May 31,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Aggregated Content in economic news on June 1, 2011
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r4795609758&f=10761
NEW YORK New data from MasterCard show consumers spent less on home products like furniture in May as the housing market continued to slump. But clothing and luxury items fared better.
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May 30,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Furniture Retailing on May 31, 2011
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r4790107466&f=10761
After 14 years, semplice is closing its doors at 465 Bloomfield Ave. The independently owned home furnishings shop has offered Montclair residents a vast collection of home furnishings, accessories, and gifts in a 2,000-square foot loft-like setting.
The business sent out an email early Tuesday saying only:"The warmest thanks to all of our loyal fans & friends. It has been an amazing ride. Our next chapter begins. Stay tuned."
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May 30,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on May 31, 2011
Furniture orders in March were up 11 percent from the same month last year, and climbed 14 percent from the previous month, according to the latest "Furniture Insights" from
Smith Leonard.
The March 2011 results put the year-to-date orders up 4 percent over the first quarter of 2010. The first quarter of 2010 report indicated orders up 9 percent over 2009.
About 64 percent of the furniture manufacturers and distributors participating in the survey reported increased orders in March. About half 51 percent are reporting increased order rates, up from 44 percent last month.
Shipments for March were 7 percent higher than March 2010 when they were 5 percent higher than March 2009.
Year-to-date shipments were up 3 percent over the same period last year, when they were up 5 percent over the first quarter of 2009. Backlogs were 5 percent higher than February 2011 due to orders exceeding shipments. Backlogs were 2 percent lower than March 2010 compared to a 5 percent decline reported last month.
May 30,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on May 31, 2011
Bedding producer Kingsdown has sued
King Koil and
Comfort Solutions alleging numerous violations of patents, trademarks and unfair business practices relating to the development and marketing of its sleep diagnostic system.
The five-count complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in North Carolina asks the court to grant immediate injunctive relief and seeks significant damages for violations to date.
At the center of the lawsuit is King Koils Sleep iDs diagnostic system, which Kingsdown maintains violates a 2003 patent it was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. http://www.uspto.gov/ Kingsdown said that Sleep iD follows the same process as its bedMATCH technology, which is covered under the patent it received.
Additionally, Kingsdown said the defendant is in violation of many of its 16 registered trademarks the government granted the company beginning in 1990, that use the terms "body" and
"match".
The lawsuit names two former Kingsdown executives privy to the proprietary information who left the company and shortly thereafter were hired by King Koil/Comfort Solutions. Within two days of Kingsdowns launch of its bedMATCH technology at a press conference in New York, King Koil filed to use the trademark BEDMATCH, claiming in its application that no other person, firm, corporation or association has the right to use the mark in commerce, when indeed it had been widely publicized to the contrary.
Our bedMATCH technology has revolutionized the way bedding is sold because we were the first to use science to help a consumer find the right mattress and pillow for their body type," said Eric Hinshaw, Kingsdown chairman and CEO. "It is the culmination of more than 15 years of research and development for which we have spent millions of dollars. More than 6 million consumers have used the system to date, which combines 18 statistical measurements with over 1,000 calculations leading to product recommendations. Hence, we will defend the rights granted to us by the government.
By violating our patent and trademark rights, King Koil is really seeking to damage the committed retailers who carry the Kingsdown brand and the consumers who have come to rely on the science and efficacy of bedMATCH technology to get a better and more restorative nights sleep," he said. "This action should assure our dealers that we will vigorously defend their right to use our unique system without fear of others trying to copy our intellectual property.
Comfort Solutions denies the claim that it infringed on Kingsdown's patent.
Comfort Solutions respects the intellectual property of others and we have carefully evaluated the claims made by Kingsdown in the present lawsuit," said Dave Roberts, president of Comfort Solutions. "We are confident in our legal position that we do not infringe any of Kingsdowns intellectual property rights. As such, we intend to vigorously defend our right to offer superior products to our customers, retailers and licensees.
May 29,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Business Strategy on May 30, 2011
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?r4735301279&f=10761
China's e-commerce giant is stepping up its heated rivalry with bricks-and-mortar retailers with the launch of a five-story home furnishings showroom in Beijing.
Alibaba Group's Taobao, an Internet platform through which an estimated 3 percent of all retail sales in China pass, opened the showroom Friday for customers to try out sofas, tables and other big-ticket items before placing an order online with one of its merchants.
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