Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
September 21,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on September 22, 2011
Jamison Bedding is coming to High Point Furniture Market with a new brand strategy and position.
The re-positioning of the 128-year-old, Brentwood, Tenn.-based company and brand comes on the heels of an 18-month period that involved management change, self-study, market analysis and strategic planning. Jamison's High Point showroom is space 615 in the Main wing of the International Home Furnishings Center.
"Our new strategic mission and brand position, 'We Make Sleep Different,' is how we plan to express this critical redefinition," said Ken Hinman, senior vice president of sales and marketing. "The 'We' in our brand statement is key because it reflects the commitment of every Jamison employee--not just of management--to this new direction. And to maintain that we make sleep 'Different' reinforces the fact that doing business with Jamison today differs dramatically from the past because we are now a significantly different company."
Commenting on his family firm's evolution toward this new vision, President and CEO Frank Gorrell said that "our products are unique and exciting, and retailers will discover that the Jamison brand is extremely market-competitive.
"But we're also proud to say that the quality components we've always used in our mattresses and the quality measures we've taken to build them have not and will not change," Gorrell added. "That's the real value that we want to demonstrate to current customers and to new retailers interested in the new Jamison."
In the first public presentation of its company and brand transition, Jamison will launch at market three major product initiatives: a Gel Comfort collection featuring first use in the industry of an exclusive gel-visco foam blend; a new, European-look Talalatex Conformer line with articulated bases, and a completely re-designed Vita Pedic collection described as the next generation in two-sided sleep."
"Every Jamison product has been re-invented or changed in significant ways," Hinman said.
The complete market presentation, for which Jamison has transformed its showroom into a modern retail environment, also will include new marketing and point-of-purchase materials, brochures, bed dressings and labels, and other key support pieces that have been re-imaged to reflect and reinforce the new "We Make Sleep Different" position.
Jamison Bedding operates two mattress factories in Gallatin, Tenn., and Albany, Ga., serving more than 400 retailers in the southeast U.S. and major hotels and resorts worldwide.
Jamison also is the exclusive producer of Hypnos-branded products, licensed by Hypnos Ltd. of Buckinghamshire, England. Hypnos is the exclusive supplier of mattresses and upholstered furniture to the British Crown.
September 21,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on September 22, 2011
Don Coleman, president and CEO of furniture and bedding components vendor Hickory Springs, has announced his plans to retire in December.
Coleman, who's been with Hickory, N.C.-based Hickory Springs for 39 years, has been president and CEO of the company since 1996.
"At the quarterly meeting of the Board of Directors on July 21, 2011, I announced my plans to retire on December 31, 2011, to enjoy more time with my family," Coleman said. "It has been a wonderful 39-plus years working with and for a company of the quality standards and ethics we enjoy. We as employees can be proud to be a part of the organization we have today."
Coleman joined Hickory Springs in 1972 as its first national product manager, and then added manufactured sleeper mechanisms to his management responsibilities in 1975. He served as general manager of the company's Highland Fabricators facility following its acquisition, then was named vice president of the company's Eastern Furniture Division following its formation in 1992. Four years later, he succeeded Neil Underdown as president and CEO.
"Hickory Springs is grateful to Don for his years of outstanding leadership, loyalty, and vision," said Tom Pierce, chairman of the Board of Directors of Hickory Springs. "His commitment to developing innovative products, sound fiscal policy, creative partnerships and understanding the needs of our customers has had an immeasurable impact upon the ongoing excellence, growth and diversification of Hickory Springs over the years."
Hickory Springs is working with a professional placement service to search for Coleman's successor.
"Hickory Springs has formed a number of joint ventures as well as made several acquisitions to advance the Company toward its strategic goals," Coleman said. "Succession planning has been the key in each area. Over the past year, we have placed talented and seasoned managers in expanded roles to strengthen and grow Hickory Springs in all markets. I look forward to stepping back and seeing the fruits of our planning propel the Company into the exciting opportunities which are consistent with what Hickory Springs has been for 67 years."
Coleman also has enjoyed a distinguished career in the business and civic communities as well as with Hickory Springs. He currently serves on the boards of the Furniture Foundation, the American Furniture Hall of Fame, the Catawba County Community Foundation, and the Wells Fargo Western North Carolina Advisory Board. Last year, the Business Council of Lenoir-Rhyne University named him Business Leader of the Year. Former Governor James Hunt awarded him the North Carolina's highest civilian recognition, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. He also is the conductor of the Hickory Choral Society, a community choir that he helped found in 1978.
September 20,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Green on September 21, 2011
Home furnishings manufacturer and retailer Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH) will implement the American Home Furnishings Alliance EFEC environmental management system.
Ethan Allen will adopt program requirements for EFEC (Enhancing Furniture's Environmental Culture) into the company's existing Environmental Health and Safety Management System at its five domestic manufacturing facilities, including one upholstery plant, three case goods plants and one home accents plant. At the same time, the company will implement EFEC at two distribution centers and about 20 retail service centers.
Eventually, the company plans to extend the EFEC environmental management system into all of its company-owned retail locations, which currently number about 150. It will be the first application of the industry's environmental management program at the retail level.
"We are pleased to have our efforts recognized by the AHFA," said Ethan Allen Chairman, President and CEO Farooq Kathwari. "By implementing EFEC, we strengthen our continuing commitment to creating a safe workplace and protecting the natural environment for the benefit of our employees, the community and the company."
EFEC, which AHFA launched in 1999, requires companies to analyze and better understand the environmental impact of processes, raw materials and finished products on a facility-by-facility basis. As a result of this effort, EFEC-registered companies consistently experience measurable benefits, including better management of resources and raw materials; reduced energy, water and waste disposal costs; and improved overall operational performance and efficiency.
EFEC companies undergo an annual "maintenance audit" to ensure continual improvement at each registered facility. EFEC also has an impact on the local community, as companies reduce their water and energy consumption and improve recycling efforts. The program is in place at more than 50 furniture manufacturing facilities in 11 states.
Following implementation of EFEC, companies can choose to advance to AHFA's Sustainable by Design program, which provides a roadmap for implementing sustainable business practices throughout a company's global supply chain. It calls on companies to calculate a baseline carbon footprint and to develop strategies for reducing that footprint. In addition, Sustainable by Design companies must develop a social responsibility program that includes a code of conduct for all overseas suppliers.
Ethan Allen also plans to pursue Sustainable by Design registration.
September 20,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on September 21, 2011
Import volume at U.S. retail container ports is creeping up again, ending a summer downturn as retailers prepare for the holidays, according to Global Port Tracker.
The Global Port Tracker report is released monthly the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
"With the most crucial spending period of the year just weeks away, retailers have made careful decisions on the amount of merchandise they need to properly stock their stores during the holidays," NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. "This year, retailers have the luxury of importing holiday goods later than last year, which better ensures their inventory levels will accurately meet consumer demand."
U.S. ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.32 million twenty-foot equivalent units in July, the latest month for which numbers are available. That rose 6 percent from June but down 4 percent from July 2010. July was the second month in a row to show a year-over-year decline, and August was flat compared with last year, at an estimated 1.42 million TEU. Rather than indicating an economic downturn, however, the numbers are a skewed comparison against higher-than-normal numbers last summer, when fears of shortages in shipping capacity caused many retailers to bring holiday merchandise into the country earlier than usual. Global Port Tracker counts only the number of cargo containers imported, not the value of their contents, so cargo volume does not directly correlate with retail sales.
Year-over-year growth is beginning to resume in September, which is forecast to be up 11.8 percent from September 2010 at 1.5 million TEU. October is forecast at 1.48 million TEU, up 9.5 percent; November at 1.33 million TEU, up 8 percent; and December at 1.2 million TEU, up 4.5 percent. January 2012 is forecast at 1.19 million TEU, down 1 percent from January 2011.
The total for 2011 is forecast at 15.4 million TEU, up 4.3 percent from 2010. Imports during 2010 totaled 14.7 million TEU, a 16 percent increase over unusually low numbers in 2009.
Given the seasonal nature of cargo volume and continuing uncertainties about the economy, Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett was cautious about cargo volume in 2012.
"We should not be lulled into too much confidence by the relatively strong import volumes of August and September," Hackett said. "These are linked to the low levels of inventory that needed to be raised to meet the return-to-school and post-Thanksgiving sales. The third quarter will be positive for the ocean carriers and retailers but that will turn into negative growth for the next two to three quarters thereafter."
September 20,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on September 21, 2011
Ashley Furniture Inds. has launched its new Ashley Sleep Web site.
The site is geared to offer innovative sleep products designed to give customers an eco-friendly, safe, supportive and restorative rest.
"Forget everything you know about mattresses and sleep sets," said Senior Vice President of Ashley Sleep Ben Thorud. "Now, anyone who's been desperately seeking the ultimate night's rest can experience the latest in sleep innovations. From mattresses infused with Green Tea Extract for a fresh, cool and comfortable night's rest -- to our use of patented Ecofusion technology and renewable resources--it's unlike anything you've ever experienced."
Products include: memory foam mattresses ranging from "firm" to "plush" to "ultra plush"; latex mattresses in renewable, chemical-free, eco-friendly material; foundations, both traditional and the new Ashley Sleep Riser; and pillows, including styles such as the dual-sided pillow for back and stomach sleepers, and the contour pillow for both side sleepers and back sleepers.
All Ashley Sleep Memory Foam mattresses have earned the CertiPUR-US certification seal, which ensures that the products have been tested and certified by independent laboratories.