May 17,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Aggregated Content in Case Goods on May 18, 2011
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z4639931346&z=1250249030
Consumer goods maker Dorel Industries Inc. DII.B-T says its first-quarter profit fell 18 percent, missing analyst estimates for earnings.
Profit at the Montreal-based company, which reports in U.S. currency, dropped to $31.2-million (U.S.) from $38.2-million. Earnings per share fell by a similar amount to 94 cents from $1.15 per diluted share.
Analysts had been looking for $1 per share in earnings, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. In terms of revenue, Dorel did better than expected reporting a 1.9-per-cent increase to $607.8-million from $596.3-million.
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May 16,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Business Strategy on May 17, 2011
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z4633253016&z=1250249030
Here's a marketing and merchandising tip for retailers looking to spark more consumer interest.
A study conduced by Oregon State University finds that people react more positively to, and prefer to socialize in, spaces filled with curvy forms and shapes, as opposed to rectangles.
"Curvilinear forms create warmth," said Sibel Dazkir, a doctoral student in design and human environment, who conducted the study. "They're associated with organic forms found in nature." In the study, more than 100 undergraduate students viewed four computer-drafted room interiors and rated how each made them feel.
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May 16,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Aggregated Content in Internet on May 17, 2011
from http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?z4636148734&z=1250249027
The online version of the sample sale is catching fire. American Express is the latest player to join the growing field of sites offering shoppers luxury items at discounted prices.
Amex says its site, which has yet to be named, will be up-and-running late this year or in early 2012. Some Background Luxury discount sites such as Gilt.com, Hautelook.com and Ruelala.com have been growing in popularity for a few years. The sites offer flash sales that usually last no more than a couple days; items are discounted by as much as 75 percent. The sites try
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May 16,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Internet on May 17, 2011
Internet services vendor FurnitureDealer.net held its first "Internet marketing boot camp" before the recent Home Furnishings Industry Conference in San Antonio.
"Over 20 of our retail partners came in two days early to attend our boot camp," said Andy Bernstein, president and founder of Minneapolis-based FurnitureDealer.net. "Our goal in getting these industry leaders and pioneers together was to discuss and share the emerging strategies and tactics necessary to compete in the internet based universe."
The event drew retailers with annual sales ranging from $5 million to more than $100 million. The "boot camp" primarily focused on online merchandising, marketing and sales strategies. The discussions centered on how retailers must focus their Internet strategy and tools to engage, inform and motivate today's "wired" customer, with the ultimate goal of creating a transaction at the local store level.
"It's not just a Website anymore; it's a focused integrated online strategy whose end result is to create more dialogue with the consumer, leads and sales for our local brick and mortar retailers," Bernstein said.
"The participation level was awesome," said Dan Kennedy of Belfort Furniture, Dulles, Va. "Having a diverse group of successful retailers sharing strategies and success stories was extremely beneficial to all who participated. We plan to use much of what we learned in our 2011-2012 marketing initiatives."
"From a supplier level, I learned so much as it pertains to what we need to improve upon so that our retail partners can do more business," said Larry Furinani, vice president of dealer relations for Coaster Co. "As a supplier we must be proactive with our retailers' Internet strategies and supply them with the resources they need to help them grow their business base. I learned a great deal over the two-day conference which will definitely help Coaster to improve with our go to market strategy."
Mike Herschel, executive director of Furniture Marketing Group, agreed.
"Today's retailers must become more focused with their Web-based internet strategy," he said. "The merchandising, product content and the consumer analytics that FurnitureDealer.net integrates into their strategic Web platforms helps our retailers become smarter, more efficient and more profitable. We had several FMG members that attended this conference, and I can say all who attended derived a great deal of insights as to how to utilize all these tools to enhance their marketing strategies."
"Having a Website is not enough anymore. It has to be a full blown internet marketing
plan," said Ira Baer from south Florida retailer Baer's Furniture. "We've had an extremely successful Web site with Furniture Dealer.net for many years. This boot camp further explained and educated us on all of the tools FurnitureDealer.net makes available to us to execute a Web-based marketing strategy more efficiently and cost-effectively than I previously realized."
Bernstein said this was the "the first of many strategic sessions we'll hold with our retail partners. The discussions were very interactive and intensive. We came away from this session with a lot more knowledge than we did going into it that will help us continually =improve our services, marketing tools, web based strategies and more. We are already making some great enhancements based off what we learned. After all that is what a partnership is all about ... sharing great ideas and helping each others business to be great."
May 16,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on May 17, 2011
Furniture First Buying Group recently held elections for positions on its board of directors to replace several outgoing members.
Chris Ehgoetz of
Michael Alan Furnishings in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., was elected as the newest member of the board. Larry Smith of
Smith Home Furnishings in Ponca City, Okla., is the new chairman, replacing Jeff Winter,
Discovery Furniture, Topeka, Kan. Winter will continue to serve as a board member.
Other officers elected include Mike Kordik,
Mikes Furniture, Joliet, Ill., as vice chairman; Russell Blocker,
Blockers Furniture, Ocala, Fla., as secretary; and Beth Barnes,
FurnitureLand, Delmar, Del., as treasurer.
Furniture First congratulated outgoing board member Ron Hatch,
Hatch Furniture, Yankton, S.D., and thanked him for his service on the board for the past 10 years.
Furniture First introduced their new specialty mattress collection for the Mattress 1st line at the High Point Market. This collection, the Mattress 1st Superior Living line, was a hit with its eight memory foam and latex models. The Mattress 1st product line is manufactured by
Serta.
Following the tremendous success of the innerspring line of Mattress 1st products, Jonathan Gaspari, director of mattresses, anticipates the positive results to continue.
Superior Living was just introduced at the April High Point Market, and the placements of the new line have already been phenomenal," Gaspari said. "The success of the innerspring line has been off the charts, and were expecting even greater growth with the new Mattress 1st Superior Living Collection.
Furniture First is a 17-year-old national buying group serving the retail home furnishings and mattress industry. The group has 174 company members representing 366 store fronts and $1.3 billion in retail sales.