August 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on August 2, 2011
Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (
NYSE:ETH) has named Arne Borrey vice president of international business development.
Borrey has a range of experience in the field and was most recently senior vice president, international for
Coach, Inc., where he led the company's business development and expansion in global wholesale markets throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America. Previously, he worked for
Samsonite as president of the company's European, Middle East and African markets.
"We are very pleased to have Arne join our team as we continue to develop business in international markets," said Farooq Kathwari, chairman and CEO. "In his role Arne will lead our efforts as we make international expansion a greater focus as we move forward."
August 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Legal on August 2, 2011
The U.S. Congress on Monday softened the Consumer Product Safety Information Act, a law regulating lead content in children's products, including furniture.
The Enhancing CPSC Authority and Discretion Act of 2011 passed the House with bipartisan support by a vote of 421 to 2. The Senate also passed the bill on Monday. It now goes to the president to be signed. The key measure impacting children's furniture manufacturers is the elimination of retroactivity of the 100 parts per million lead limit scheduled to go into effect on August 14.
"This means children's products that complied with the earlier 300 parts per million when they were manufactured are not obsolete. They can be sold," said American Home Furnishings Alliance Vice President Bill Perdue.
The Act also removes lead limits for used children's products and provides an exemption so the Consumer Product Safety Commission can establish higher lead limits for products or component parts that cannot meet the applicable limit if the lead content serves a purpose or is deemed not practical to remove, and exposure to the product or component will not cause a measurable increase in blood-lead levels.
Additional provisions include:
* Third party testing: The requirement in the existing law is modified to include testing exceptions for small batch manufacturers. Also the CPSC is required to seek public comment on ways to reduce the burden and cost of testing.
* CPSC Consumer Database: When the CPSC receives a notice that a "report of harm" is materially inaccurate, it will have five additional days to investigate that claim before the report is published. The Commission also is directed to ask consumers for the model or serial number or a photograph of the consumer product involved in a report of harm if the consumer omitted this information in the original report. This information must be forwarded to the manufacturer. However, the Commission must still publish the report on the 15th business day after it receives the report of harm, even if there is no mention of the model or serial number.
* Tracking labels: The CPSC has authority to exclude specific products or classes of products from the tracking label requirement if the Commission determines that the requirement is not practical for those products.
A press release issued Monday by the House stated, "The bill approved by the House today makes great strides toward cleaning up the regulatory mess created by the CPSIA, giving the Consumer Product Safety Commission the flexibility it needs to regulate based on risk. The bill's changes aim to reduce the burden of the law while maintaining strong protections for children."
August 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on August 2, 2011
International Bedding has named three new sales associates to newly created positions.
Pat O'Brien, Ann Stephenson and Steve Baumberger will manage the bedding company's Florida, Texas and Arizona regions. They will report to Dennis Straily, International Bedding vice president of sales.
Each of these executives brings a wealth of sales, management, marketing and business development expertise to our company from both inside and outside the mattress industry, Straily said. Based on their years of experience and their proven track records, were extremely excited about their appointments to the IB team.
OBrien, who has 12 years experience in the mattress industry, has been named a key account manager for
Mattress Giant and is responsible for other strategic sales initiatives.
Prior to joining the company, OBrien had been with
Spring Air where he held various sales positions, including vice president of sales for the companys e-commerce and contract divisions. He also managed national and key accounts for
Serta, and worked with
Simmons Co. in various marketing and territory management posts.
Stephenson, who has been named a territory manager, is responsible for retail accounts in the companys Texas region that sell the Dr. Breus Bed line. A former Texas-based territory sales executive for
Sealy, Stephenson spent nearly 22 years in wholesale and retail sales, which included sales management positions with global designer brands.
Prior to joining the company, she was a retail sales coordinator for
Perry Ellis International, serving
Macys and
Dillards.
Baumberger is responsible for sales in southern California for all the company's brands.
The former owner and president of
Baumbergers Furniture in Evansville, Ind., Baumberger first joined the family business as a sales representative and assistant manager. He left the retailer to become vice president of multi-family investments at
The Foundation Group, Inc., a Seattle-based commercial real estate brokerage.
During his career Baumberger also worked as an operations manager for Midwest Wireless, Inc., based in Indianapolis, and as a sales rep and assistant manager for
Dania Furniture in Seattle.
August 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Acquisition on August 2, 2011
Midwest investment firm Marcus Investments announced Monday it has purchased the assets of the Milwaukee Verlo Mattress franchise out of Chapter 128 receivership.
The Milwaukee franchise includes six Verlo Mattress Factory Stores located in Glendale, Greenfield, Kenosha, Menomonee Falls and Racine, Wis.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"Today marks the bright start of a new chapter for the Milwaukee Verlo Mattress franchise," said David Marcus, president of Marcus Investments. "We look forward to continuing to welcome customers seeking great values in high quality, made-to-order custom mattresses, and combining that with the same approach to business that the Marcus family has employed for generations."
Marcus Investments Vice President Christopher Nolte added that the Milwaukee-area franchise has always had a solid base business.
"Going forward, we're planning to differentiate our stores from the competition in unique ways that will build on our established following," Nolte said. "We want to leverage the strong reputation the stores have built over the past 24 years for delivering top-quality mattress sets and sleep-related products at competitive prices into increased sales and improved performance."
August 1,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Internet on August 2, 2011
Banner Marketing has released the second volume of the Banner Retail Index, which reveals top trends of the most popular furniture store Web sites.
The most visited websites offered online coupons; did best with special offers such as $250 off; and displayed bedroom products. The new edition of the report, which includes webstore data from the first six months of 2011, focuses on how top furniture retailers are marketing to current and potential customers.
"We received a lot of positive feedback from the first report, which helped us to refine and improve our second edition, said John Dresel, CEO of Banner Marketing, the Spokane, Wash.-based integrated marketing and advertising firm. "We've shifted gears a bit to include more information on what specifically the top retailers are doing to draw in customers, knowing that this information can help struggling retailers improve their marketing practices.
Data to support the index findings was collected from Jan. 1 through June 30, and includes information from the 109 furniture retailers that Banner Marketing serves nationwide.
Key highlights from the Banner Retail Index Vol. II include:
* The 10 webstores with the highest traffic rates incorporated nearly all of the online elements needed to attract and measure visitors, including offers, specials, videos, brands and analytics.
* The webstore with the best rate for converting visits to coupon requests had only 4,284 visits but 595 coupon requests, for a conversion rate of 13.89.
* The most popular offer category was for offers up to 10 percent off a purchase price; it was used in 375 promotions, generated 2,337 requests and had a conversion rate of 6.232.
* The most effective offer category was $201 to $250 off a purchase price; it was used in only three promotions, generated 80 requests and had a conversion rate of 26.6667.
* Among the 15 top offers in all webstores, one-third involved $100 off a purchase price.
* Among the 50 most popular products across all webstores, the most viewed online were bedrooms, followed by living rooms and sectionals.