Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
October 25,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on October 26, 2010
Farmers Home Furniture will open a new furniture store in Arab, Ala., the Arab Tribune reported Monday.
Farmers, Dublin, Ga., will hold a soft opening Monday, with a grand opening set for 10 days later. The 20,000-square-foot space, formerly a grocery store, anchors Northgate Shopping Center.
Farmers has 166 furniture stores in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Alabama.
"With 166 stores spanning five states, we have the benefit of large buying power to provide low costs without losing our hometown quality and service," a company press release cited in the report stated. "Our credit modeling method has helped the residents of communities across the Southeast purchase their dream furnishings for over half a century."
Other home furnishings stores in Arab include Black's Discount City, The Home Place, Wright's Furniture and Appliance and Graves Furniture.
October 25,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on October 26, 2010
The Furniture Row Cos. will open six weekend-only stores next week in six different markets.
The Weekends @ Furniture Row is a new retail concept for the Denver-based retailer. The concept will feature weekends-only, high-volume furniture stores with a selection of first-quality merchandise each week at discounts of up to 70 percent off comparable product at other retailers.
"As one of the nation's largest furniture retailers and the largest cash buyer of furniture in the country, Furniture Row has unparalleled buying power," said Bill McKendry, marketing director for Furniture Row Cos. "A lot of stores say they offer deep discounts. Weekends @ Furniture Row is uniquely positioned to offer true savings of up to 70 percent."
Catering to strong consumer trends to shop for furniture on weekends, the store will be open only Thursdays through Saturdays. By bringing in new merchandise every week, Weekends @ Furniture Row will offer customers the experience of shopping a new store each time they stop in.
The store will carry a fresh inventory of name-brand home furnishings, accessories and mattresses from factory closeouts, overstocks and special or limited purchases, all available for immediate pick up or delivery.
Weekends @ Furniture Row stores will be opening in St. George, Utah; Green Bay, Wis.; Appleton, Wis.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Jonesboro, Ark. Each will open Thursday, Nov. 4.
"We chose a great mix of communities and store types to launch this concept," McKendry said. "We're very excited about what we consider to be a winning formula for our customers. The combination of lowest price, first-quality furniture, fresh selection, immediate availability and convenient weekend hours is exactly what we believe the customer wants."
The Furniture Row Companies make up one of the largest family-owned specialty home furnishings and bedding retailers in the U.S., operating more than 330 stores in 31 states.
October 25,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on October 26, 2010
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased slightly in October to 50.2 (1985=100), up from 48.6 in September.
The Present Situation Index increased to 23.9 from 23.3. The Expectations Index improved to 67.8 from 65.5.
The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS.
"Consumer confidence, while slightly improved from September levels, is still hovering at historically low levels," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Consumers' assessment of the current state of the economy is relatively unchanged, primarily because labor market conditions have yet to significantly improve. And, despite the uptick in Expectations, consumers continue to be quite concerned about the short-term outlook. Both present and future indicators point toward more of the same in the coming months."
Consumers' appraisal of current conditions was somewhat mixed in October. Those claiming business conditions are "bad" decreased to 41.9 percent from 46 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "good" edged up to 8.5 percent from 8.2 percent. Consumers' assessment of the labor market, however, was less favorable in October. Those claiming jobs are "hard to get" rose to 46.1 percent from 45.8 percent, while those stating jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 3.5 percent from 3.8 percent.
Consumers' expectations, while still quite bleak, were less pessimistic in October. Those expecting an improvement in business conditions over the next six months rose to 16 percent from 15 percent, while those expecting business conditions will worsen declined to 14.1 percent from 16.6 percent.
Consumers were mixed about future job prospects. The percentage of consumers anticipating fewer jobs in the months ahead declined to 22.0 percent from 22.6 percent. However, the percentage anticipating more jobs declined to 14.1 percent from 14.5 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting an increase in their incomes declined to 9.1 percent from 10.3 percent.
October 25,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Executive Changes on October 26, 2010
Diane Sikes has been named senior vice president of marketing and public relations for retailer
Art Van Furniture.
In her new position, Sikes will oversee and direct all aspects of advertising, Internet, community relations and public relations activities for the Warren, Mich.-based retailer.
Ms. Sikes has extensive knowledge of the retail industry and is a leader in Internet marketing, an area we plan on growing," said Art Van Elslander. "She is an exciting addition to Art Van Furniture."
For the past year, Sikes has been the primary representative to Art Van from the
advertising agency Sussman/Sikes, where she was a partner. During that time Art Van Furniture achieved noticeable sales increases with highly successful advertising campaigns including Weve Got the Look and Simply Irresistible.
Diana has been a major contributor to Art Vans marketing and public relations efforts even as an external resource, said Kim Yost, CEO, We are pleased she has decided to join the company and we know she will be a great addition to our leadership team.
Sikes is a veteran strategic marketing and advertising leader with a 28-year retail marketing career. For those of us who love retail, there is no better organization than Art Van Furniture," Sikes said. "Their dedication to exceeding customer expectations and to innovation is legendary. It is an honor to be invited to join a team of this talent and depth."
Sikes' retail marketing experience includes work with
Weight Watchers,
Hansons and numerous healthcare clients. Sikes begins her new position Nov. 1.
Sussman/Sikes continues as agency of record for Art Van Furniture.
October 24,
2010 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Home Office on October 25, 2010
Herman Miller has started a direct-to-consumer ecommerce store through its Web site.
Consumers can shop the brand online. The company said the primary focus of the site is to strengthen brand awareness and communicate the Herman Miller story directly with consumers.
The online shopping site provides consumers with personalized service and offers accessible and detailed production information. Beyond shopping, the site allows consumers to explore product concepts, meet the designers, and discover the behind-the-scenes inspiration it takes to produce some the company's products for the home and office. Through the new online store Herman Miller is providing customers the opportunity to research and shop via the channel of their preference while remaining committed to its retail partner distribution model.
"The role the manufacturer plays in the consumer marketplace is changing, and a large driver of that change is online presence," said Michael Blum, ecommerce channel manager. "We're engaging directly with our customers like never before and sharing the Herman Miller story with new consumers."