Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
April 4,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on April 5, 2011
A panel of manufacturing executives on
High Point Furniture Market's opening day likes the economy's direction, and its implications for the home furnishings industry.
Speaking at the
American Home Furnishings Alliance Opening Day Press Breakfast, three home furnishings manufacturers offered their strategies for not only weathering the conditions now, but for gaining a foothold on the future. All three panelists represented small companies committed to producing domestically.
"I know it's coming back," said North Carolina artist Bob Timberlake, an internationally acclaimed realist painter whose new licensed collection for Century Furniture debuted this week. "I talk to people all over the country, and I can tell you that the public is rapidly coming back to 'made in America.'"
Timberlake entered the residential furniture industry in 1990 with a collection he designed for Lexington Furniture. About 10 years later, much of the wood furniture production began moving offshore.
"I saw all the jobs leaving and the effect of that on the people I knew," he recalled. When the opportunity came around to form a new partnership with Century Furniture, Timberlake says he was committed to producing the product in the United States. He noted that more than 90 percent of the new Bob Timberlake Home by Century collection is made domestically.
Harvey Hollingsworth, president of The Natural Light, a Panama-City, Fla-based manufacturer of lamps, said he also is committed to making products in the United States.
"We actually make product here," he pointed out. "I know thats quite unusual today."
Although his company is not able to source some components, such as sockets, from the United States, they do all assembly and finishing of the company's lighting products in Florida. The company offers lamps in a dozen different styles of ceramics in 35 colors delivered in about three weeks, and a level of customization that importers cannot provide and that the design trade especially appreciates.
"The interior design trade has kept us going through the recession, but now were getting orders from stores for stock, and that hasnt happened to a great extent in the past two years," Hollingsworth. "I think this market will actually be that turnaround market weve all been waiting for."
Woody Williams, chief executive of Precedent, a division of Sherrill Furniture, talked about the lifestyle collection of upholstery and occasional furniture his company is unveiling this market in collaboration with DwellStudio. With the exception of a few chairs, the licensed collection is being produced domestically. Many of the fabrics also are sourced domestically for consistent quality and quick delivery.
The upholstered furniture maker, which had long catered to better-end furniture stores, felt that it "needed to reach a new generation of customers--customers who are shunning retail furniture stores." To accomplish this, Williams said the company "began looking for the next big thing."
Partnering with DwellStudio required the company to take a crash course in marketing to younger consumers, including using social media. Founded by Christiane Lemieux in 1999, DwellStudio is known as the design house for modern home and family furnishings.
"We want to help our traditional retail stores reach this new generation of consumers," Williams said.
"I think everyone here would agree that the economy can't improve fast enough," said Jackie Hirschhaut, vice president of public relations and marketing for the AHFA, which sponsored the press event in partnership with the High Point Market Authority. "But it's happening every day, one small step at a time."
April 3,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on April 4, 2011
The National Home Furnishings Industry raised $1.2 million for medical research at the City of Hope. The figure represents a 15 percent increase over last year's total.
The industry celebrated the Spirit of Life dinner Sunday night at Grandover Resort and honored Mike Huber, CEO of Dulles, Va.-based
Belfort Furniture and Stefanie Lucas, president and CEO of
Rowe Fine Furniture. The new campaign is now underway, and the next event is the
West Coast Golf and Tennis Tournament set for Monday, June 6 in Coto de Caza, Calif., Golf and Racquet Club. The summer event will honor Earl Kluft, owner of
E.S. Kluft & Co. Go online to register to attend the summer event.
In addition to the summer golf and tennis tournament, the group has two other events scheduled this year. The Midwest dinner will be held at
The Art Institute of Chicago, Aug. 15, and a Northeast dinner cruise in New York Saturday, Sept. 17.
April 3,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in on April 4, 2011
Thomasville is opening two dedicated company-owned and operated stores in Dallas and Chicago scheduled to open late April and early May.
The retail openings are among the first by the company in more than two years. They signal an improving and revitalized retail climate which Thomasville, a
Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN) company.
"We're ready to grow," said Thomasville President Ed Teplitz. "Thomasville is a different company from what we were three years ago, and major markets like Dallas and Chicago present significant opportunities for our brand."
The Dallas store, scheduled to open in late April, is located in the Galleria area, a retail district with flagship stores such as Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and Williams-Sonoma. The new Thomasville store will be one of two in the market, serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex along with an existing Southlake location.
The Chicago store opens in early May, bringing the Thomasville store count in the Chicago metro area to four. Existing Thomasville stores are in Geneva, Ill., and Naperville, Ill., along with an Orland Park store owned and operated by an independent dealer. Additionally, major regional retailer Walter E. Smithe offers Thomasville in three of its area showrooms -- Lincolnshire, Arlington Heights and Glendale Heights.
"Thomasville is a retailer with a variety of footprints and distribution types to best serve the customer," said Teplitz. "With the new store openings, the Thomasville brand will be represented in more than 100 dedicated stores across the United States."
Looking ahead, Thomasville is finalizing plans for an additional store in the western suburbs of Chicago. A real estate search is currently underway.
April 3,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on April 4, 2011
Furniture retailer Groovy Scavenger is taking its discount and close-out strategy online with a new Web site.
Jeff Davis, founder of the retailer, opened the store that focused on eclectic, one-of-a-kind home furnishings last year in Asheboro, N.C. The strategy for the store is two part, Davis said. First, is to offer a unique retail venue that offers consumer special finds at a discounted price. The second part is to expand the brand model online.
A key component to the success of the retailer is forming partnerships with manufacturers and suppliers, Davis said.
"Because of my background in both manufacturing and retail, I understand how important, and sensitive, it is to maintain the integrity of the brand between manufacturers and their retail partners, discounters, and dot coms," Davis said.
In the store and online, Groovy Scavenger does not include brand names unless its vendor partners agree to being promoted and products offered are close-outs, overstocks or clearance items.
Davis said Groovy Scavenger's successful year in its small bricks and mortar store has proven the concept, and he thinks its ready to parlay into a successful online strategy.
The site boasts itself as featuring "the Coolest Furniture Deals on the Planet!" To promote its Web site, the retailer is in contact with its 4,000 deep customer database and more than 1,000 Facebook fans, as well as shoppers that find the Groovy Scavenger site virally online.
"Now, its all about product and content," Davis said. "Ive been on the manufacturing side and its crucial to move obsolete and overstocked products, but its something that often gets shuffled to the back-burner. Were continuously seeking out products and we need them NOW. Continually keeping enough, and continually keeping fresh, product is paramount and what makes the Groovy Scavenger/GroovyScavenger.com model so attractive to shoppers."
The Groovy Scavenger team is out this week at
High Point Market searching for product and partnerships.
"We are anxious to establish new relationships across all sectors of the industry while we are all together in High Point for the show," Davis said. "Groovy Scavenger the store and the site, are evolving and improving at breakneck speed. The key to our success is access to the right goods at the right price. For all practical purposes, especially as it applies to our fledgling ecommerce initiatives, this is a start-up that will take time, patience and diligence to develop. That being said, were confident that we have something special here and invite key vendor partners to join us on the ground-level in anticipation of things to come."
April 2,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Acquisition on April 3, 2011
Case goods and upholstered furniture vendor Klaussner Home Furnishings CEO Bill Wittenberg and senior management have acquired the company from Hans Klaussner.
Wells Fargo Capital Finance, part of Wells Fargo & Co., provided the acquisition financing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"With more than 125 years of combined experience, I look forward to where the senior management team can take this company," Wittenberg said. "It's no secret that the last couple of years have been tough for the furniture industry, but with the financing support we have received from Wells Fargo Capital Finance, the leadership of this management team, and our new showroom in High Point, the road ahead looks bright for Klaussner."
"This financing is the beginning of a new era for Klaussner," said Rob Griffin, managing director at Wells Fargo Capital Finance. "We continue to have confidence in the industry and are very supportive of the strong experienced executive management team of Klaussner. I have enjoyed working with Bill and the senior management team to support their goals and look forward to working to continuing that relationship as we go forward."
Also this week, Klaussner opened its new 90,000-square-foot High Point Furniture Market showroom in High Point after relocating from Asheboro, N.C.
Klaussner Home Furnishings has more than 1,500 employees with manufacturing and warehouse facilities located in North Carolina and Iowa along with an import infrastructure in Asia.