FURNITURE FOR THE HOME AND OFFICE

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Furniture Industry News And Information

*Thomasville To Accelerate The Pace Of New-Store Openings In 2004*
Twenty-five to 30 new Thomasville Home Furnishings stores will open for business in 2004, up from 17 stores in 2003. The stores are run by independent store owners. As 2003 drew to an end, store owners have celebrated or will celebrate new-store openings in 11 states, including three in Georgia; two each in California, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania; and one each in Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Missouri, New York and Rhode Island. Much of the expansion in both 2003 and 2004 is coming from existing store owners, who plan to open additional stores in current or new markets, according to Tom Tilley, president and chief executive officer of Thomasville Furniture Industries. While we continue looking for new candidates, we regard expansion by existing independent owners as an excellent source for growth. We grow as they grow. We both win, Tilley said. Paul Coleman in Connecticut, Barry Goldberg in upstate New York and the Massood family, owner-operator for New Jersey and the District of Columbia area exemplify the Thomasville retailers who are continuing to expand their businesses. Coleman expects to open his fourth Thomasville Home Furnishings store in Connecticut next year. The location and timing have not yet been decided. He opened his initial store nearly four years ago in Brookfield, Conn., and sales were double our expectations. We happened to be in the right place at the right time in the right market. But this was not a flash in the pan. Sales have continued to grow, said Coleman, who is president and chief executive officer of Connecticut Home Furnishings Inc. Since then he opened stores in Manchester, Conn., on Dec. 26, 2002, and in Orange, Conn., on March 1, 2003. Both are performing according to projections, he said. We are very pleased. Coleman had been in the furniture business for about 15 years but had not previously been associated with Thomasville prior to his Brookfield store. The main reason for selecting Thomasville, he said, was the name. They offered the best name recognition that’s known for value for the consumer, so I could go from nowhere to somewhere fast. He said he opened the Manchester store the day after Christmas last year because that was the first day we could open. He wasn’t concerned about missing pre-Christmas shoppers because the three weeks before Christmas are a dead time for the furniture industry in Connecticut. Business picks up afterwards, as residents fight against feeling housebound during New England winters. The week after Christmas is always great, and the first quarter is our best quarter of the year. Like Coleman in Connecticut, Goldberg is continuing to expand Thomasville’s presence in the Upstate New York region. Goldberg opened Thomasville Home Furnishings stores in Poughkeepsie in August 1998, in Albany in July 2001 and in Syracuse in August 2003. He expects to open a store in Rochester on January 1, 2004, and in Buffalo the following year. The Syracuse store, he says, is state of the art not only in design but also in making customers feel comfortable and at home. It has skylights in the Design Area, a supervised room for children, a coffee bar with a kitchen for baking cookies and pies, and an area where, typically, a husband watches sports on a 50-inch television while his wife is visiting the Design Center. Other large-screen televisions in two other areas of the store are pre-set to the Cooking Channel and home-related shows. I think I can safely say we’re the only furniture store I know of where children cry when parents say it’s time to leave. Beyond entertainment for the family, we’re also providing tools that help our sales people, Goldberg said. Goldberg has been in the furniture business since 1982 but converted his general-furniture store in Troy, N.Y., to Thomasville before replacing it with the Albany store. I saw the writing on the wall that the store would do better if it were affiliated with a manufacturer, he said, adding that he selected Thomasville because of the quality and breadth of the products and his long-standing relationships with Thomasville executives. For the Massood family, the road to carrying the Thomasville line began by carrying many lines of furniture literally. The family operates MGM Transport, which specializes in hauling furniture from North Carolina manufacturers to department stores and other retailers around the country. Through MGM Transport, we know the major players in furniture manufacturing and retailing and the logistics of the furniture industry. That led us to consider going into the retail end, said Paul Rizzuto, chief financial officer of MGM Transport and vice president of Plum and BETM Management, which operates the stores. They selected Thomasville because of its quality products and well-received name. The branding is complete, Rizzuto said. The New Jersey stores are in Paramus, Princeton and Woodbridge. Plans call for opening stores in Eatontown this year and East Hanover in mid-2004. They are also planning to open stores in Wayne and Bridgewater, and they are exploring whether to open a store in Ocean County, Rizzuto said. The Washington, D. C., area stores are in the Virginia suburbs of Alexandria, Tyson’s Corner and Fairfax. They are also exploring whether to open stores in Maryland in Rockville, Annapolis and Baltimore, he said. Founded in 1904 in Thomasville, North Carolina, Thomasville Furniture Industries is a full-line furniture manufacturer with dedicated galleries in more than 400 leading independent retail furniture stores and more than 125 Thomasville Home Furnishing stores. Thomasville Furniture is a subsidiary of Furniture Brands International (NYSE:FBN), the nation’s leading residential furniture manufacturer.

*Oakwood Interiors Elevates Two Executives*
Oakwood Interiors, producer of upper end bedroom and home theater furniture, has promoted two executives. Richard Kuhn has been elevated to the newly created post of vice president and general manager. Wayne Burkhardt has been promoted to vice president of manufacturing. He has been mill manager and plant manager at Oakwood Interiors for the past 10 years. Kuhn has been with Oakwood Seven years where he has been controller. Prior to joining Oakwood Interiors, he was regional head for dealer development at a large multinational manufacturer. The moves mark the launch of a major program to enlarge and strengthen the company's dealer relationships, according to Nick Lanphier, president and chief executive officer. "Burkhardt will draw from his 25 years of experience at Oakwood and other furniture producers in raising the company's production of quality American-made furniture to the highest level in the upper end industry," Lanphier said. "Rich Kuhn will be working with Walter Huhn, vice president of sales and administration, among other responsibilities, in increasing the number and quality of dealers in growing Oakwood Interiors business," the executive added. "These appointments are a recognition of the Oakwood Interiors commitment to providing the highest level of service and quality control in the company's history," Lanphier stated.

*Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers® Moving to Las Vegas AWFS®Vegas To Be Held July 27 - 30, 2005, at the Las Vegas Convention Center *
The Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers® (AWFS®) announced that it is moving the AWFS®Fair to the Las Vegas Convention Center starting in 2005. The AWFS®Fair, which began in Los Angeles in 1957 and has been held biennially at the Anaheim Convention Center since 1987 averages 27,500 participants including attendees and exhibitors, with more than 760 exhibiting companies. By moving the show to Las Vegas, organizers predict an increase in both of these categories. The show is scheduled to utilize over 420,000 net square feet. A great deal of research and investigation went into this decision, said Tom Orlando, President of AWFS®. We selected Las Vegas for numerous reasons. First and foremost, the Board of Directors believes the AWFS®Fair, which will be known as AWFS®Vegas (pronounced aahfs-Vegas), will gain a greater national and international presence as a result of moving to one of the premier convention destinations in the world. In addition, we were encouraged by several surveys, which indicated that potential attendees and exhibitors would be more likely to attend the show if it were held in Las Vegas. Nevada is a right-to-work state, making it easier for exhibitors to assemble their booths; and lodging for both attendees and exhibitors will also be easier due to the frequent and inexpensive airline flights from many of the major US and international hubs, as well as the huge variety of hotels in every price range within a very short distance of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The new show dates are Wednesday, July 27 through Saturday, July 30, 2005. Show days and hours have also been modified in order to better accommodate attendee traffic. AWFS®Vegas will be held Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Founded in 1911, AWFS® is the largest national trade association in the United States representing companies that supply the home and commercial furnishings industry. Starting with less than 20 members, AWFS® today has an international membership that includes manufacturers and distributors of machinery, hardware, lumber, upholstery, materials, bedding and other supplies to furniture, cabinet manufacturers and custom woodworkers. The AWFS®Fair is a biennial event in which buyers and manufacturers gather from around the world to buy and sell the latest products and services related to the wood and home furnishings markets. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is charged with marketing Southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide, and also with operating the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center. With more than 128,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas alone and 9 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space citywide, the LVCVA’s mission centers on attracting ever-increasing numbers of leisure and business visitors to the area.

*Levitz Home Furnishings Inc. Orders Parts Management from FurnishNet*
Levitz Home Furnishings Inc. (LHFI), holding company for Levitz Furniture and Seaman's Furniture, announced today that it has tapped FurnishNet, a leading provider of Internet-based supply chain solutions, to automate the process of ordering parts from its suppliers. LHFI will implement FurnishNet's Web-based Parts Management service and first-phase delivery will provide connectivity to Levitz' top 15 vendors who deliver more than 60% the company's parts orders. "With FurnishNet's Parts Management solution, we'll be able to reduce processing overhead by an estimated 30 percent" said Michael Carleton, Vice President of Customer and Sales Support for LHFI. More importantly, we'll be able to greatly improve customer satisfaction and provide real-time status on each order and deliver those parts a lot faster." Carleton estimates that the bulk of the savings from the project will come from greatly reduced phone calls, paperwork, fewer errors, and improved communications. FurnishNet's Parts Management solution electronically routes parts purchase orders via the Web directly to the manufacturer's parts desk and delivers online notification of order status and fulfillment. Two-way communication via the Internet facilitates collaboration between the retailer and manufacturer to quickly answer questions and reconcile discrepancies. To improve customer service, Parts Management also includes carrier tracking numbers so shipments can be closely monitored. By automating these processes, customers get their parts sooner, which reduces returns and cancellations. More than 60 home furnishing manufacturers participate in the FurnishNet Parts Management program. Other top 100 furniture retailers using the service include Jordan's Furniture, El Dorado, and Bob's Discount Furniture. "By offering Parts Management as a stand-alone solution, we are in a unique position to augment the B2B initiatives of retailers like LHFI," said Ron Sellers, Vice President of Sales for FurnishNet.

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