Archive for March 16th, 2006
Casual Living,
Terrace Collection expands outdoor offerings
828 International launched a new collection of indoor/outdoor rugs in time for summer.
The Terrace line is power-loomed of 100% polypropylene with structured weaving techniques that give these power-loomed rugs a multi-dimensional texture enhanced by a soft color palette. 828’s Terrace Collection comes in sizes of 4 x 6, 5 x 8, 6.7 x 9.6, 8 x 10 and 8-foot runners.
March 16th, 2006
Larry Thomas — Furniture Today
Higher interest expense reduced net income
ATLANTA — Bedding major Simmons said net sales slid 1.7% last year despite improvements in the fourth quarter that were driven largely by product introductions.
The company said sales for 2005 — a 53-week fiscal year that ended Dec. 31 — totaled $855.3 million. For 2004 — a 52-week year ended Dec. 25 — sales were $869.9 million.
Net income for 2005 was $3.3 million, down from $23.8 million in 2004. The bottom line was hurt by interest expenses, which soared to $70.3 million last year from $44.2 million a year earlier.
Simmons said wholesale bedding sales decreased 2.5% last year to $788.1 million, while sales from its Sleep Country USA retail stores were up 1.6% to $82.3 million. Comparable-store sales jumped 18.6%, adjusted for the additional week in 2005.
For the fourth quarter, net sales increased 4% from the same period a year earlier, to $214.8 million. The 2005 fourth quarter had one more week than the 2004 fourth quarter, which Simmons said added about $14 million to the sales figure.
“Despite the fourth-quarter challenges of a temporary foam shortage and unprecedented increased in the cost of foam, we continued to see improvement in our overall sales and profitability during the quarter,” said Charlie Eitel, chairman and CEO. “It was driven by our reinvigorated product lines and our focus on taking costs out of our business process.”
March 16th, 2006
Casual Living,
Show held this week in Chicago
More than 450 new exhibitors will be on hand at the 2006 International Home & Housewares Show, according to the International Housewares Association, the show’s non-profit sponsor.
The new exhibitors will be found within each show category and in a special new destination.
Based on heavily increased demand over the last 30 days, the show established a New Exhibitor section, located in the Dine & Design Expo in the South Building.
This area will host new exhibitors in all show product categories. A complete list of new exhibitors is available at the Show’s website at www.housewares.org/pdf/06newexhibitorlist.pdf.
The 2006 show will be held through March 14 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
March 16th, 2006
By: Furniture World Magazine
A new upgrade to the Market Planner tool on the (High Point) International Home Furnishings Market Authority’s website makes it easier for buyers to navigate their way through showroom buildings and more efficiently schedule their visits to exhibitors and their participation in special events.
“The online Market Planner feature was introduced last market and the subsequent feedback gave us the opportunity to fine-tune its functions and add to its value,” said Donna Gross, IHFMA Operations Coordinator. “After logging on through the exhibitor listing page, there are now three ways for market visitors to select from over 2300 exhibitors to build their plan – from the name, building or a complete drop down list of all exhibitors.
Once they input their destination showrooms, they can browse a constantly updated list of events and add their preferences to their schedule.” She added that the special events list becomes more voluminous in the weeks prior to Market.
According to Neil Marritt, Vice President of Technology Strategy at Emisare, the IHFMA’s marketing firm that redesigned their website three years ago, the Market Planner enhancements serve to streamline its functionality. “When the Market visitors input their exhibitors and events, they are able to create a PDF document that organizes the list by showroom building and indicates the closest bus stop on the downtown shuttle. This plan has the flexibility to be updated at any time as plans inevitably change,” he added.
The implementation of constant enhancements to its website is not the only way in which the IHFMA uses the Internet to communicate with over 70,000 visitors from across the globe. Regularly scheduled email blasts are another tool that Emisare provides, usually scheduling one per month for the four months prior to each Market. These are sent only to those who request the mailings by opting in on the website. “We give brief listings of key information to make it as convenient as possible for busy people to get the latest updates on Market, while giving links to the areas on the website that offer more detail on issues like accommodations, travel discounts, and other pertinent topics ” said Gross.
March 16th, 2006
Clint Engel
To consolidate in its larger showroom downtown
HIGH POINT — Wood-Armfield is closing its 16,000-square-foot Utility Craft store here after 20 years, choosing to consolidate the business into its larger showroom near downtown.
The Top 100 company hired Daniel Lynch Sales to run the closing sale, which began Tuesday and is expected to be completed in about six weeks, said Phil Kennett, president of the four-store company, which also operates a High Point clearance center and Gallahan’s in Fredericksburg, Va. He would not disclose the projected revenues from the closing sale but said, “It should be nice.”
Kennett said the consolidation is “something we’ve had in the works for a long time. We’re moving the entire staff (to Wood-Armfield) where they have access … to a lot more showroom and a lot more product and lines.”
Kennett said all the major lines at Utility Craft — including Century, Hooker, Stanley, Lexington, American Drew, Bradington-Young, Hickory Chair, Nichols & Stone, Harden, Statton and Lane — are duplicated at the 136,000-square-foot, five-level Wood-Armfield store downtown, where the displays are much larger.
Utility Craft wasn’t able to show certain other lines that Wood-Armfield carries, such as Thomasville and Bernhardt, because of gallery requirements and the limited space.
“We feel this will give that (Utility Craft) staff a lot more opportunity to do more business,” Kennett said. “We’ll save some overhead, but do more business.”
Kennett wouldn’t disclose the annual sales of Utility Craft but said it account for a small part of the retailer’s volume, and said he believes a business boost at Wood-Armfield will more than make up for the closing.
The retailer’s sales for 2005 were unavailable. Furniture/Today estimates Wood-Armfield had furniture, bedding and accessories sales in 2004 of about $64.5 million.
This past fall, the company closed a 20,000-square-foot showroom in the Atrium Furniture Mall in downtown High Point as the Atrium prepared to convert from a retail center to a wholesale furniture showroom building. Wood-Armfield also put its main showroom on the market, aiming to sell it and eventually move the business out to property it owns at Business Interstate 85 and the U.S. Highway 311 bypass and Brentwood Street interchanges, but no deal is in the works yet.
The company owns the Utility Craft building at Eastchester Drive and Penny Road and will look to either sell or lease it, Kennett said.
March 16th, 2006
By: Furniture World Magazine
In the past year the mergers of retailing giants — Sears and Kmart and Federated and May department stores — have generated lots of media attention, but these mergers are undertaken for the good of the companies themselves and not for their shoppers.
Just ask anyone in Chicago how they feel about their beloved Marshall Field’s becoming just another Macy’s.
“Shoppers today feel nostalgia for the old days when shopping was special. You went downtown to shop in wonderful stores where the sales people really knew their products and cared about serving the customer,” says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Why People Buy Things They Don’t Need and Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses — as well as the Classes.
“But shopping has changed as big retailers following the self-service model have taken over the retail landscape. As a result, shoppers are following two different tracks: necessities shopping where convenience and price are key and recreational shopping where a whole other set of rules apply. Recreational shoppers are looking for more than just buying more stuff at cheap prices. They want a fun shopping experience,” Danziger says.
In a new research study of shoppers, Recreational Shopping 2006: Consumer Insights Study of the Recreational Shopper, Their Demographics, Their Shopping Choices and Their Motivations to Shop, Unity Marketing conducted qualitative and quantitative research to examine the newly emerging recreational shopper — who they are (and both men and women shop for fun); how they shop; where they choose to shop and who their favorite retailers for recreational shopping are. And most importantly, it reveals their drives, motivations and passions that incline them to look at shopping as fun. !
Retail Consolidation Means Gigantic Retailers Are Losing Touch With The Individual Customer:
In the five years from 1997 to 2002, the share of retail sales attributed to the fifty largest retailers in the country grew from 25.7 percent to 31.7 percent, according to the latest Economic Census, published by the Census Department. In specific categories, like electronics and appliance stores; health and personal care stores; pet supplies; food and beverage stores; clothing and clothing accessories stores; and sporting goods, hobby, books and music stores, more than half of sales are generated by the top fifty competitors in each category. And in general merchandise stores, which includes department and discount department stores, 97.9 percent of total sales are generated by the top fifty biggest competitors.
“That consolidation means that these behemoth retailers are getting further and further away from their individual consumers. With stores spread all over the country and senior executives working out of big corporate headquarters, they don’t have the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with their shoppers on a daily basis like small retailers do. It’s by getting up close and personal with their shoppers where small retailers can find their true competitive advantage,” Danziger says. “After all retailing is really a people business, not a products business.” Segments of retail where consolidation has not yet occurred and small retailers dominate include furniture and home furnishings stores, florist, gift and novelty stores, art ! dealers and non-store retailers.
Retailing Is A people Business, Not A Products Business:
For the future, shoppers will seek out stores that give them a thrill. “As the retail business continues to consolidate, shoppers will increasingly find sameness and uniformity in the products and services offered. When a shopper knows what to expect when she walks past a store, she has no incentive to wander in to shop unless she needs what the store offers.
“But when she shops for fun, she will bypass the ordinary store in favor of a store that offers a truly extraordinary shopping experience. Retailers both big and small need to transform their stores, the products they offer and the way they do business. The new experiential retailing model is to design a retailing experience for the pleasure and delight of the shopper. Unity’s new research report will help them gain insights into the new experiential shopper, their psych! ology and what excites them about shopping,” says Danziger.
About Unity Marketing’s Recreational Shopping Report 2006: Unity Marketing is at the forefront of research-based consumer insights for marketers that need to understand the mindset of the shopper. This new research study is designed to help marketers and retailers understand the shopper better, why they shop, what they shop for and what makes for a truly unique, compelling and fun shopping experience.
The research results reported include insights from a series of focus groups among high-income women who love to shop. Also included is a section devoted to a discussion among owners of specialty retail stores, including a florist, gift shop owner, fashion boutique, toy store, hobby shop, t-shirt retailer and home furnishings specialty store, to gain insights into their challenges in the face of increased retail consolidation.
The heart of the research study, however, is a survey among 1,250 upper-income shoppers (aged 25-to-65 years; average household income $111,800; 65 percent female and 35 percent male).
The survey examines two key segments in the shopper sample: the majority (70 percent) who view shopping as entertainment, called the recreational shopper segment, and roughly 30 percent of non-recreational shoppers who provide perspective on what makes the recreational shopper truly distinctive.
The results of the survey are analyzed from several key segmentation strategies, including gender; income ($50k-$74.9k; $75k-$99.9k; $100k-$149k; $150k + above); generations (Millennials; GenXers; Boomers; Swing); age (25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64 years) and recreational shopper/non-recreational shopper segments.
Details about shopping gathered in the survey include:
Necessities Shopping (i.e. shopping for basic household necessities such as food, clothing, household cleaning, prescription drugs, etc.):
-Whether they are the family’s primary shopper for necessities
-How often they shop for necessities
-What types of stores they frequent (12 types of stores are included, see methodology for details) and which store they shop at most often for necessities
-Attributes that they find most important about choosing a shopping destination for necessities shopping (20 attributes are measured, see methodology for details)
-How much they spend shopping for necessities
Recreational Shopping:
-How often they shop recreationally
-What types of stores they frequent for recreational shopping (21 types of stores are included, see methodology for details) and their favorite store for shopping fun
-Attributes that they find most important about choosing a store for recreational shopping, i.e. what features they value most in a store where they shop for fun (20 attributes are measured, see methodology for details)
-How much they spend monthly shopping for recreation
-What categories of goods they buy for fun, including home furnishings, entertainment and recreational products, personal fashion and clothing and other goods (31 product categories included, see methodology for details)
-How frequently they recreationally shop for practical things for their home, decorative things for their home, things for recreation and entertainment, things for oneself, things for hobbies
-Whether they get the most fun out of browsing, buying, exploring, bargain shopping
-What types of shopping destinations they favor, such as enclosed malls, strip centers, downtown shopping areas, open air lifestyle centers, tourist/vacation shopping, historic shopping, freestanding stores, artistic/bohemian shopping, and luxury shopping districts
-How they define shopping, such as Shopping is…Fun; Exciting; a Mission; Something that has to be done; etc. (see methodology for details)
-Attitudes and motivations that drive the shopper when they shop, including 25 attitude statements (see methodology for details)
March 16th, 2006
— Furniture Today
2005 earnings to be released March 30
SAN FRANCISCO — Home furnishings retailer Design Within Reach said it will file for a two-week extension on submitting its annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, to give it time to wrap up its accounting.
DWR said it intends to submit the10-K report by March 31. It also rescheduled its 2005 earnings release date from March 16 to March 30.
Company officials said they need more time to complete the year-end closing with a new information system, comply with Sarbanes-Oxley rules, and allow the company’s independent auditors to finish their work.
March 16th, 2006
By: Furniture World Magazine
Select Comfort Corporation, a leading bed retailer and creator of the SLEEP NUMBER® bed, today announced that it will open its 400th retail store at the Summit Sierra lifestyle center in Reno, Nev.
The company plans to participate in tomorrow’s grand opening celebration at the 650,000 sq. ft. center being developed by Bayer Properties, Incorporated.
“This is an important milestone and signifies Select Comfort’s long-term commitment to expanding distribution, building brand awareness and bringing innovative new products to market,” said Keith Spurgeon, senior vice president of sales and general manager for Select Comfort.
“Our company-owned stores offer customers a unique shopping experience for the Sleep Number® bed and bedding accessories, and feature new technologies, such as the PressureMap™ system and the proprietary PillowFit Profile. We have designed the shopping experience to educate consumers about getting a better, more restorative night’s sleep.”
The Summit Sierra store represents Select Comfort’s 22nd lifestyle center retail location, an area of increasing focus as the company continues to grow its retail presence to more than 600 company-owned stores in the U.S. In 2006, Select Comfort plans to open between 40 and 45 net new retail stores.
“We congratulate Select Comfort on its achievement and are pleased that Bayer Properties is a part of this wonderful company milestone,” said Jeffrey Bayer, president and chief executive officer of Birmingham-based Bayer Properties. “We are committed to bringing to our Summit developments tenants who represent the finest in their respective fields. Select Comfort is a leader in the bedding industry and will insure quality product for Summit Sierra shoppers.”
The Sleep Number® bed utilizes patented technology that allows the mattress to be quickly adjusted for personalized comfort on each side of the bed via a hand-held remote control. A Sleep Number is a number between zero and 100 which represents the ideal combination of mattress comfort, firmness and support for each individual.
About Bayer Properties, Incorporated: Bayer Properties, Incorporated, founded in 1983, is a full-service commercial real estate company based in Birmingham, AL that specializes in development, property management, brokerage, sales and leasing and tenant representation.
About Select Comfort: Founded in 1987, Select Comfort Corporation is the nation’s leading bed retailer(1), holding 32 U.S. issued or pending patents for its personalized sleep products. The company designs, manufactures and markets a line of adjustable-firmness mattresses featuring air-chamber technology, branded the Sleep Number® bed, as well as foundations and sleep accessories. Select Comfort’s products are sold through its 400 retail stores located nationwide, through selected bedding retailers; through its national direct marketing operations; and on the Internet at www.selectcomfort.com.
March 16th, 2006
Jeff Linville — Furniture Today
Special report on Casual Dining
HIGH POINT – Casual dining producers are creating better ways of getting their message out to consumers through signage, hangtags and displays.
Casual dining is a competitive category, especially with imports putting an increased emphasis on pricing, say manufacturers. Rather than simply trying to undercut the competition, creative companies are playing up strengths such as product originality, functionality and customization.
Canadel first developed an in-store display about 15 years ago, said Jean Deveault, vice president of sales and marketing. The Workshop display has been the cornerstone of the company’s sales for 10 years, he said, as about 95% of its customers have one.
The largest display takes up only 16 square feet of floor space and shows off entire table legs, table edge samples, Corian and Zodiaq table top samples from DuPont, and color panels for Canadel’s 124 finishes. The smallest display takes up even less space and shows sample drawer fronts in the offered finishes.
Offering so many options increases the amount of time a sales associate spends with a consumer, but the method is very successful when used, said Deveault. To speed up the time spent, Canadel developed a hardback sales book that shows off the groups and all the options in a quick, efficient format.
The decision-making pro-cess for consumers has been cut in half because of the displays and book, he said. This means stores can help twice as many people on a busy weekend, and “time is money in a store.”
Other casual dining manufacturers also offer in-store displays to help consumers see and touch their options, including Amisco, Chromcraft, Douglas, Saloom and Shermag.
Selling special orders
Canadel shows its 124 available finishes in a tiny footprint with this small Workshop display. (Click for a larger image)
Because Chromcraft is domestic, “special orders are an important part of our business,” said Rik Talley, vice president of sales and marketing. This requires support materials like a kiosk and catalog that help consumers not feel overwhelmed by choices.
The ColorCraft program includes in-line options as well as new paint and stain finishes and 48 new special laminates. Chromcraft plays up its use of laminate specialist Formica with business card-sized samples hanging prominently on a metal pegboard.
High-pressure laminate is very durable, Talley said, and Formica offers excellent quality. Consumers need to know this so that they can feel more comfortable with their purchase decision, he said.
Chromcraft also spends about $100 each for catalogs that go out to thousands of stores. Yes, the support materials are expensive, Talley said, but they are really worth it.
Saloom offers some specialty tabletop materials like granite, porcelain and tile, and a display shows off all of these readily to consumers, said Becki Gould, marketing director. Shoppers can mix and match these materials with the 40 available wood finishes and more than 20 table base options to suit any home.
A floor display serves as a “silent salesman” on a busy weekend when there aren’t enough associates to serve everyone at once, Gould said.
Saloom also redesigned its price list into a simpler format back in January. This selling list makes it easier for associates to understand the options and have it all on a quick reference page. Sales year-to-date have been up in 2006, and Gould believes this list has been a big reason for that.
At the April 2005 market, Amisco launched a new division named Transitions that it is supporting with a separate catalog and point-of-sale materials, including a customization center. The display offers options for table tops, table legs, glass tops, table bases, chairs, barstools, bars, metal finishes, wood top finishes, fabrics and wood seats.
Whitewood Inds. revamped its sales support materials in 2004 and has continued to improve its offerings with new catalogs and consumer handouts this year.
The entire Transitions product line offers more than 50,000 different special-order options and is part of Amisco’s ongoing quick-ship program that gets goods out the door in seven to ten business days.
John Thomas launched a program in 2004 to help retailers with their in-store presentation, online ordering and tracking, and advertising creation. Since then, the Whitewood Inds. division has continued to improve dealer materials, including a new catalog and pocket-sized consumer bro-chures. A new dealer CD includes price lists, room photography for advertising uses and PDF versions of all the product catalogs.
Rick Parker, the new CEO at Douglas, wants the company focus on its core categories of casual dining and motion. About 40% of Douglas’ show space in Las Vegas was dedicated to its casual dining and dining/game tables. A consumer walking around a store may not know that the game tables have a dining surface on the flip side, Parker said, so Douglas has a display that lifts the top up at an angle. Signage also helps explain the veneer options.
Importance of training
Some manufacturers put a lot of importance on gaining space on retail floors, said Martin Ploy, AICO executive vice president. “Selling the buyer is just the beginning of the journey,” he said.
AICO sales members spend many of their Saturdays in stores training sales associates on how to present the product, he said. New product information has a lot of verbiage, but is user-friendly so that associates can pull out details to share with consumers.
AICO Florida sales rep Frank Lorenzo said he not only visits the store owners, but he often goes in the back and talks to the warehouse workers because they handle, deliver and service the furniture, which plays a huge part in a consumer’s satisfaction. Five years ago, he began holding an annual barbecue for warehouse workers at the El Dorado distribution center in Miami Gardens, Fla. After one cookout, he estimated that he spent between $3,000 and $4,000.
The Internet has made life easier for retailers. Rather than having to keep lots of advertising materials on hand from every manufacturer, stores can access B2B sites and download PDFs.
All of Broyhill’s point-of-purchase materials are available online, said Tom Lentz, vice president of marketing and advertising, including hangtags and product signage.
March 16th, 2006
By: Furniture World Magazine
Broyhill Furniture Industries, Inc. announced the closing of the Broyhill Marion facility located at 426 W. Henderson Street, Marion, NC 28752. The Marion facility will cease operations after the normal close of business for the week ending May 20, 2006.
Employees will be laid off as early as May 15, 2006. Some selected individuals in the plywood and maintenance departments may continue to operate at the facility until approximately June 16, 2006 at which time Broyhill will permanently close the facility. The 187,288-sq. ft. Marion facility was rebuilt in 1976 and currently employs 72 associates. Once all work in the facility is complete the factory will be permanently closed and offered for sale.
Broyhill spokesperson Tom Lentz stated, “It is with deep regret that we find it necessary to close the Broyhill Marion facility. These affected Broyhill associates have been hard working and dedicated employees and this closure is not due to any failure on their part. The reason for the closure is due to the fact that it has become more cost effective to move the machining of the upholstery frame parts to the actual upholstery manufacturing facilities or source these parts from outside suppliers. The efficiency of the Marion operation has also been impacted by the loss of wood parts manufacturing that had supported a number of the company’s domestic case goods manufacturing facilities. These facilities were closed due to the globalization of furniture manufacturing which has resulted in domestic manufacturing facilities being unable to compete effectively with the lower cost imported furniture products now prevalent in the marketplace.”
“This period of unprecedented change in the industry has forced most domestic furniture manufacturers to react to the competitive pricing pressures at retail. Broyhill is not immune to these factors and is evolving with the changing dynamics of our industry. We very much regret that it continues to result in the necessity to close facilities and lay off loyal, dedicated employees.”
Broyhill is one of the largest, full-line furniture marketers in the world and is one of the most recognized furniture brands among consumers. The extensive furniture line includes products for living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, home entertainment and home office. Broyhill Furniture is headquartered in Lenoir, N.C. and is part of Furniture Brands International (NYSE:FBN), also the parent company of Drexel Heritage, Henredon, Lane, Maitland-Smith and Thomasville.
March 16th, 2006