Search

The article provides information on the top 50 vendors in the home furnishings industry in the U.S. in 2006 according to the "HFN: Home Furnishings News" periodical. Whirlpool's number-one position was attributed to its 34 percent sales gain driven by its acquisition of Maytag. Lenox Group posted an increase in sales during the third quarter of the year. Groupe SEB's acquisition of a majority stake in Supor and Mirro WearEver lifted its sales by 14 percent.

The article discusses the response of the home furnishings industry to the quality control problems in the Chinese manufacturing sector. Gibson USA has an office in Shenzhen, China, where an employee oversees the quality-control process. Flatware maker Oneida hired a Hong Kong-based chief global supply-chain officer who heads up its quality-control programs. Cookware manufacturer Meyer maintains its own factory in China, where it maintains strict quality levels.

The article reports on the views of retail experts on the cost-cutting fire-high, hire-low strategy implemented by Circuit City. The strategy involved the dismissal of higher-paid store employees and replace them with staff compensated at the current market range for the job. Industry analysts believe the move could ultimately damage top-line results but will not set off a trend in the retail cost management.

The article reports on the increase in the stock price of home furnishings in the U.S. in 2006. Despite the increase, modest gains lagged behind the broader market, weighed down by the housing sector. According to Home Furnishing News' (HFN) exclusive report on stock trading in 2006, the HFN Index, composed of 27 retailers and 19 manufacturers, increased by 2.59 percent, trailing the broader Dow Jones Industrial Average gain of 14.9 percent.

The article reports that Best Buy and Lowe's have seen significant sales increases in the high-end floor care market. Best Buy had the biggest sales gain of the top 10 vacuum retailers surveyed by HFN at roughly 25% to about $194 million in 2005. According to Stacy Silk, senior buyer at Best Buy, the company have more product available at higher price points than their mass competitors. Lowe's also had double-digit floor care sales gains in 2005, attributed to a relatively high-end focus.

The article informs that South Korea is making major strides in the United States in laundry and refrigeration. Led by the efforts of LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., South Korean exports of laundry and refrigeration have grown by a whopping 232 percent and 63 percent, respectively, from 2004 to 2006. South Korea's household laundry equipment exports to the United States in 2005 totaled roughly $420 million, compared with $126.5 million in 2004. LG was the first of the two South Korean white goods giants to bring both laundry and refrigeration to the United States.

The article discusses the financial performance of various companies related to the house furnishings industry. Sears PLC took in an estimated $6.97 billion in major appliance revenue last year, representing a hefty 32 percent of the white goods market, a five percentage point drop from its $7.12 billion in category sales in 2004. Lowe's Cos. Inc. was ranked second in major appliance sales behind Sears with about $4.30 billion in 2005, a nearly 19 percent jump over 2004. Lowe's in 2005 opened 150 stores and plans to open an additional 155 in 2006.

The article reports that major retailers have lightened their inventory loads in efforts to cut costs and ultimately boost their bottom lines. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. boasts one of the leaner inventories among large retailers, as its inventory-to-sales ratio was 0.53 for the recently completed first quarter, down from 0.57 in the same period last year. Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart's chief financial officer, said achieving the retailer's inventory reduction is pegged to procurement, logistics and store operations. The retailer is also calling on suppliers to help it meet its inventory goal.

The article reports that Linens 'n Things Inc. has gone above and beyond a simple spring cleaning with the recent opening of a new store format in New Jersey. The "things" have been cleaned up at this new one-off store, as its design emphasizes a reduction in visual clutter as discovered in a recent HFN store visit. The specialty home retailer has opened up the store layout with what the store's designer FRCH Design Worldwide calls a "figure-eight" floor plan incorporating a racetrack and center aisle, attempted to ease floor navigation with color-coded section signs and has wrapped it all up with a new clean and contemporary exterior.

The article presents information on the home comfort products displayed at the International Home & Housewares Show. Amcor's AM 90 is a high-performance air purifier/ionizer for medium-sized rooms. Blueair will showcase its full line of HEPASilent indoor air purifiers. De'Longhi is focusing on heaters this year with a mix of portable, utility and ceramic models. Lasko will introduce a wide variety of fans at the show for everywhere from the office to the patio. Sunpentown will introduce its Evaporative Air Cooler, which the company claims runs at a fraction of the cost of an air conditioner.

The article presents an overview of the home furnishings industry. Retail home furnishings sales inched up a mere 2.9 percent last year, overshadowed by the 7.7 percent gain in retail as a whole, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Tabletop vendors blamed a flat 2005 on the usual suspects-raw material and fuel costs, private-label and direct-sourcing pricing pressures and retail consolidation-as well as the dressing down of the home. Pillows recorded some of the strongest overall category increases, climbing 6 percent to $983 million, from $928 million in 2004.

The article informs that housing sales are slowing down in New York, but retailers are counting on consumers to keep spending to refurbish their existing abodes. Randy Johnson, senior vice president of merchandising at BrandSmart USA, agreed that while some big-ticket home furnishings categories tied to housing may slow somewhat, consumers will allocate their spending on remodeling existing homes. He also mentioned that since people didn't spend money on a new house, they could afford to do remodeling.

The article presents information on the expansion plans of World Market Center, the largest home furnishings market in Las Vegas. They plan to construct seven new buildings in seven years. These lofty expansion goals would make the World Market Center surpassing High Point, North Carolina's roughly 11 million square-feet area. Shawn Samson, co-managing partner of the World Market Center, informed that the project's original $1 billion investment has been doubled. As for generating a profit from this sizeable investment, Samson said investors are exercising a long-term view. Expansion plans have been sparked by a need to accommodate a diversified market, as well as demand from international exhibitors and buyers.

The article reports that the major home appliance retail landscape is in a state of flux as home improvement retailers and specialty players wrestle to gain market share from longtime leader Sears PLC. Sears has recently struggled with its white goods sales. Sears' estimated $5.72 billion in major appliance sales in the last three fiscal quarters places it atop the major appliance retailer list, nearly doubling its closest competitor Lowe's Cos. Inc. Home Depot Inc. opened 37 new stores during the recent third quarter, said Robert Nardelli, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

The article focuses on issues related to Chinese government's decision to revaluate its currency Yuan. Over the past few years, the Yuan has been pegged to the dollar at a rate of one dollar for 8.27 Yuan. Wal-Mart seems unphased about potential price increases in Chinese products. Wal-Mart purchased $18 billion worth of goods from China in 2004. James McCune, principal consultant with consulting firm Business Restoration Partners, said that while revaluation should not have an immediate impact on retail prices, Wal-Mart has an advantage due to buying power.

This article reports that Chinese and Taiwanese LCD flat-panel TV manufacturers are staking out a bigger share of the booming, price-driven market, with lower prices and American licensed brand names at their disposal, recent data shows. Syntax Groups Corp., a new American brand with manufacturing roots in Taiwan, notched the number-six market-share spot in the third quarter of last year, according to DisplaySearch. While the top spots are still occupied by first-tier brands such as Sharp, Philips and Sony, Syntax is being chased by some second-tier brand peers that may not be far behind.

This article presents information related to the home furnishings industry. The total home store has arrived as a bona fide retail sector. Numerous home specialty retailers have been moved beyond their category niches, steadily adding on product categories to drive traffic and shopping frequency to become one-stop-shopping home emporiums. Pure-play home furnishings and furniture retailers Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., Linens 'n Things Inc. and Williams-Sonoma Inc. alone have grabbed a substantial chunk of market share over the past several years.

The article reports that CIT Group Inc.'s growth has resulted from a mix of acquisitions and a push into new retail industry segments. The factoring firm kicked off 2004 by acquiring HSBC Business Credit,which was the fifth-largest factor with an estimated $4 billion to $5 billion in annual volume. John Daly, president of CIT Commercial Finance, said the firm has traditionally focused on apparel and textiles, but has slightly shifted its business focus due to the opportunities in the new industries. He noted that CIT has seen more than 50 percent growth in each of these aforementioned segments.

While it is clear that consumer electronics company Best Buy Co. Inc. and Circuit City Stores Inc. have placed a heavy emphasis on flat-panel televisions by offering a similar assortment of big-name brands, the merchandising approach of these big-box competitors differs widely. While Circuit City's in-store customer service is by no means a hard-sell, product-pushing approach, the flat-panel shopper is reminded of the retailer's service, installation and warranty programs via signs scattered throughout television aisles. In the plasma television side, Best Buy offers consumers six SKUs of 37-to 50-inch screen sizes ranging from $2,377.99 for a 37-inch Panasonic Plasma EDTV to $6,123.99 for Pioneer's 50-inch plasma HDTV.

It was a great first half for Kmart Corp. stockholders, but the same can't be said for their brethren in mass retailing. Exclusive report of Home Furnishings News (HFN) on stock trading for the first half of the year shows a generally flat line with a few notable exceptions. Some said the mass market retailers were tepid because they sell to consumers that tend to feel the effects of an economic recovery late. Following a bullish 2003, in which the HFN Stock Index jumped 16 percent, the first half of 2004 has leveled off as the index is down 0.01 percent, with retailer stocks dipping 0.18 percent and manufacturer stocks creeping upward 1.40 percent.

The article presents an outlook got the high-end floor care market in the U.S. in 2008. High fuel costs, housing worries, credit market troubles and a possible recession posed challenges for the growing high-end floor care segment. Rob Newcombe, vice president of marketing at Electrolux Home Care Products North America, said he expects growth to slow somewhat in the high end. Peter Goldman, president of home at The NPD Group, stated that multifunctionality and specialization will continue to be big drivers of sales in the segment.

The article offers an outlook for home environment products in the U.S. for 2008. Home environment sales may be driven by both older, more established filtration technology and from new sensors and digital readout features. This year, air purifier companies will attempt to entice consumers with a number of new filtration technologies, most notably germicidal ultraviolet technology. Sonic Cox, Vornado's director of marketing, says that fans and heaters are increasingly being marketed to consumers as fuel costs escalate.

The article reports that the HFN Index, composed of U.S. house furnishings retailers and manufacturers, slid down and underperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This development was attributed to the housing slowdown, the subprime mortgage crunch and high fuel prices. The department store sector was hit hardest, as all seven chains surveyed recorded double-digit stock losses. In contrast, the wholesale buying club sector, particularly Costco and BJ's Wholesale Club, recorded stock gains.

The article deals with efforts of the International Consumer Electronics Show to be environmentally friendly. Show organizer the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) hopes to inspire its attendees to see green with a mix of exhibits and seminars focusing on green product development. New to the show this year is the Sustainable Technologies Tech Zone, which will highlight environmentally and economically sustainable consumer electronics products, said a CEA spokeswoman.

The article looks at the promotional efforts of vacuum cleaner makers for the 2007 holiday season. Halo Co. timed its inaugural national consumer advertising campaign for the Halo UV-ST Ultraviolet vacuum for this season. Panasonic is working with its retail distributors to place its new bagless cyclonic vacuum line on endcaps, and is pushing the line via a variety of online advertising. Electrolux is focusing on the lower end of its pricing spectrum for the holidays with its Ergorapido 2-in-1 stick and hand vacuum.

The article offers a look at the inventory-to-sales ratios for major retailers in the U.S. home furnishing industry. According to the "Home Furnishing News" study, the inventory-to-sales ratios for major retailers that sell home furnishings shows an average level of 1.51 entering the fourth quarter, versus 1.48 a year ago. Kohl's saw the largest increase in third-quarter inventory levels with an inventory-to-sales ratio of 1.62, compared with 1.40 for the year-ago period.

The article talks about the puzzlement of industry insiders over Sears Holdings Chairman Eddie Lampert's suprising bid for Restoration Hardware. Sources speculate that Restoration could benefit from investment in operations, but that would require investment that runs contrary to Lampert's history with Sears. One source speculated that Lampert may have made the bid to boost Restoration's shares, which he currently owns. Sears made a tender offer to buy out Restoration for $6.75 per share in cash.

The article reports on the financial performance of various household retailers for the third-quarter of 2007. While results may have differed, most retailers shared anticipations of a somewhat difficult upcoming holiday sales season. Wal-Mart's net sales rose 8.8% to $90.9 billion from the year-ago period on a 1.5 percent same-store sales gain. According to Myron Ullman, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of J.C. Penney, the company is bullish on the launch of the American Living home and apparel line from Ralph Lauren in February 2008.

The article addresses the energy-efficiency concerns in the air purifier segment. While air purifiers run on considerably less electricity than large appliances, consumers are becoming more conscious of their energy efficiency because they tend to be used on a 24-hour, year-round basis. Manufacturers are responding to this with a focus on Energy Star-qualified units. Blueair has tapped into consumers' gaining energy concerns with its new ECO10 air purifier. Vornado is also keying in on energy efficiency as a point of differentiation.

This article deals with the efforts of vacuum makers to boost their advertising efforts as they compete for share with higher-price-point models. Floor care competition is less and less based on pricing and more on innovative features, technology and design, all of which are increasingly being communicated via intricate advertising campaigns. Big ad spending could mean big sales going into 2008 for TTI Floor Care North America. Bissell Homecare has also increased its advertising budget in order to push its deep-cleaning line.

This article reports on the need for Restoration Hardware to fix its costly supply chain and position itself for profitability, according to analysts. In November 2007, Restoration Hardware entered a definitive merger agreement with an affiliate of private-equity firm Catterton Partners. The turnaround would not necessarily be of a sales nature, but more about cost. It is not a merchandise problem, the problem is turning sales into profits, according to retail analyst Laura Champine of Morgan Keegan & Co.

The article reports on the credit agreement that home retailer Linens 'n Things has entered into with GE Capital Markets Inc. This replaced an existing $700 million facility with affiliates of UBS Securities LLC. The new credit agreement provides for an improved borrowing base on inventory and receivables, as well as the elimination of financial covenants, which are financial thresholds that must be met to maintain a loan.

The article focuses on price increases for home furnishings products sold in the U.S. Retailers are bracing themselves for steeper increases from their vendor partners, scrambling to devise creative merchandising solutions to justify passing on inevitable price increases to consumers. Rising raw material, fuel and labor costs and the rebate reduction or elimination of the value-added tax on Chinese home imports are driving price increases throughout the supply chain.

The article reports on the growth of air purifier and humidifier markets, resulting in a gradual retail distribution shift toward specialty retailers and department stores, and away from the mass merchants in the U.S. Mass merchants and wholesale buying clubs' humidifier market share in 2006 was 39 percent, down 5 percent from the prior year, and the channel's air purifier share was down 7 percentage points to 35 percent.

The article reports on the increase in cost of upright and handheld vacuums in the U.S. Just over four years ago, Dyson shattered the $300 price barrier in upright vacuums, sparking a trend in the floor care world. Rob Newcombe, vice president of marketing at Electrolux Home Care Products North America, said floor care sales growth is split between the high-end and opening-price levels. Halo currently sells its vacuums via online retailers, and has plans to break into select big-box home specialty retailers.

The article focuses on the expansion efforts of home specialty retailer Bed Bath & Beyond. It is set to open 70 Bed Bath & Beyond stores in fiscal 2007, including a Canadian unit and two buybuy Baby stores, the children's chain it acquired during the year. According to chief executive officer Steven Temares, the retailer is also seeking growth inside its core retail box with the expansion of fine china departments.

The article deals with the impact of the current credit crisis on retail leveraged buyouts (LBO) in the U.S. in 2007. The crisis has put a damper on low-cost debt funding, which could force private-equity buyers to use a larger portion of equity to finance acquisitions or could potentially put a stop on private deals for the short term. Credit markets on larger deals have kind of shut down, claims Chris Kampe of Grant Thornton Corporate Finance. There does exist one retail financing industry that stands to benefit from the credit crunch, factoring firms.

The article focuses on the development of Apple iPod accessories for different rooms in the home. It states that the Pure-Fi Dream higher-end tabletop audio unit from Logitech is the firm's first bedroom music system for the digital music player. SDI Technologies, maker of the iHome iPod audio accessory line, is said to be helping iPod create accessories designed for the home office. The wireless docking speaker station from Klipsch allows consumers to wire the entire home with iPod sound.

The article reports on the top 10 major appliance retailers in the home furnishings industry in the U.S. in 2006. Best Buy was one of the three top 10 major appliance retailers which posted double-digit gains for the year. The second-floor additions made by Home Depot have been designed to increase major appliance showroom space. The views of several executives on the advertising focus of Sears Holdings are presented.

The article reports on the performance of Linens 'n Things' soft home business in the second quarter of 2007. The retailer attributed its prior-quarter loss in part to the continued weakness in the higher-margin category. Chairman and chief executive officer Bob DiNicola commented on its progress in all textiles categories. It notes the improvement on the firm's cash flow at the end of the quarter.

The article reports on the growing number of home goods retailers that were acquired by private equity firms in the U.S. A report in the "Women's Wear Daily" periodical revealed that Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts is planning to acquire Macy's at $52 per share. Several retailers that have been acquired by private investment firms include the Container Store and Dollar General. Chris Kampe of Grant Thornton Corporate Finance cited open-minded investing behavior as one factor that drives private-equity activity in home furnishings retail.

The article reports on the plan of Bed Bath & Beyond on improving its current retail stores to boost business. The retailer, which celebrated its 15th anniversary as a public company, has increased its spending on store remodels of late. Renovation also entails the expansion of existing stores and increasing the number of employees involved in store renovations, explains Chief Executive Officer Steven Temares. The retailer also continues to invest in merchandising enhancements in stores.

The article cites lowered earning targets set by furnishing retailers for the second half of 2007 due to weak housing market in the U.S. Sears Holdings lowered its earnings targets for the second quarter, nudged by sales declines across most product categories, with home appliances recording the sharpest drops. At the same time, the Home Depot revised downward its earnings target for the year. Macy's expects second-quarter earnings per diluted share to be in the range of 20 to 30 cents.

The article reports on the steps taken by Bed Bath & Beyond to boost growth. The chain celebrates its 15th anniversary as a public company. It enters the next step of its lifecycle: maturation and a slowdown of store growth. The chain, which has been defined by bottom-and top-line growth, must determine how to continue ringing up record sales and earnings without the aid of aggressive store expansion.

The article discusses how the iPhone mobile telephone from Apple will affect the home furnishings design sector. Apple's iPhone will feature a mobile phone, widescreen iPod, wireless Internet and digital camera, all accessible via an interactive color glass touch-screen. The glass-touch screen may influence the design of kitchen appliance control panels. It is predicted that its silver casing with black accents, could show up on products throughout the home.

The article reports on inventory levels of merchandise at department stores across the U.S. during the first quarter of 2007. The total average inventory-to-sales ratio for the top-five department store chains during the first quarter was 1.32, compared with 1.25 for the same period in 2006. Four of the five leading department stores tracked, Sears Holdings, Macy's, Kohl's and Dillard's had heavier year-over-year inventories.

The article reports on the sales performance of refrigerators in 2006. Refrigeration, which recorded a 5.5 percent overall sales gain in 2006 to nearly $7 billion, has felt the positive impact of kitchen remodeling coupled with sales-driving innovation in the category, such as newer French-door and bottom-mount configurations.

The article reports that Bed Bath & Beyond has fallen victim to slowing home sales as the retailer revised its quarterly sales downward for the first time in its history. The company said it expects same-store sales for the first quarter, which ended June 2, 2007 to increase 1.6 percent, a fraction of its previous expectations of a 3 to 5 percent gain.

The article reports on the decline in mid- and lower-tier segment of the housing market which is affecting the sales of some parts of the home furnishing market. However, the strength at the high end and remodeling of existing homes has kept the gain in sales of home goods at 2.6% in the first quarter of 2007. The decline has affected directly the residential lighting fixture and ceiling fan sales, with the home centers being much harder hit than higher-end specialty lighting retailers.

The article reports that Sears Holdings and its Sears unit have now recorded 12 consecutive quarters of declining sales. Anne Brower, partner at MacMillan Doolittle, said that Sears Holdings has a set of obstacles to face, including a large percentage of remaining mall-based stores, an unclear distinction between hard and soft lines on the floor, competition with the big-box specialty players in higher-traffic locales and the challenging locations of its Kmart stores.