buyers even more compelling reasons to shop this market."
December 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on December 2, 2011
Home furnishings retailer West Elm will open a pop-up store Thursday in downtown Westport, Conn.
The Williams-Sonama retail brand's first pop-up shop in Connecticut will offer an assortment of furniture, decor and gifts. On opening day, the first 100 customers to visit will receive a free West Elm tote bag, and all seasonal trim and rugs will be 20 percent off.
"You can't help but get into the holiday mood when you're shopping on Main Street in Westport," said Jim Brett, president of West Elm. "We're excited to add to the fun with our newest West Elm pop-up shop."
In addition to furniture and accessories, the Main Street pop-up shop will open with a broad assortment of unique gifts. The collection includes a whimsical ceramic pig speaker, colorful owl measuring cups, modern snow globes, and an updated Santa cookie jar, as well as an assortment of gifts that can be personalized or monogrammed and gifts that give back to organizations including the ASPCA, Teach for America, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Products not stocked at the West Elm pop-up shop can be ordered in the store and shipped directly to the customer for ease of shopping.
West Elm, headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y., opened a pop-up home furnishings store in Towson, Md., last month.
December 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on December 2, 2011
Las Vegas Furniture Market has set social and entertainment events for its Jan. 30-Feb. 3 winter 2012 edition.
Festivities kick off in the Grand Plaza on Monday, Jan. 30, 6-8 p.m. with the "Food Truck Festival." Gourmet food trucks will offer sliders, meatballs, BBQ, pizza, even and vegetarian fare. DJ Twin will spin tunes from the 50's and 60's.
Starting Tuesday, Jan. 31 through Thursday, Feb. 2, market-goers can break their fast in the Grand Plaza with "Grab 'n' Go Breakfast," complements of Las Vegas Market.
Tuesday, 6-8 p.m., the "Boogie Nights" party in the Grand Plaza, featuring the band Boogie Nights, will feature disco-era music, food, refreshments and cocktails.
Also on Tuesday, 4-6 p.m., the Made in USA Pavilion on the second floor of Building B will host "Party in the U.S.A.," with all-American fare including sliders, mac-n-cheese, desserts and signature cocktails to celebrate U.S.-made home furnishings, featuring vintage neon displays and restored antiques.
Monday, Jan. 30 through Thurs., Feb. 2, 4-6 p.m., select furniture floors (A6, A9, B7, C13 and C16) will offer happy hour with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, compliments of Las Vegas Market.
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., international buyers are invited to attend a breakfast and reception at the International Buyers Lounge, WMC-C484.
Also on Wednesday, 6-8 p.m., the Grand Plaza will host buyers for delectable desserts, smores, hot chocolate and more, while the band Guilty Pleasures plays soft rock jams from the 70's and 80's.
On Thursday, Feb. 2 from 6-8 p.m., "Courtyard Uber Lounge" turns the Grand Plaza into a hot Vegas nightspot as Las Vegas Market nears the end of the week. Enjoy complimentary cocktails and hors doeuvres while enjoying the music and atmosphere of the courtyard uber lounge.
"We want to make sure our attendees not only experience a compelling and successful Las Vegas Market with plenty of inspiration and new product for their stores, but to also have an experience that is enjoyable and offers networking opportunities all week long," said Robert Maricich, chief executive officer of International Market Centers, parent company of World Market Center Las Vegas. "This is, after all, Las Vegas and world-class hospitality is a priority to providing an exceptional Market experience to our buyers and exhibitors."
In addition to the array of events and receptions, other amenities that will be available to attendees include free Wi-Fi on campus, complimentary shuttle to/from host hotels, free parking in multi-level onsite parking garage, fully-equipped Internet lounges and convenient café and food kiosks.
December 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Internet on December 2, 2011
Home furnishings e-tailer Mattress USA is in the party business with the launch of partysuppliesdelivered.com.
The new site offers party supplies, favors, and decorations.
"We're excited to offer our customers even more merchandise," says Joe Nashif, President of Mattress USA, Brighton, Mich. "We're having a great time selling New Year's Eve and pirate party supplies and are looking forward to diversifying our operations."
Parent company Mattress USA operates a portfolio of home furnishing websites, with flagship brands of US-Mattress.com, FurnitureCrate.com, DayBedDeals.com, and NameBrandBeds.com.
The PartySuppliesDelivered.com division is run by Aaron Hall, division vice president purchasing and inventory, who joined Mattress USA after seven years at Century Novelty, a previous Internet Retailer Hot 100, INC 500, and Multichannel Merchant Magazine MCM Award winner; and Ian MacDonald, division vice president e-commerce and marketing, who came to the company after nine-and-a-half years at Century Novelty and a short stint at a small catalog-based company. MacDonald also is a guest writer for Multichannel Merchant.
November 30,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on December 1, 2011
La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB) reported fiscal 2012 second-quarter sales of $307.7 million, a 5 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
For the three months ended Oct. 29, the Monroe, Mich.-based company reported net income of $7.9 million, more than double the $3.9 million netted in second-quarter 2011.
Same-store written sales for the 309 La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries store network increased 9.2%; and delivered sales in the company-owned retail segment increased 34.3 percent.
"While macroeconomic headwinds continue to prevail, we are encouraged by our results and believe we are gaining market share, particularly in our upholstery segment," said La-Z-Boy Chairman, President and CEO Kurt Darrow. "For the quarter, we experienced a sales increase in our upholstery and retail segments, improved our overall gross margin, increased same-store sales for the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries store network and recorded the 11th consecutive quarterly improvement in the operating performance of our retail segment compared with the prior year. We also more than doubled our consolidated operating profit compared with last year's second quarter. The success of our marketing campaign, strong product values and our lean operating platform are driving the company's performance and we believe we have the ability to continue to strengthen our results as our volume grows."
Click here for La-Z-Boy's complete release on second-quarter 2012 performance.