Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
February 28,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on March 1, 2011
Lauren West has been named communications director for
Natuzzi Americas.
Prior to her new position, West was responsible for developing and implementing Natuzzi's retail sales training system. She also created an international training program for Natuzzi Group that included a range of course materials for conducting educational seminars, workshops and events, which allowed retailers to maintain educational efforts.
West also assumed a leadership role in developing Natuzzi's social media strategy using her communication and content development skills to create a successful approach.
In her new position, West will manage and direct internal and external communications for each of Natuzzi's brands.
In addition, the company has created a business and brand development team consisting of three people responsible for creating, communicating and assuring growth for the Natuzzi Italy retail partners in key regions.
"We are transforming the Natuzzi Italy platform from a product-focused organization to a lifestlye-focused one," said Brad Cates, senior vice president of sales and marketing. "Natuzzi Italy's marketing leadership and experience position our new team very well to lead that transformation for us."
Jennifer Williams has been named manager for the Southeastern U.S. Prior to the appointment, Williams was in an executive role with Natuzzi Americas. Before joining Natuzz, she was a sales representative and showroom/tradeshow manager for American Leather.
Tim Luscher has been named manager for Northeastern U.S. Prior to taking the new position, Luscher was an owner operator of a furniture manufacturer and worked in retail design.
Kendra Keller has been named manager for the Western U.S. Most recently, Keller managed a territory for RJ Reynolds.
"As we transform our platform from a product line focus to a lifestyle focus, these highly capable professionals and their teams will provide a complete offering of strategic sales and marketing services for our partners and markets," Cates said. "Jen, Tim and Kendra are the best at what they do to grow our business, and we look forward to the significant impacts they will bring to our Natuzzi Italy partnership programs reach for excellence."
February 28,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on March 1, 2011
Furniture retailers ordered 1 percent more furniture in December, according High Point accounting and consulting firm Smith Leonard's latest survey for furniture vendors.
The December results of the Furniture Insights survey reversed a trend of decreases in orders from September through November. December 2009 orders were up 12 percent from December 2008, so while small, last December's increase compares with a good increase the prior year.
Furniture orders for all 2010 rose 4 percent over 2009, when orders fell 13 percent from 2008.
December shipments were 3 percent higher than December 2009, and 5 percent higher than November, compared with a flat November to November comparison. For the year, shipments were up 7 percent over 2009, when they were off 15 percent from 2008. Shipments in 2008 were 12 percent lower than shipments in 2007, so the industry gained some of the ground it lost over the last few years.
With shipments exceeding orders for the month, backlogs fell 5 percent from November levels. Backlogs in December were 3 percent lower than December 2009, as shipments exceeded orders for the year.
Receivables increased 3 percent from last December, in line with the increase in shipments. Receivables fell 4 percent from November in spite of the increase in shipments.
"Overall, it appears that receivables, at least prior to the Robb and Stucky bankruptcy, were in pretty good shape, in spite of the economy slowing payments," said Smith Leonard Managing Partner Ken Smith in the survey report.
Inventories were flat compared with November 2010 levels but rose 22 percent from December 2009, when inventories were down 26 percent from December 2008.
"As we have noted before, it appears that inventories were building in anticipation of a good recovery," Smith said. "When that slowed in September to December, inventories appeared to grow to levels that are a bit high based on current business levels."
December factory and warehouse payrolls rose 7 percent from December 2009, and were 20 percent higher than November, a reflection of vacation pay and year end bonuses. For 2010, payrolls increased 9 percent from the prior year, pretty much in line with the 7 percent increase in shipments and the increases in inventory levels.
Factory and warehouse employment fell 1 percent from November and 3 percent from December 2009. December 2009 employee levels were 10 percent lower than the number of employees in 2008.
"After four long years of declining orders and sales, our participants finally had a year where both sales and orders were up for the year," Smith said in summary. "It has certainly been a long hard grind over that period. From 2005 to 2009, orders and sales in total have declined some 30 percent. While some of the dollar decline has been due to lower prices of both imported and domestically produced goods, such a decline certainly took a toll on the industry."
Smith noted that while 2011 has started with improved consumer confidence and an improved economy in general, unrest in the Middle East (and some states in the U.S.), cause concern, especially in oil prices.
"Adding to that, commodity prices are increasing substantially in certain areas," Smith said. "It looks like we are in for some inflation which is going to have to drive up prices. Weather in December, January and February has also dampened retail sales, especially in furniture as people had to deal with all of those issues.
"We were sad to hear the news about Robb and Stucky. Their bankruptcy not only affects those jobs, but clearly has not been good for several manufacturers and distributors. Clearly many of their markets were hurt extremely bad by the housing collapse. All that said, Spring is not too far away. In spite of the above negatives, consumers do seem to feel better about the economy. While job growth is not what we want or need, it seems that the fears of losing jobs is not as rampant."
Smith expects 2011 to be a "somewhat better" year for the furniture industry than 2010, noting improved corporate profits should increase job stability.
"Hopefully, the Middle East mess will be at least more stable than it currently is and oil prices will settle down," he said. "We do not expect the first quarter to be anything to write home about, but if we can keep the economy at least plugging along, 2011 should see some improvement. The good news is that most companies have 'right sized' themselves (not fond of that phrase), so if you could make money last year or at least hang on, 2011 should be somewhat better--notice we did not say any 'easier.'"
February 28,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on March 1, 2011
Home furnishings buying consortium MEGA Group USA will launch new Web site programs for members its National Convention in San Antonio, March 10-13.
This convention is the first of 2011 and will be hosted at the Grand Hyatt on the Riverwalk. The second is set for August 25-28 in Nashville, Tenn.
At the San Antonio convention, MEGA Group USA will unveil its WebFronts Premium Web site program. WebFronts Basic was first introduced in 2007 by MEGA Group USA to give members a customized Web site with e-commerce capabilities. With more than 80 percent of consumers searching online first before making a purchase, it is vital for every store to have a Web presence. MEGA's WebFronts program is designed to give members that capability and compete online with the big box retailers cost effectively.
This year, MEGA Group USA is taking WebFronts Basic to a higher level by offering the two-tier Premium package. The Premium Package is highly customized and features unlimited product catalog capabilities, advanced merchandising, price tools, unlimited shopping cart, advanced SEO techniques, automated rebate center and product comparison capabilities.
"We are excited to officially introduce this new website program to our members in San Antonio," said Scott McFarland, Director of IT for MEGA Group USA. WebFronts is available to our members in all categories--furniture, bedding, appliances, electronics and lawn and garden. We already have the Premium Package live with a few of our members and they are experiencing an increase in traffic to their site and store.
"One of the reasons we are different from other buying groups is our passion to stay abreast of leading-edge technologies and constantly bring our members the latest in web-based and social media programs," said Rick Bellows, president of MEGA Group USA. "WebFronts Premium gives our members a powerful presence online that competes with any large retailer in the market. Members simply wont be able to get this type of technology and web presence this cost efficient on their own."
MEGA Group USA will open the Convention in San Antonio on Thursday, March 10, with a golf tournament for participating members, followed that evening by a welcome reception.
Friday, March 11, kicks off educational seminars and workshops aimed at helping members run their business more successfully. Sessions will include:
* Appliance, Electronic and Furniture State of the Industry Insights and Reviews
* Web site and Social Media workshops
* Seminars on Disaster Recovery, Color Trends, Product Protection and Insurance Services
* Advertising and marketing training and planning
* Financial guidance and planning sessions
"We have found this day of workshops and training to be the most popular day of our conventions," said Bellows. "In this challenging retail environment, members have so little time to stay abreast of latest happenings and trends. Attending these workshops gives them additional insights and knowledge they need to run their business more successfully."
The Convention's show will open Saturday, March 12, after featured key note speaker Scott Deming delivers a powerful talk on how to bring customer service back to life. For 30 years, Deming has been a motivational speaker, author and consultant who has helped small business to multi-national corporations develop smart and effective sales training, marketing and planning techniques that positively impact the bottom line.
MEGA Group USA reports more thab 800 members registered and more than 85 vendors exhibiting at the show. The show will be open all day Saturday, March 12, and until noon on Sunday, March 13. The show provides members the ideal setting to purchase product for their showrooms and take advantage of "show specials" MEGA offers.
February 28,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on March 1, 2011
Western Home Furnishings Association and National Home Furnishings Association named speakers for the Home Furnishings Industry Conference, April 30May 2.
The event takes place at the Westin River Walk in San Antonio, Texas. Educational headliners for the event include Bob Beckel and Cal Thomas of USA Today's Common Ground column; Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics; and John Moore, marketing mastermind behind Starbucks and Whole Foods.
The Home Furnishings Industry Conference agenda is geared to help retailers move their business into the future through workshops, general sessions, after sessions, and an Expo with more than 40 vendors from around the country.
The event will kick-off with an opening keynote from Bob Beckel and Cal Thomas of USA Today's Common Ground column. These two politically savvy and politically different analysts take their differences and find the "common ground" that unites all Americans. Although Beckel and Thomas have different opinions on almost every subject imaginable, the goal of Common Ground is to show our audience of retailers and suppliers that bridges can be forged between differences, and agreements can be made.
Social media guru Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics, will make a presentation on the implications of social media, and how businesses can tap into the power of this new marketing power to increase sales, cut marketing costs and how to communicate and reach consumers directly.
The marketing mastermind behind the Starbucks and Whole Foods brands, John Moore, will present a keynote on "The Bigness of Smallness." Moore says that the smaller a business is, the bigger it must look and conversely, the bigger a business is, the smaller it must get. This paradox of growth serves as the foundation for this playful, informative presentation on how businesses can get bigger by acting smaller. Using examples of established and emerging brands, Moore will show the audience how small businesses can thrive in a crowded marketplace and how big businesses can continue growing when faced with upstart competition.
The closing session, "Diversity in America: How to Market to People Not Like You" by Kelly McDonald will take actual results from the 2010 census and will show you how to market to your customers and people different than you.
The conference also includes numerous breakout educational sessions led by industry experts. That line-up features: Margi Kyle, The Designing Doctor; Mark Green; The Family Business Consulting Group; Kevin Doran, R&A Marketing; Brad Huisken, IAS Training; Dave Bruno, Escalate Retail; and Craig McAndrews, Mattress Firm.
"As president for NHFA, I feel that the 2011 Conference in San Antonio will be the highlight of the year," said Dianne Ray, Garden City Furniture, Garden City Beach, S.C., and NHFA's 2011 President. "What a great opportunity for retailers, vendors and suppliers to share, learn and listen to one another on a one-on-one basis. I look forward to the conference with the opportunities to learn from everyone attending and, most of all, having fun visiting with all of the great folks who make the furniture industry a great place to work. Come join us for the most exciting and invigorating days of your year and enjoy being a part of the home furnishings industry."
Members of WHFA, NHFA, and all their affiliates and designated partners can take advantage of a "buy one, get one free deal." One registration of $495 must be purchased and the second person can attend for free. Additional registrations for other team members are $199 each. This makes it easy for businesses to bring multiple people from their store and learn even more valuable tools for business.
Click here to learn more about the Home Furnishings Industry Conference and register.
February 28,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Acquisition on March 1, 2011
Bassett Furniture and the other shareholders of the International Home Furnishings Center have a contract to sell the largest showroom building in High Point.
The agreement, which was signed Feb. 25, said the group has entered into a stock purchase agreement with IHFC Acquisition Co. The transaction is expected to close on or before April 29.
According to an SEC filing, pretax proceeds from the transaction payable to Bassett are expected to be in the range of $73 million to $75 million at the time of closing. In addition, the Purchaser would place $15 million at closing in escrow to cover various contingencies with unused portions of such to be released to Bassett and the other shareholders over a three-year period.
In the event that the closing conditions are satisfied but IHFC Acquisition Co. fails to close, Bassett will receive about $2.3 million as liquidated damages.
The shareholder breakdown is Bassett with 225,664 shares, 46.952 percent; Lincoln National Corp, 140,027 shares, 29.134 percent; R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation, 114,937, 23.914 percent; and Joseph Rawley, 1,000 shares. According to the documents, Rawley has a separate purchase agreement for selling his shares to the company.
The filing doesn't provide much detail about IHFC Acquisition Co., and in places where a representative from IHFC Acquisition would sign the details are left blank.
Further into the document, a confidentiality agreement between Bassett and The Related Cos. signed Nov. 3 is referenced and noted that the agreement should "continue in full force." There is also a reference to a confidentiality letter dated Oct. 12 involving The Related Cos. and Bain Capital Partners.
The Related Cos. is a shareholder in the World Market Center, organizers of the Las Vegas Market.
The purchase agreement, however, does mention World Market Center specifically regarding showroom space in Las Vegas. "Bassett shall enter into and deliver to the Purchaser at Closing a new five year lease at World Market Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a form reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser and Bassett (the 'Bassett World Market Center Lease').