May 20,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Aggregated Content in Bedding on May 21, 2011
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z4653624176&z=1250249032
Olender Mattress, which has been in business since 1902, said it will close its last store, on State Street in downtown Schenectady, N.Y., with a liquidation sale that started Saturday morning.
All mattresses and furniture will be sold at wholesale or below, the company said on its website. The Olender family would like to thank all of our loyal customers, friends and the community who have supported us all of these years.
The company started as a furniture and mattress store in Amsterdam in 1902. Richard Olender, who became president in 1982, is the fourth generation of
Read Full Article...
May 19,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on May 20, 2011
The City of Hope's National Home Furnishings Industry chapter will be honoring
Value City Furniture's Simon Kaplan at its first dinner cruise around Manhattan in September.
The event, which has already garnered a great deal of support, will be held Sept. 10 aboard the
Cornucopia Majesty.
"We've had tremendous interest from many of the major players who plan to attend this event, including the principals of
Art Van and
Broyhill," said Patrick Cory, managing partner at
Cory Home Delivery Service and chairman of City of Hopes Northeast region. And it's not only from retailers, manufacturers, reps and suppliers from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. As soon as news of the event was announced, we heard from major retailers as far away as Boston, Michigan, even California, who plan to come to New York City to recognize Simon, support a great cause and enjoy the cruise and weekend activities."
The Saturday evening cruise will feature fine dining, dancing, entertainment and silent and live auctions. The Cornucopia Majesty will travel along the Hudson River for views of lower Manhattan including the first completed sections of the new World Trade Centers,
Ellis Island, the
Statue of Liberty, Governor's Island, South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge. The program will include an official memoriam to mark the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2011.
"We are grateful to the industry for bringing this exciting event to life while continuing to support the lifesaving work of City of Hope, said Eddie Massood, president of
Thomasville Home Furnishings of New Jersey and a chair of the NHFI's Northeast Event Committee. The proceeds from this event will ensure that City of Hope will continue its efforts to detect, treat, and cure cancer, diabetes and devastating diseases. We look forward to continuing this industrys 47-year tradition of support for City of Hope from the National Home Furnishings Industry, which has raised
more than $40 million to date.
In 1971, Kaplan founded Crest Furniture, Inc., dba Value City Furniture, and quickly expanded it from a single retail store to seven retail locations and four Ashley HomeStores. Kaplan is also president of
Furniture Marketing Group (FMG) and helped increase membership and expand it as one of the largest volume furniture buying cooperatives with a combined retail annual volume exceeding $2.5 billion. In 2000, Kaplan participated in a campaign through FMG to raise more than $80,000 to support
High Point University.
In 1998, Kaplan was honored by the Metropolitan Furnishings Association of New Jersey. In 2000, he was honored by FMG for his leadership. In 2005, he was named Man of the Year by the
Greater New York Home Furnishings Association, and in 2002, he received the Greatest Employer Award from his own team of associates. Kaplan actively supports numerous charities in his community. As a WWII veteran, he has remained true to his core values throughout his personal and professional life:
honor, loyalty, truthfulness, commitment and dedication.
To register for the National Home Furnishing Industry Northeasts Spirit of Life
cruise, or book a room and pre-purchase tickets to a Broadway show, contact
Beth Ida Stern at City of Hope or call her at (626) 560-9432.
May 19,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on May 20, 2011
New design, technology and regulatory trends have dramatically impacted the responsibilities of home furnishings marketers over the past year. Executives who want to optimize their performance in this new business landscape will gather in Asheville, N.C., June 27-29 for an annual conference dedicated to building their knowledge and skills.
Sponsored by the
American Home Furnishings Alliance, this educational and networking conference will be held at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park and is open to all industry marketing executives.
The educational program opens at 8 a.m. June 28 with an in-depth look at color, material and lifestyle trends influencing product design for 2012.
The speed with which consumer trends impact product development and marketing has accelerated, said Jackie Hirschhaut, AHFA vice president of marketing. Weve entered the era of just-in-time marketing by the time a color, design or lifestyle trend is identified, it is already influencing advertising, social media and all forms of visual merchandising.
Per Nimer, director of
Akzo Nobels trend research group, Analogue, will present color, material and trend inspirations. He is followed by Erika Woelfel, color marketing director for
BEHR paints, who will explore how lifestyle and design trends influence color forecasts.
In a world where marketing communications are sometimes described as viral, thanks to the swift and surreptitious manner in which messages can spread, home furnishings marketers need a high-speed connection to market intelligence. Rick Babick, founder of
Design Research Reports, will explain how design tracking can produce insights into consumer behavior that help companies quickly and efficiently manage their brands in an ever-changing marketplace.
Also on the June 28 agenda is another issue challenging todays marketing executives: crisis communications. In March, the
Consumer Product Safety Commission launched a public database of consumer product safety concerns. But the database almost immediately began serving as a public forum for consumers to air product performance and quality complaints with millions of people listening in, including customers, competitors and attorneys.
If marketing executives do not develop an efficient internal response protocol for addressing these public consumer complaints, they will be relinquishing control of the companys brand communications, Hirschhaut said.
Meghan Gross, senior vice president with
MSL Boston, a corporate communications and reputation management firm, will arm marketing executives with an action plan for handling complaints posted in the CPSC database.
Addressing a critical change that is sweeping sales in the home furnishings industry, Ron Goswell, CEO of
ayr1, a leading provider of virtual stores, will showcase a multimedia presentation of Web marketing trends. His talk will document the dawn of widespread use of furniture demonstration videos to the latest techniques in search optimization.
And with more than 70 million members spending nearly $200 billion a year, Generation Y cannot be ignored. Michael Parrish DuDell, senior editor of
Ecorazzi.com, will offer insights in marketing to a consumer demographic that, frankly, doesnt wish to be marketed to! His talk, entitled, Take Two and TEXT Me in the Morning, will show how to activate and engage this illustrious group of high-achieving, communication-obsessed social extroverts.
On Wednesday, June 29, the program tackles another marketing challenge causing many executives to lose sleep: social media marketing. Customizing Your Social Media Portfolio to Match Your Brand is the topic Crystalyn Stuart will address to open the day. Stuart is vice president of social marketing for
IMRE, a full-service marketing agency with a business unit dedicated to the home and building industries.
Stuart will be followed by a panel presentation featuring two marketing executives who have created successful online strategies: Kim Shaver, vice president of marketing communications for
Hooker Furniture, and Laura Holland, director of marketing services for
Hickory Chair. The on-line strategy session will continue with a profile of one of the hottest merchants, with 220 stores, each dedicated to a different product category. Donna Faust, director of marketing for
Omaha, Neb.-based Hayneedle, will document the rise of one of the fastest-growing online retail companies thats also been cited on the Best Places to Work roster.
Closing the program on Wednesday afternoon are two eco-friendly sessions. The first is an exclusive first look at this years EcoPulse, an annual baseline survey of consumer perceptions of green products and marketing conducted by the
Shelton Group. Karen Barnes, director of insight, will present the results, including which green products and attributes are most appealing to consumers and how sustainable initiatives are impacting corporate image.
The second is an inside glimpse into the housewares industry, where the high-profile Cuisinart brand has developed its GreenGourmet line of non-stick cookware. Mary Rodgers, director of marketing communications, will share how
Cuisinart responded to more and more home cooks embracing an eco-conscious lifestyle.
A wine tasting hosted by
Biltmore For Your Home will open the event at 6 p.m. Monday, June 27. A group dinner buffet will follow the wine tasting.
Rooms at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park are available at a discounted rate of $149 a night.
Make reservations online, or call (828) 209-2700 and mention the AHFA marketing meeting to receive the group discount. The cutoff for room reservations at the group rate is Friday, June 3.
Registration for the two day meeting, including breakfast and lunch June 28 and 29, as well as the opening reception and dinner June 27, is $599 for AHFA members and $900 for non-members.
Register online under EVENTS.
May 19,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on May 20, 2011
In honor of
Better Sleep Month,
Protect-A-Bed is offering a Healthy Sleep Zone Solutions giveaway online.
During the weekly giveaways, consumers have the chance to win a variety of products by visiting the
Web site and filling in an online form. Prizes are being awarded every Friday through June 10.
The bedroom contains the greatest number of dust mites and pet allergens, which makes it the most important room to allergen-proof, said James Bell, CEO of Protect-A-Bed. That is why we place such a strong emphasis on the allergen-protective features of our products. Through our Web site giveaways, were hoping to educate more people about the positive benefits they can feel by protecting their mattresses from harmful allergens.
According to Bell, by continually sharing information, resources and education, Protect-A-Bed helped consumers achieve a healthy and comfortable sleep.
"The health concerns of consumers are very real, but many arent aware there is a solution," Bell said. "Our products are designed to help people get the rest they need by providing the peace of mind that comes with knowing that their beds are protected from lifes irritants and accidents. We hope our communication tools help consumers learn more about the overall value of a healthy sleep zone."
May 19,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Bedding on May 20, 2011
The Stop Zombieitis! campaign by the
Better Sleep Council (BSC) is continuing its efforts to inform the public about the sleep deprivation epidemic by designating today, May 20, as the official Stop Zombieitis! Awareness Day.
Beginning at midnight Friday morning, the BSC will begin a grassroots effort to identify and locate, through social networks, those who complain of the symptoms of zombieitis. A few of these symptoms include feeling like death, exhaustion, irritability, and a slow gait. The BSC will contact unslept zombies online and provide them with information about the Zombieitis epidemic and its cure.
A microsite has been launched to provide research and advice on the Zombieitis epidemic and cure. The BSC will drive people to the Web site to report someone who is suffering from Zombieitis. These Zombieitis sufferers will be eligible to win a $100 Visa gift card, in hopes that they will apply this towards the cure a quality mattress.
The Stop Zombieitis! campaign is continuing to gain public attention. With about 70 percent of Americans at risk, sleep deprivation has been a national topic of interest lately, due to the headline-grabbing naps by air traffic controllers, and Arianna Huffingtons statement at a TEDtalk earlier this year that sleep is the next feminist issue.
According to the National Sleep Disorders Research Plan, 20 percent of Americans sleep less than six hours each night, and this can lead to mistakes in the workplaces, costing American businesses billions of dollars each year.
The BSC, along with the
International Sleep Products Association (ISPA), will be working non-stop on Friday, May 20, to diagnose and cure the sleep deprived zombies among us.