Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
August 11,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on August 12, 2011
Las Vegas Furniture Market reported on Thursday the strongest summer show attendance in three years.
Organizers of the event said total retail store attendance rose 7 percent compared with the summer 2010 show; and was up 3 percent in individual buyers and designers. The number of buying groups in attendance doubled with a significant number of buyers attending Las Vegas Market for the first time. The Market does not report total attendance numbers for each show.
International buyer attendance was up 23 percent over a year ago, with particular growth in Latin American countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela and Panama. Additional international outreach efforts, aimed at hosting large overseas buying delegations, further boosted attendance. In all, 95 countries were represented at Las Vegas Market, and more than half of these international buyers and designers were first-time attendees.
"Despite continued economic challenges, we are pleased to hold our strongest, best-attended Summer Market in three years," said Robert Maricich, chief executive officer of International Market Centers, parent company of World Market Center Las Vegas. "Las Vegas Market continues to establish itself as a must-attend event for our industry, year after year, drawing new-to-market suppliers and buyers from around the globe.
"Our growth in new resources at the recent market, coupled with compelling events, plus the number of new products and specials were seeing throughout the showrooms has enhanced the value proposition for buyers to attend. Summer Market is a terrific vehicle for smart retailers to impact their fourth quarters with new product and exciting merchandising strategies."
Almost 200 companies showing at Las Vegas Market for the first at the recent event represented nearly a half-million square feet of showroom space. In total, World Market Center signed 440,000 square feet of new and renewed space in the first half of the year. Forty new and extended leases in the furniture and mattress category, totaling 280,000 square feet of space.
Several manufacturers were pleased with the amount of traffic they were seeing on Market's opening day and used the August Market to showcase many new introductions.
"Retailers are cautiously optimistic that sales will continue to rise," said Kerry Lebensburger, president of sales for Ashley Furniture. "Our opening day traffic has been very strong. Two huge categories for us this Market include our Youth Program and Furnish 123. All of our 425 home stores are in attendance. It's a big year for us."
Chris Miller, national sales manager for Four Hands called the summers Market "fantastic."
"Weve seen a lot of major customers and a lot of new customers who have never shopped with us before," Miller said. "The majority of showroom visitors are buying. Market seems to be more serious than in the past which is extremely encouraging."
"The Market is exceeding our expectations," said Phil Haney, president and CEO of Lexington Home Brands. "We were busy since 8 a.m. when we opened our doors, and traffic is up more than 8 percent. As expected, our new collection, Mirage, designed for and unveiled at the Las Vegas Market, is getting rave reviews."
"The first day of Market has been fantastic; really strong traffic and orders," said David Gebhart, president and CEO of Global Views. "If it's an indication, we were serving cocktails by 10 a.m. Compared to January Market, the feel is very similar. I haven't slowed down long enough to look at our numbers, but we've had buyers from all over the country and internationally."
"It's been a good day for us," said Hao Dang, a first-time exhibitor and owner of Vietnam-based grass co., a manufacturer of eco-friendly bamboo outdoor furnishings. "People are coming here and are really looking for new things. [The home furnishings industry] is rebounding. Our order book is very good, and we're very happy with our first time at this show."
August 11,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on August 12, 2011
Home furnishings specialty transporter Furniture Transport Group has closed its Houston, Miss., facility and opened a larger terminal based in Pontotoc, Miss.
Steven Lusty, president and chief executive officer of FTG, said the new location positions FTG closer to Tupelo and the hub of furniture manufacturers based in the area. At 68,000 square feet in size, the new terminal is 28,000 square feet larger than the previous facility.
"The additional space will now enable us to offer warehousing in Mississippi, a service we were not able to provide in the smaller facility," Lusty said. "As always, providing exceptional customer service is our utmost priority. We are pleased to report that we retained all of our employees in the move to Pontotoc, so our customers can expect the transition to this terminal to be seamless."
Based in High Point, Furniture Transport Group is the largest specialty transporter of home furnishings in the United States.
August 11,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Delivery on August 12, 2011
Import volume at major container ports will track below 2010 through summer, according to the Global Port Tracker report from National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
Year-over-year gains should resume, however, as retailers stock up for the holiday selling season.
"Cargo numbers have been down this summer but that's a reflection of last year's unusual shipping patterns more than the economy," said NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold. "The economy continues to face challenges, but job growth has been steady and retailers have been adding jobs themselves as sales improve. Cargo figures for this fall clearly show that retailers are expecting a healthy holiday season."
U.S. ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.25 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units in June, the latest month for which numbers are available. That was down 2.6 percent from May and 5 percent from June 2010. One TEU is one 20-foot cargo container or its equivalent.
June's volume broke an 18-month streak of year-over-year improvement dating to December 2009, and declines continued in July, which was estimated at 1.3 million TEU, down 5.7 percent from July 2010. August is forecast at 1.4 million TEU, a 1.6 percent decrease from a year ago. 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. Actual retail sales have seen 12 straight months of growth.
Year-over-year increases are expected to resume in September, which is forecast at 1.48 million TEU, up 10.4 percent from last year. October is forecast at 1.46 million TEU, up 8 percent from last year; November at 1.31 million TEU, up 6.2 percent; and December at 1.18 million TEU, up 3 percent.
The first half of 2011 totaled 7.15 million TEU, up 3.9 percent from the first half of 2010, and the full year is forecast at 15.28 million TEU, up 3.6 percent from 2010. Imports during 2010 totaled 14.7 million TEU, a 16 percent increase over unusually low numbers in 2009.
While cargo volume is expected to increase through this fall's holiday shipping cycle, Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said a number of key economic indicators are raising concerns about future cargo growth.
"Industrial production in China is weak, bulk commodity imports are declining, and ports are beginning to report reduced export volumes," Hackett said. "In the U.S., we have lower private consumption, lower government expenditure and lower indices like the purchasing managers' index. This is cause for concern because it could lead to lower growth of trade volumes."
August 11,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bankruptcy on August 12, 2011
GA Keen Realty Advisors will assist in the marketing and disposition of 22 leased properties and two warehouse locations formerly operated by Pierre Deux.
A retail chain of French furnishing stores that operated across 13 states, Pierre Deux ceased business operations and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on June 23. The former Pierre Deux sites are located in several states including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.
"All of the properties are in great locations, and at a range of 1,600 to 5,000 square feet in size, we expect these sites to attract a great deal of interest from retailers," said Matthew Bordwin, co-president of GA Keen Realty Advisors, Woodland Hills, Calif., a division of Great American Group. "While we expect there will be more interest in the spaces from furniture and apparel retailers, the sizes of the properties may appeal to other potential tenants beyond these retail segments."
GA Keen also will market two of Pierre Deux former warehouse properties located in Secaucus, N.J.--an 18,810-square-foot warehouse at 180 Seaview Dr.; and a 38,720-square-foot property at 40 Enterprise Ave., where the lease allows for operation of a 2,700-square-foot warehouse outlet. GA Keen is working in conjunction with Great American Group, which is conducting going-out-of-business sales at each of the retail sites.
A bid deadline has been set for August 24 with an auction to be held on August 26.
August 11,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on August 12, 2011
Furniture and bedding components vendor Hickory Springs has named five national product managers as part of a company-wide realignment strategy.
Brent Limer has been promoted to the newly created position of national product manager of bedding. He will work with the entire bedding group to provide national account coverage as well as new product development and brand management. Limer joined Hickory Springs in April 2006 and has served as regional sales manager since May 2007.
Jason Porter will assume the role of national product manager of metals with a heavy emphasis on motion and sofa sleeper products. He joined the company as assistant product manager in February 2006.
Mark Snyder will assume the role of national product manager of automotive. He has served as business development manager for the automotive division since joining the company in July 2007. Prior to joining Hickory Springs, Snyder was employed with Johnson Controls for nearly 20 years.
Barry Simmons will continue his role as national product manager of furniture seating, a position he has held since 1997. He joined Hickory Springs in August 1981.
Chad Keener has been named national transportation products manager. He will oversee non-automotive transportation markets for commercial transportation. Keener joined Hickory Springs as assistant plant manager of the HS Metal Plant in January 1993. He has since served as operations manager and sales engineer since joining the company.
"The realignment of these five national product manager positions is another important step in positioning Hickory Springs for a new era of growth and diversification for the future," said Dwayne Welch, executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer of Hickory Springs. "We have great confidence in each of our product managers and look forward to seeing how their individual talents and experience will help increase the accountability, responsiveness and productivity of the product lines they oversee."