Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
September 13,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Advertising on September 14, 2011
Furniture, electronics and appliance retail buying group MEGA Group USA has teamed with Netsertive to launch the MEGA WebAdvertising Program.
MEGA WebAdvertising is an exclusive search marketing and display ad program designed to drive increased local sales opportunities and targeted online exposure to MEGA members retailers by providing technology-driven, high-performance online marketing.
The program uses powerful online and display campaigns to connect MEGA members with local, purchase-ready consumers. Raleigh, N.C.-based Web marketing agency Netsertive's patent-pending "Learning Engine" proactively funnels qualified sales leads for the retailers' products by targeting consumers through contextually relevant Web sites and directing them to the nearest dealer.
"Our focus has and will always be to support our dealers at the local level helping them increase awareness, drive traffic and generate sales of their individual stores in their markets," said Rick Bellows, president of MEGA Group USA. "We launched MEGA WebAdvertising as another tool for the independent retailers to use to grow their business and positively impact their bottom line. MEGA WebAdvertisings Internet search engine advertising, digital display ads, remarketing and social media services are designed to put the member at the forefront of all marketing efforts giving them the power to succeed in their retail trading areas."
MEGA WebAdvertising further enhances the extensive online offerings that MEGA Group USA offers their members. MEGA WebFronts is MEGA Group USA's website marketing program. MEGA introduced the first generation, WebFronts Basic, more than four years ago; and launched an even more robust version, WebFronts Premium Plus, last March.
"Whether it's through our new WebAdvertising program, smart and effective SEO techniques or a combination of both, our members have the online strategies needed for their store to show at the top when consumers are searching for product online," Bellows said. "These programs are designed to spotlight our members' stores and increase their brand preference in the minds of their customers."
MEGA Group USA has 1600 retail members in 3,000 store fronts throughout the United States.
September 13,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on September 14, 2011
Home furnishings retailer Ikea is holding its The Life Improvement Project for a second year.
The project is designed to inspire and empower people to improve their lives, along with the lives of others in their community. As part of the second year of this national program, Ikea will be hosting a Life Improvement Sabbatical Contest that offers an opportunity to win a year-long sabbatical worth $100,000 to improve the lives of others and a series of in-store seminars. In addition, the retailer will perform random acts life improvement--unexpected moments when Ikea will surprise the public with tokens of appreciation to improve everyday moments in their lives.
Other events include a life improvement challenge where every Ikea store will commit to $10,000 to support local community initiatives and a soft toys for education campaign to donate 1 Euro to children's education programs for every soft toy sold through the holiday season.
The project reinforces the ongoing brand platform, Ikea, the Life Improvement Store, an idea designed to communicate the companys core vision and mission of creating a better everyday life for the many people.
More information on the program is available online. "The program began last year as a way demonstrate the concept of the Life Improvement Store but its become so much more, said Christine Whitehawk, communications manager Ikea U.S. The positive impact that our customers and our coworkers are making in their communities is inspirational. Were excited to expand the Life Improvement Project even more this year and to continue being a partner for consumers in improving lives at home and beyond.
Last year marked the inaugural year of the project and one of its core components -- the Life Improvement Sabbatical Contest. Of nearly 2,000 entrants and more than 46,000 votes cast by the public, Kyria Henry of Round Hill, Va., was the grand prize winner of a $100,000 prize from Ikea to pursue her passion of helping others.
Winning the Ikea Life Improvement Sabbatical Contest has allowed us to expand our programming, breed and train more dogs, and most importantly, place more service dogs with veterans, active duty military members and their dependents, said Kyria Henry, founder of paws4vets, which trains and pairs service dogs with veterans needing assistance. Words cannot express the amazing platform and opportunities this contest has given me and my project this past year.
September 13,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on September 14, 2011
Furniture Training Co. has launched "Setting and Achieving Sales Goals," a new online selling skills module.
The module is available on the North Logan, Utah-based Furniture Training Co.'s subscription Web site. This module teaches goal setting based on the idea "desire is the turning point of all achievement," championed by Napolean Hill in his landmark motivational book, "Think and Grow Rich!" The goal-setting module guides associates to set high-volumne monthly and annual sales goals based on their own personal financial goals.
"Without clear financial goals, most salespeople don't commit to doing the 'right things' to guarantee sales success," said FTC President Mark Lacy. "Greeting every customer with enthusiasm, engaging in needs discovery, presenting with passion, and closing every sale with confidence requires a drive that only comes from a burning desire to achieve ones own personal financial needs and wants."
The newly released goal-setting module is first in a two-part series that shows furniture assocciates how to set meaningful financial goals along with the sales performance goals needed to reach them. These modules are part of the continually expanding library of online furniture training resources at Furniture Training Co.'s subscription Web site. Like the site's other 200-plus training modules and resources, these new modules consist of fully narrated interactive audio-visual presentations, performance-changing activities, and graded tests. Storeowners and managers can monitor 24/7 assocciate training progress and test scores.
September 13,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on September 14, 2011
The Antique & Design Center at Market Square continues to grow, with nearly 75 exhibitors signed to present antiques, original works of art, and one-of-a-kind finds in the unique, 60,000-square-foot venue housed in historic Market Square in High Point.
According to Karen Luisana, founder and managing director of the Antique & Design Center at Market Square, the presentation of dealers and artisans makes this show-within-a-show unlike any other.
"There are a number of very large, well-known antique shows around the country, and weve walked the halls and trudged the muddy fields of all of them to gather what we believe to be the cream of the crop for the
High Point Market," Luisana said. "The extraordinary group of dealers and artisans we are presenting this season--arrayed in one easy-to-shop, indoor venue--is a very special, hand-picked group of exhibitors specifically chosen for what the design trade is looking for today."
The Antique & Design Center is expanding by more than a dozen new exhibitors this season, many of whom have never before shown at the High Point Market. Antiques dealers showing at the Antique & Design Center for the first time this Fall include Epping Forest, Bridges Over Time and Summerthur. Other notable new exhibitors will be Micah Gerahty of Hudson, NY-based Character Unlimited, LLC, who specializes in reclaimed hardwood floors and custom, handmade furniture from reclaimed wood, and Pandora de Balthazar, a purveyor of exquisite linens and antique textiles. Also new this Market are artists Jan Lukens, who specializes in equestrian portraiture, and outside artist Ron Goins. Pennoyer Newman, which produces distinctive garden pots cast from estate originals, will also be showing in High Point for the first time.
Amanda Lane Kinney, marketing director at the Antique & Design Center, believes that the Centers unprecedented growth in difficult economic times can be attributed to consumers steadily growing interest in design and vintage furnishings.
"Culturally speaking, we are seeing the rise in the number of television shows devoted to the genre, like American Pickers on the History Channel; Picker Sisters on Lifetime; Buried Treasure on Fox; Oddities, on the Discovery Channel, and of course, the original Antiques Roadshow on PBS. If all of these shows are any indication, old really is new again. Were also seeing social media--the popular design blogs and Twitter--helping to drive interest in vintage furnishings and antiques by new generations of collectors," Luisana said.
"At the same time, there are a growing number of young, entrepreneurial spirits in the antiques business who have one foot in the antique world, and the other in the design world," she said. "They find the juxtaposition of styles exciting, and they are making design exciting for others. Chicago designer Julia Buckingham Edelmann, principal of Buckingham Interiors & Design, who will be appearing in our seminar series next month, is a prime example of this. She integrates antiques and artifacts with modern design, and the touch of old elevates her interiors to art."
Along with a full slate of exhibitors, the Antique & Design Center at Market Square is hosting a series of seminars for designers and retailers interested in learning more about the category. For a complete schedule of events,
read the blog online or
click here.
September 13,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on September 14, 2011
Todd Nifong has joined the board of the International Textile Market Association, producer of the Showtime fabric show and the ITMA Educational Foundation.
Nifong, president of Altizer & Co. Decorative Textiles/Al Fresco Functional Fabrics, began working with Altizer & Co. in 2001. During the past 10 years he became involved in every aspect of the business from design, financial operations, and management, and was named President of the company in January 2010. Since then Nifong has turned the focus of the business towards their Al Fresco Functional Fabrics Collection, which is designed for indoor and outdoor use.
He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, and a concentration in Economics. He also completed undergraduate studies of Economics at the Appollon Hochschule University in Bremen, Germany.
Bob Patton, of P.Kaufmann/Braemore Textiles, remains the board president for another year. Jesse Rector of theleathercollection, was elected vice president; and Art Reilly of A.G. Reilly Textiles, was elected secretary/treasurer.
Other returning board members are Ismail Arslan, De Leo Textiles; Mac Lane, American Silk Mills; Wesley Mancini, Home Fabrics by Wesley Mancini; Bob Patton, P.Kaufmann/Braemore Textiles; Jesse Rector, theleathercollection; Art Reilly, AG Reilly Textiles; Kiran Singh, Laura & Kiran; Robin Starnes, Covington Fabric & Design, LLC; and Jeff Veach, Heritage House Fabrics LLC. In addition, Jim Calhoun, Miles Talbott/Michael Thomas Furniture; Anne Hood, Century Furniture; and Regenia Payne, Taylor King Furniture, serve on the board as industry liaisons.
"We are very pleased to have Todd Nifong as our new addition to the ITMA Board of Directors," Patton said. "Todd brings a youthful perspective to the board and we look forward to working with him in continuing to serve our membership and their needs in the coming future. We wish to thank Steve Shelly and Robert Lachow for their service on the ITMA board."