Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
September 4,
2013 by in Designer Weekly, Economic News, Industry 
The recovery in the housing market has helped spark an upturn on spending on home goods and materials.
When a house is underwater with more owed on the mortgage than the residence is worth, homeowners usually limit spending to emergency repairs. But with home sales and prices on the upswing, Americans are investing to improve their homes.
That's helped give a nice lift to home furnishing retailers. Privately held retailers of home-related goods and materials are seeing strong sales growth, according to new data from Sageworks, a financial information company.
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Source: Investors Business Daily
September 4,
2013 by in Business Strategy, Industry
Thunder grumbled outside the offices of Ashley Furniture Industries on Baltimore Road last week, a sound that did not escape the ears of Ron Wanek , the furniture giant's chairman of the board.
"So we're blessed with more rain?" Wanek said.
His wry delivery elicited a few knowing chuckles from those gathered around a small conference table. The rain this summer has been more a curse than a blessing, wreaking havoc on the construction schedule of an $80 million plant that has been hit by a year's worth of setbacks.
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Source: Individual.com
September 4,
2013 by in Bedding, Industry, Legal, Product
The federal agency that enforces workplace discrimination complaints has sued Carolina Mattress Guild, accusing the company of subjecting black employees to a racially hostile work environment and unlawfully firing an employee who complained about racial remarks that included the "N-word."
The mattress manufacturer and distributor is being sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
According to the EEOC complaint, from as early as June of last year through about Aug. 9, 2012, Ricky Clark, a truck loader, and other black employees, were subjected to unwelcome derogatory racial comments and slurs by a white employee at Carolina Mattress Guild.
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Source: High Point Enterprise
September 3,
2013 by in Market
Following a two-year hiatus from the International Casual Furniture Market, Groovystuff will return to the Chicago-based show later this month.
September 3,
2013 by in Industry, Store Openings
Furniture retailer The Dump opened its 11th store over the weekend in the Chicago area.
September 3,
2013 by in Executive Changes, Industry
The Specialty Sleep Association (SSA) has named its new officers.
September 3,
2013 by in Industry, Web Retail
Net revenue in the web-dominated direct-to-consumer channel at Williams-Sonoma Inc. increased 15.3 percent to $477.66 million in its fiscal second quarter ended Aug. 4, accounting for nearly half of total net revenue, which rose 12.3 percent to $982.21 million, the retailer of kitchenware and other home furnishings said.
Executives at the retailer said in a recent conference call with stock analysts that e-commerce sales grew by more than 20 percent in Q2 and accounted for more than 90 percent of direct-to-consumer sales, which also include telephone sales placed through paper catalogs.
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Source: InternetRetailer.com