Furniture News
October 6th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
After a very successful launch at the spring High Point Market, MMPI has announced that SALON is already completely sold out. There will be 46 companies exhibiting at this months market that runs from October 16th until the 21st. SALON was introduced as part of a multi phase renovation at Market Square and Suites that also included extensive physical renovations, a brand new web site, branding and enhanced buyer and exhibitor services.
“There really is no other place at High Point Market that focuses on bringing new companies to this market,” said Brian Bunch, vice president and assistant general manager for MMPI High Point. “As more and more of the temporary showrooms in High Point became permanent, we saw a great need to create an area targeted toward high-end, design-oriented companies interested in launching into this marketplace. As is evidenced by the response, SALON fits this need.”
At each market, a jury will be reviewing each of the SALON exhibitors and prospective companies to choose the best design driven lighting, furniture, softgoods, wall art, rugs and decorative accessories. If you like to view a list of participating companies for this months High Point Market you can visit FurnitureWorld.com.
By MCC
October 2nd, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
A United States leader in bio formula based memory foam mattresses, Anatomic Global has announced it will be returning to the High Point Market. The company has affirmed their commitment to the market and their retailers on the East coast after a one year absence from the market. The company’s new showroom will be in Space M 510 in IHFC.
“We express our commitment to our customers as ‘incredible support,’ and being at High Point where our East coast customers prefer to shop is another way to support our retail partners,” said Jeff Scorziell, president of Anatomic Global. “High Point has become an important regional bedding market, and we wanted to continue to expand our horizons just as we are expanding our offerings.”
One of their most anticipated product lines is the Sleep by Design collection. The collection is a major shift in visco foam mattress and will allow retailers to custom build mattresses that will suit individual customer needs. The product line features 9 beds and is made with Comfort Support Architecture which is patent pending.
The architecture uses from three to seven layers measuring as much as 6.5 inches. The layers consist of proprietary memory foam and lumbar support. The mattress collection ranges in price from $799 up to $2,999. In addition to the mattress collection, their display at High Point Market will also feature a wide selection of their best selling memory foam products.
By MCC
September 30th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
A New Jersey Ashley Furniture HomeStore is donating a free mattress set to every one of the 24 families that were displaced when a fire destroyed their apartments last week. “In addition, we extend our employee pricing on all furniture and accessories,” Barry DiMaio, the store’s owner, told the station. “Whatever their furnishing need we can help put their home back together.”
“Our initial concern was how to help Cosmo recover and instead, Cosmo was focused on how we could help everyone in the complex,” said DiMaio. “We are new to Phillipsburg and have been looking for a way to get involved in the community. I wish our support didn’t come at such a great expense to these individuals.”
By MCC
September 28th, 2010 at 10:23pm
Under Furniture News
The Ashley Furniture HomeStore located in Fort Smith, Arkansas has been purchased by the Spencer Group. The group, a furniture retail store owner based in Memphis, Tennessee how holds 11 Ashley Furniture stores across Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Chad Spencer, president of the Spencer Group said that the company was really excited about the new acquisition. “This forum has a real sense of community and we look forward to serving this community with an unparalleled shopping experience that is second to none,” he said.
The Spencer Group has revenues of $66 million in 2009 and ranks number 71 on MBJ’s top 100 Private Companies list. The company also made Furniture Today’s 100 furniture retailers in the country at number 74. The company started with one Ashley Furniture HomeStore in 2002 and has added at least one new store to their portfolio every year since.
By MCC
September 27th, 2010 at 02:22am
Under Furniture News
For the first time, Mega Group USA will be showing at the High Point Market. The company has leased a 750 square foot showroom in space 1-545 in Plaza Suites. Although the buying group for mattresses, furniture, electronics and appliance retailers has attended the markets for many years, they have only began to host retailers in its own showrooms this year.
“We made a decision early in 2010 to have a stronger presence at the furniture markets,” said Jerry Honea, chief operating officer of Mega Group USA. “Vegas market was a huge success for us signing up many new dealers and being able to showcase our product and business offerings to our members. High Point is a great venue to further this, and we are excited about being there in October.”
The group will be showcasing their Dreamhaven Mattress Collection and their Paula Deen Home by Serta Mattress. Both collections are exclusive to Mega Group members. GE Money, a vendor partner will be featured as the Mega sponsored financing program that will help others to increase business in the fourth quarter of this year and next year. Mega Group USA has around 1,500 retail members and 2,500 storefronts located across the United States.
By MCC
September 23rd, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
Primo International, a furniture and mattress manufacturer and importer will be “all decked out” for this fall’s High Point Market. As a part of the company’s move to showrooms on the 11th and 12th floors in the International Home Furnishings Center, the company will be adding a deck that will be enclosed with glass.
John DeFalco, Primo’s senior executive vice president said, “As far as know, we will be the only exhibitor at the High Point Market that will have a true rooftop deck.” He said the 12th floor deck will cost over $100,000 and will have a ramp so that it will be fully handicapped accessible. “The view from the top of the 12th floor is amazing. The plan is to serve lunch to our buyers on the deck during the day and to use the deck to entertain our buyers in the evening.”
Defalco added, “Our new space at the IHFC is almost twice as large, which will finally allow us to show a more accurate representation of the breadth and depth of our mix, including showing matching chairs and love seats with our lineup of sofas.”
You can see pictures of the new deck at FurnitureToday.com.
By MCC
September 22nd, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
For 80 years, Hooker Furniture has been a wood furniture supplier, but they are moving into the upholstered furniture sector. The company will premiere it’s very first collection of fabric upholstered furniture at this falls High Point Market. The new addition is part of the company’s strategy to provide furniture for every room of the home.
The upholstered furniture will be imported from China and will have features such as exposed wood that will coordinate with other Hooker case goods products. Three of the new lines of furniture will match with the existing wood groups Windward, Summerton and Cambridge Park. These three groups are a part of the Envision Collection, a grouping of value oriented furnishings.
Hooker will also be introducing two brand new lines of case goods and upholstery. One of the lines will be called Moccato and will be a part of the Envision Collection. The other new line called Trilogy, will be part of the regular Hooker brand and is described as contemporary urban meets traditional. Subsequent introductions at future High Point Markets are expected to include case goods and upholstery at the same time.
By MCC
September 21st, 2010 at 02:12am
Under Furniture News
For the first fiscal quarter, La-Z-Boy posted a net loss of $195,000. The rising costs of raw materials and shipping delays were cited as hampering the company’s profits. Sales for the quarter ended on July 24 and reached $263.3 million which was under 1% above the same quarter for 2009. President and CEO Kurt Darrow said, “Our results for the quarter were impacted by a confluence of factors”.
“These issues, including higher raw material costs, supply chain disruptions, storms which delayed shipping from our Mexico cut-and-sew operation, and inefficiencies in Mexico as we transition all custom cut-andsewn product from our U.S. operations, have abated somewhat and are not anticipated to impact our results throughout the remainder of the year to the extent they did this quarter.”
You can get more details about the report at FurnitureToday.com.
By MCC
September 20th, 2010 at 10:17pm
Under Furniture News
A lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania accuses Ashley Furniture of failint to pay proper wages and overtime to three of their employees at their manufacturing plant. The lawsuit seeks to include around 3,000 employees that worked for Ashley Furniture over the past four years. The suit claims that one of the plaintiffs worked over 40 hours a week and was not given any overtime pay. It also says that there was two other employees that were required to start work 15 minutes before their regular starting time and they never received any overtime.
The suit is seeking less than $75,000 for each former employee and does not specify the exact amount of lost wages. The exact amount will be determined once the payroll has been reviewed. Bill Koslo, Ashley attorney said that the company has not been served with any papers concerning the lawsuit. He also stated that Ashley Furniture has fully compensated all of its employees for any work.
Attorney Kevin Moore who filed the suit on behalf of the employees said, “Most employers in this community understand the rules associated with paying hourly workers for the work they perform. Ashley Furniture has not only flouted the rules and the law but has knowingly done so at the expense of thousands of hourly employees. We hope to correct the situation for the people who work there and will continue to work there.”
By MCC
September 19th, 2010 at 07:00am
Under Furniture News
According to a report released from the Las Vegas Business Press, the World Market Center is in default on the mortgages for several of its buildings. The report claims that buildings A and B are in foreclosure, however the furniture market is denying those claims. “Certain parties have been misrepresenting this fact for months despite our notice to them,” the WMC said in a statement to the newspaper.
The story cites that declining occupancy in the market and low rents are the problems that have caused the default on the two loans that total almost $565 million. Realpoint research numbers were cited that revealed the occupancy in Building A decreased from 97% at the close of 2007 to 85% in June of 2009. And, that Building B occupancy numbers decreased from 89% to 75% during the same period.
WMC informed the loan servicing agents that it would have no choice but to skip the loan payments due to declining cash flow. According to the Business Report, the default occurred in April. A report released in August by Realpoint stated that the lender had extended a forebearance agreement to voluntarily hold off on any repossession until August 31. The WMC issued a complete statement on the problems.
“World Market Center Las Vegas buildings are not in foreclosure. Certain parties have been misreporting this fact for months, despite our notice to them. A simple review of the public records would reveal that there is no foreclosure process pending now or at any time in the past with respect to any of the buildings.
“In fact there is absolutely nothing new contained in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s report. The report is citing misinformation that was circulated in the media months ago.
“The reality is, for the past year we have been proactively working with our financiers toward a financial structure that gives us flexibility to operate in this economic environment. Those discussions have been productive and positive; we are optimistic that very soon we will have a favorable outcome. We have a long term perspective of World Market Center Las Vegas and a long term commitment to the home furnishings industry.”
By MCC
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