Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
September 20,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on September 21, 2011
Kevin Malkiewicz has been named vice president of AmericasMart Atlanta area rug leasing and sales with full responsibility for all area rug category management.
Malkiewicz most recently served as executive director of area rug leasing, tradeshows and buyer relations, and continues a 12-year tenure dating to his 1999 appointment as area rug buyer relations manager. He will direct the leasing of the 350,000-square-foot AmericasMart area rug center, and will help to lead sales of the National Oriental Rug Show, the area rug temporaries staged in partnership with the Oriental Rug Importers Association during the January Atlanta International Area Rug Market. The area rug center and temporaries together comprise the nation's single-largest collection of area rug product.
"Kevin brings to his new role experience and expertise perfectly matched to the needs of exhibitor and buyer customers and to the industry at large," said Jeffrey L. Portman, president and chief operating officer of AmericasMart Atlanta and its AMC Inc. parent entity. "He is a superb steward of our customers' business and of the resources we continue to invest in an industry of vital importance to our marketplace and the greater home furnishings community."
September 20,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on September 21, 2011
Full-line upholstery source
United Furniture Inds. will be in a new, larger showroom at the October
High Point Market, occupying the entire sixth floor of the National Furniture Mart.
According to company Larry George, president Larry George, the expanded space will allow the company to show retailers the full breadth of the company's furniture, which includes stationary and motion upholstery, sectionals, recliners, hide-a-bed furniture as well as a full complement of Beautyrest by Simmons upholstery goods, also manufactured by United.
"In our former showroom, we were only able to show a portion of each of our categories, but as part of an ongoing effort to support our dealers, we've taken this new space, which will allow our customers to see our expanded product selection," George said.
The company also said it intends to use the expanded space to showcase major introductions in all of its core categories.
While acknowledging the ongoing challenges presented by the economy, George said that by investing in new items throughout its category lineup, United continues to equip its dealers for success.
"According to our dealers, consumer reaction to our products continues to be very strong and we believe that the best way to support our dealers' ongoing success is by continuing to bring fresh looks and compelling values to the market," he said.
The company will celebrate the new showroom with a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a customer appreciation party from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21.
September 20,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on September 21, 2011
Furniture retailing veteran Paul Greenbaum has started a new table and accent furniture company.
The company, Ceja International, will supply furniture retailers with imported Italian marble tables and accent furniture. Headquartered in Woodbridge, Conn., the company will show at the
High Point Market in the Commerce & Design Building in suite 4L.
Greenbaum, president of Ceja, was a third-generation retailer at Wayside Furniture in Milford, Conn., and later with Breuners. Most recently, Greenbaum was vice president of sales and marketing for Excelsior Designs.
At the market, Ceja will showcase more than 40 marble dining and occasional tables, desks and accents scaled for the U.S. market. Produced in Italy, the tables are made from marbles such as beige corallo, travertine, etruscan grey, walnut travertine, emperador and bianco carrara.
"The product line brings a natural element to the design process with the inherent beauty that stone provides," Greenbaum said. "Ideally suited for today's eclectic living environments, all marble tops feature either polyester matte, polyester satin or polyester high-gloss finish application which provide a durable surface for entertaining or display."
Retail price points for dining range from $1,699 to $3,999. Consoles range from $1,399 to $2,999; cocktails from $1,199 to $2,699; and desks between $1,999 and $3,499.
The company is warehousing its products domestically and offers a stocking program with shipment in four to eight weeks.
September 20,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Furniture Retailing on September 21, 2011
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z5226816524&z=1250249029
W. Home Furnishings will not reopen in Lafayette, La. The high-end furniture store in River Ranch closed abruptly in mid-August. Previous owners Rene Ward and Nina Ward, as well as representatives Sunbelt Business Brokers, had been in discussions with other individuals about possibly opening the store once again.
However, those talks have apparently fallen through. In an e-mail Tuesday, Robin Wright of Sunbelt Business Brokers said investors lost interest when the bank wouldnt cooperate and with the negative publicity. The exact reasons for the stores closure remain unclear, although First Bank and Trust has filed a civil lawsuit.
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September 19,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on September 20, 2011
Home furnishings delivery and logistics specialist
Furniture Transport Group is shuttering its business and liquidating its assets.
According to a release, the company will work with its customers and competitors to offer a seamless transition.
In the release, the company also said it had been trying to renegotiate financing with its senior lender for several months without success. It has been determined that an orderly liquidation of substantially all of the companys assets is the only viable course of action, said Steven E. Lusty, CRO and acting CEO.
Lusty also said company officials are disappointed by the decision to liquidate, and regret the impact it will have on employees, customers, suppliers and the community.
Furniture Transport Group was formed four years ago by the merger of
MGM Transport Corp.,
Caldwell Freight Lines and
Foothills Trucking Co. The company acquired Lance Transport two years later. The merger of these transportation companies created a single transportation firm to serve the industry nationally and leverage each of the companies' strengths in information technology, logistics support and other business functions.