Ikea flat-pack furniture sales hit by downturn

Ikea, the Swedish furniture group, warned yesterday that the housing downturn is hitting sales of its flat-pack furniture as global retailers painted a gloomy picture. Speaking at the World Retail Congress, in Barcelona, Anders Dahlvig, Ikea's president, said: "The housing downturn is important for our business and we feel it quite a lot. Our growth is going down slightly in the US, the UK and Germany."
His comments came the day after figures from the Halifax showed that house prices fell in Britain last month by 2.5%, the biggest monthly fall since the property slump of the early 1990s, and against a backdrop of a rapidly shrinking mortgage market in Britain. Both developments are likely to affect spending on household goods in Britain, where Ikea has 17 stores.
Dahlvig's gloomy description of the credit crunch's impact on retailing was echoed by several of the 2,000 delegates attending the congress. Another speaker, Paul Charron, chairman emeritus of fashion retailer Liz Claiborne, said hopes that recovery would emerge this year had been dashed: "Recovery in the second half of 2008 is clearly a pipe-dream - the second half of 2009 is more likely."
He forecast many more company failures in the US because there are "too many outlets chasing too few consumers".
However, Dahlvig said that the effects of the credit crunch were also an opportunity for Ikea, which operates in 37 countries. The company would focus on expansion into emerging markets such as Croatia, Slovenia and Ukraine. The boss of Carrefour, José Luis Duràn, said the sector faced its "most significant challenge in a generation". He added that the company, the world's second largest retailer, would wait until next year to consider a stock market listing of its property unit because of market conditions.

The Time To Buy Furniture Is Now

When people buy new houses, they buy new furniture but when they don't buy, furniture stores begin to worry.
CNN reports that over the next few months, furniture stores will likely reduce prices from five to fifteen percent on top of their current discounts.

This can mean big bargains for consumers, but furniture store owners are feeling the impact of lower sales.
Many Tallahassee Furniture owners say they've noticed a significant impact from the housing market slumps and economic downturn.
"We definitely have had to modify our prices to try to stimulate some business, so you can get great deals right now," says Jennifer Bishop, owner of StyleHouse.
Bishop and others say they are adjusting prices, offering no interest for a set period of time and offering financing options for customers to bring in business.

ServerLogic Introduces MarketPoint to the Furniture Industry

MarketPoint is an Direct Marketing Campaign Management Software designed specifically for the home furnishings market. It has seen tremendous success in the furniture industry and is leading to explosive sales growth for its member dealers.

Portland, OR (PRWEB) March 18, 2008 -- ServerLogic has announced the release of MarketPoint Direct Marketing Campaign Management software. Designed specifically for the home furnishing market, MarketPoint replaces inefficient direct mail campaigns with a targeted, repeatable method for running a direct marketing campaign. MarketPoint helps dealers target high-value prospects by increasing their prospect response rate and decreasing direct marketing costs, resulting in increased profits.

MarketPoint provides a proven system to effectively create and manage multiple direct marketing sales events that target potential customers that have visited a store, but did not purchase.

Designer's furniture prized by collectors

Phillip Lloyd Powell, a self-taught furniture designer who, working largely out of the public eye, produced elegant, sculptural pieces that are today highly prized by collectors, died March 9 in Langhorne, Pa. He was 88 and lived in New Hope, Pa.

Powell died after a fall, said George Gilpin, a friend and business associate. No immediate family members survive.

Though Powell's work is often described as midcentury modern, it routinely transcended the cool, clean lines associated with that style.

Powell's work has been shown at America House in New York, the Museum of the Philadelphia Civic Center and elsewhere. In 2006, an eight-foot-long wall-mounted cabinet he made in the early 1970s, topped with slate and with handles taken from the frame of a Sicilian donkey cart, sold at auction for $60,000.

Furniture Brands sells Hickory Business Furniture unit

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Furniture Brands Inc. plans to sell its Hickory Business Furniture unit to HNI Corp. for $75 million.

The all-cash transaction announced Monday is expected to be completed in the first quarter. Furniture Brands officials say Hickory doesn't fit the company's strategic focus on the residential consumer market. HNI is the world's second-largest office furniture maker.Furniture Brands' stock declined 13 cents to $11.31. Shares of HNI Corp. rose 47 cents to $29.07.Furniture Brands is based in St. Louis.
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Birmingham entrepreneur buys city's Church & Stagg

Office and furniture supplier Church & Stagg has a new owner after operating in Birmingham for more than 60 years under the Church family.

Dennis Williams purchased the 70-employee business, which has office supply, furniture and printing divisions, last month.

Williams declined to disclose the purchase price, but said Church & Stagg had $25 million in sales last year and he hopes to reach $30 million by 2010 and add more employees.

Williams owned Birmingham Mailing Systems for 17 years, before selling the company to its supplier, Neopost, nearly two years ago. Before that, he was in the copier business for 16 years, he said.

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Wickes Furniture gives up hope of reorganizing

It appears the 20 Wickes Furniture stores in the Chicago area may have a short future.

The Wheeling-based Wickes Furniture Co. announced Tuesday it has abandoned hopes of reorganization and agreed to put itself on the bankruptcy auction block before the end of the month, according to court papers.

Citing ''operating losses and liquidity concerns,'' Wickes said Monday it would seek bankruptcy court approval to sell all its assets by Feb. 29.

The company said it would be sold either as an operating business or piecemeal in a liquidation.

Wickes Furniture stores are currently selling merchandise in the store and in the warehouse, but taking only credit-card payments. Back orders may be subject to a refund. Merchandise was still being delivered and serviced on Tuesday, a service representative said.