Archive for February, 2010
February 28th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
A former La-Z-Boy showroom will soon be transformed into a Godwin’s Furniture and Mattress store. The showroom located on Linden Road in Flint, Michigan will be the seventh store for the company. The 24,000 square foot location is expected to open late next month and will include a La-Z-Boy Comfort Studio that will be around 6,000 square feet.
The new store will be the Saginaw, Michigan based companies second store to open in just four months. Godwin’s operates two stores located in Saginaw and has stores in Midland, Owosso, Lindwood and Mount Pleasant as well. Godwin president stated that even though business conditions are poor, the new location was a good opportunity.
By slone
February 27th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
The legislators in Mississippi are reconsidering a bill that will provide much needed tax breaks in the furniture industry. It’s a second try for a proposal like the one that was earlier vetoed by Governor Haley Barbour at the surprise of the furniture industry.
The new bill includes some major differences that might make it more appealing to Governor Barbour. The new legislation that has already been passed by the Ways and Means committee will provide employers with a $2,000 tax break for all new hires and cut and sew jobs.
The earlier bill would have given that tax break to all cut and sew employees and would have cot an estimated $11 million. If passed the new bill will also require employees to work 35 hours weekly in order to qualify for the break.
By slone
February 26th, 2010 at 11:06pm
Under Furniture News
Eight new exhibitors have signed to create permanent showrooms in InterHall at the International Home Furnishings Center. The new showrooms have added a big boost to the existing ones making a total of 12 permanent showrooms for the center.
Officials stated that the growing number of additions reflects how popular the 64,000 square foot space is. The space is seen as an area within the International Home Furnishings Center that gives new companies that have cutting edge products a good presence at the High Point market.
The newly signed exhibitors include Barclay Butera Home, Furniture Your Way, Kingsley-Bate and GrassRoots Imports. The existing exhibitors were Bobo Intriguing Objects, Noir Trading, Julian Chichester and Sunpan Modern Home.
By slone
February 19th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
Intercon, a solid wood home furnishings source is launching a new division called Heritage Brands. The division was created last year and aimed toward a lower to medium price point. The collection includes solid wood bedroom furniture, entertainment collects and casual dining pieces.
Heritage Brands will be launching three bedroom sets in a program that is called Solid Classics. Shaker Simplicity features the Shaker styling and two Louis Phillipe sets will include hand carving. All of the pieces are made from solid birch.
There will also be eight new casual dining sets that include chinas, servers and bar stools. A Mission style group that has a sideboard is also included in the new collections. Heritage Brands is also offering consumers a custom dining program that is built in the U.S. which is two collections, one made from solid American hickory and the other made from American cherry.
By slone
February 17th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
Steelcase Inc. recently laid off 65 employees at the company’s Gaines Township wood plant. And, another 85 jobs are in jeopardy if the volume of orders don’t improve. The reduction in orders at the company has created layoffs that have only left 335 employees working at the plant.
Aside from the 65 layoffs, there was another 35 employees that received a 30 day extension of their Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letter. And, 50 more employees received their WARN notice that gave them a 60 day range.
According to the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association, the demand for office furniture led to an an estimated 30.2 percent drop in production last year. The forecast for 2010 continues to be sluggish with an estimated 4.6 percent drop in production.
By slone
February 15th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
I.O. Metro, a youthful retailer is opening it’s second store in the Memphis, Tennessee area and has plans to make more expansions later in the year. The company now has 16 stores and will be opening two more in the Kansas City market during the second quarter. The company also has plans to enter the Atlanta, Georgia market during the third quarter with 3 stores.
The Rogers, Arkansas based company is opening a 15,000 square foot showroom in collierville at the Avenue at Carriage Crossing. The mid-priced retailer has stores located in Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. And, is listed in Furnniture/Today’s Beyond the Top 100 report.
By slone
February 13th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
With the economic climate starting to improve and two new distribution centers already open, Rooms To Go has announced plans to open 16 new stores. These new stores represent the biggest push in growth the company has seen in the past three years.
The company has scheduled the stores to open over the next 18 months. While 16 new stores will open, the company’s store count will only go up by around a dozen stores. The remaining stores are going to be replacement stores which will convert some of the oldest and smallest stores in to updated formats.
Around half of the company’s net growth will be in Texas, which will include two new markets that have yet been identified. Florida will be getting 3 of the new stores and others will be located in Georgia and Alabama. Estimated sales for the Top 100 company came in at around $1.35 billion in 2009. That amount dropped about 11 percent from the prior year.
By slone
February 11th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
As part of the Pinnacle Awards for the design of home furnishings, the American Society of Furniture Designers will be bestowing a Green Leaf award this year. The award will be presented to the best sustainable furnishings design from this years list of entries. And, it will be awarded to a single winner that will be chosen from three finalists.
Entries for the award can be in any of the 15 product categories that are recognized in the Pinnacle competition. All of the entries will be reviewed by the panel of Pinnacle judges and may also be reviewed by the Sustainable Furnishings Council.
The Pinnacle Awards were created by the ASFD in 1995 as a way to honor and promote design quality and encourage some recognition for furniture designers. Entry information for the new Green Leaf award will be posted on the asfd.com website later this year.
By slone
February 9th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
City Furniture plans to jump right back into full expansion mode by beginning work on several large projects this year. The planned projects will affect City Furniture and Ashley Furniture HomeStore. The Top 100 company that has 26 stores operating in one of the states that was hardest hit by the economy has started to see an increase in sales this year of about 10 percent.
In the second quarter, the Florida retailer wants to start construction on a 94,000 square foot complex in Boca Raton. When the new City Furniture/Ashley Furniture HomeStore opens by the first quarter in 2011, it’s expected to be a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED certified building that falls under the Green Building Rating System.
The company will be investing over $10 million in the Boca Raton complex that will be divided into a 32,000 square foot HomeStore and a 62,000 square foot City showroom. This new store will be replacing three of the companies smaller stores located in Boca Raton, Lantana and Pampano.
By slone
February 6th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
Although sales dropped 3.5 percent from last year, Bassett Furniture Ind. still reported a $2.6 million profit in the quarter that ended on November 28. The profit which equaled 22 cents per share, put a stop to a string of five quarterly losses in a row.
For that quarter Bassett’s net loss totaled $37.8 million which included a one time charge of over $30 million. This most current quarter included a one time tax benefit of $1.7 million and anti-dumping duties from Chinese bedroom furniture of $1.6 million.
Sales for the final period of the fiscal year totaled $59.5 million as compared to $61.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2008. The sales from the wholesale segment dropped 12.7 percent and sales at the Bassett Furniture Direct stores rose 21.4 percent. The substantial increase was credited mostly to the acquisition of nine more stores in 2009.
By slone
Previous Posts