TOWN OF LOCKPORT — Crawford Furniture is coming directly to the Town of Lockport.

The widely known furniture wholesale and retailer will be holding a grand opening at 10 a.m. Feb. 12 at its newest location, 5724 South Transit Road. Located next in the Home Depot Plaza, Crawford will be bringing products that are manufactured in Western New York. The company has a plant in Jamestown, as well as other locations in Amherst, Hamburg and Williamsville.

“All of it is made in Jamestown,” said Tim Schoonens, Crawford’s Buffalo district manager. “Like it has been for 125 years.”

Crawford Furniture uses black cherry, maple, ash and oak lumber to make its solid wood furniture. Even the wood, itself, is of Western New York origin, as it comes from the Allegany region in the Southern Tier. The wood locally is thought of as among the best to use in the furniture business, Schoonens said.

“Due to the winter and the four seasons, the wood here is better than that of the South, it’s able to stand against a lot,” he said.

The Lockport location is expected to employ between 10 and 15 people.

Crawford Furniture has been in the business for 125 years. Beginning in 1883, two Swedish craftsmen started a furniture factory in Jamestown and ran it until Clyne Crawford bought the company in 1941. After Crawford died in 1968, Carl Cappa took over Crawford Furniture and purchased the company in 1983. Cappa, who was known for his philanthropic work, passed away in 2001 and his son, Michael, took over. Michael Cappa is the company’s current president and CEO.

For the majority of its existence, Crawford has been a wholesale company, but recently decided to start opening its own locations. Following the success of the first Buffalo area store in Amherst in 2005, Crawford opened Hamburg and Williamsville stores. The company expects there to be an increase in purchases of American-made goods. With lower quality goods becoming available on the market, sales of American made goods went down some nationally.

“For Western New York there’s a high demand for (higher quality goods). We’ve already seen sales start to go up,” Schoonens said.

He added that with a union workforce in place at its Jamestown plant, Crawford Furniture liked Lockport’s history with unions. Schoonens said a number of Crawford customers in the past have been workers or retirees of either General Motors or Delphi. Lockport’s Upper Mountain Road plant was previously owned by Delphi until GM bought the facility in October 2009.

Schoonens said what people are really going to like about Crawford is the furniture, itself. The pieces are made with solid wood, meaning durability and lasting quality, he said. Aside from quality construction, each piece features a hand-rubbed finish.

“They’re going to come back — this furniture will be handed down for generations,” Schoonens said.

Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.

Source : www.lockportjournal.co

Larry Thomas — Furniture Today, January 28, 2010

BASSETT, Va. — Bassett Furniture Inds. reported a profit of $2.6 million in the quarter ended Nov. 28 as sales slid 3.5% from the same period a year earlier.

The quarterly black ink, which equals 22 cents per share, halted a string of five consecutive quarterly losses.

In the quarter ended Nov. 29, 2008, Bassett has a net loss of $37.8 million or $3.24 per share. That figure included one-time charges of more than $30 million.

The most recent quarter included a one-time tax benefit of $1.7 million, as well as $1.6 million from antidumping duties assessed on Chinese-made wood bedroom furniture.

Sales for the quarter, the final period of Bassett’s fiscal year, totaled $59.5 million. That compares with $61.7 million in the fourth quarter of the previous year.

“The company’s ongoing focus on expense reduction and working capital management began to bear fruit in the fourth quarter,” said Rob Spilman, president and CEO. “More importantly, perhaps, we produced $6.1 million of operating cash flow for the quarter. This marks the company’s third consecutive quarter generating positive operating cash.”

Sales for Bassett’s wholesale segment fell 12.7% in the quarter, while sales at company-owned Bassett Furniture Direct stores increased 21.4%. The retail increase was due largely to the acquisition of nine stores earlier in 2009.

The company ended the quarter with 36 corporate stores.

“Our corporate retail team continued to improve the operations of the company-owned stores,” Spilman said, noting that the group’s operating loss was reduced by 70% during the quarter.

For the fiscal year ended Nov. 28, companywide sales fell 19.2% to $232.7 million.

The company had a net loss of $22.7 million or $1.99 per share for the year. In the previous fiscal year, the loss totaled $40.4 million or $3.46 per share.

Source : www.furnituretoday.com

Over 400 domestic companies and 23 firms from 19 foreign countries have taken part in the event which will last for four days, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported.

Iran exported more than nine million dollars worth of furniture last calendar year which ended on March 20, 2009

Source : www.tehrantimes.com

South Island based retailer Smiths City is looking to fill a void in the Wellington furniture store market as it seeks a return to higher profit levels through new stores.

The big ticket retailer – which has 17 stores in the South Island and eight in the North – has specifically targeted the Wellington region for growth, according to its half-yearly report released today.

In the report, chairman Craig Boyce said there were two main factors that made Wellington the best area for immediate growth.

“Firstly, there has in the last few years been a reduction of furniture stores in the region. Secondly, by making use of the logistics already in place in L V Martin’s Wellington operations, expansion in the region can be achieved without increasing the group warehousing and delivery costs.”

Smith’s City acquired full ownership of the L V Martin chain in 2007.

The company opened a store in Porirua last month, making it the first Smiths City store in the city since the last store closed in 1991.

Mr Boyce said the new store had traded strongly and the company was now “actively seeking” other opportunities in Wellington, with plans to open a second store by the end of the financial year.

Last month the big-ticker retailer reported a 24.2% increase in its operating surplus to $1.018 million for the six months to October, although operating revenues were down 6.2% to $107.1 million and same store sales were down by 4.5%.

Mr Boyce said the level of profit would not have been satisfactory under normal circumstances, but that the board believed the company was doing a good job of riding out the worst bib-ticket retail environment in 20 years.

He said improvements in trading conditions were likely to be “gradual but sustainable” and the company should benefit from deferred customer purchasing, especially in the furnishings market

Source : www.nbr.co.nz

(Relaxnews) -

The imm Cologne, Germany’s biggest interior design fair and the first big furniture event of the year, has wrapped up and given a first few directions towards where the industry is going – namely upwards, according to insiders.

German news organization Deutsche Welle reports that the mood during the event was “cautious but hopeful.”

Gerald Boese, head of Cologne’s convention center, kept his utterings imm-specific, saying that “the international furniture fair IMM Cologne is one of the few consumer goods conventions in the world that has been able to buck the trend and stay stable.”

But Euronews reports that “in Cologne, the organisers of the annual international furniture exhibition believe there are tangible signs their industry is on the up again.”

However, the recession’s implications are what is coining furniture right now: a correspondent for Wallpaper magazine writes that a “shift in consciousness resulting from the economic downturn and environmental awareness was very much in evidence.”

And he explains: “Apart from references to ‘eco’ issues and a few examples of blatant green-washing, there was a distinct lack of gimmicks and a general feeling of a return to simplicity and tradition.

“Giant knitted objects abounded as did examples of other handcrafts such as well-made wooden furniture and decoratively stitched coverings.”

The same tendency was already observed at two of the world’s biggest interior design fairs last year, the Saloni in Milan and Maison & Objet in Paris. Organizers of the latter event told Relaxnews pre-show that this season’s trends hint towards more traditional design, eco-awareness and a back-to-basics approach, due to the “ageing of the population but also the economic crisis and the wish to go back to basics.”

Providing a “refuge from the not very enjoyable reality,” according to the organizers of the Saloni in Milan, materials such as wood and even plants are used in all their shapes and interpretations to make for a cozy feel at home.

“In economically weak times people, indeed think more on their own four walls,” Dirk-Uwe Klaas, head of the German furniture industry, told Euronews. “You think less about holidays. [...] The budget for furnishings and accessories rises in difficult times.”

Source : www.independent.co.uk

Thomas Russell — Furniture Today

HIGH POINT — Case goods importer A.R.T. Furniture has launched a split direct container program that lets retailers share containers with other retailers.

The program, which went into effect Jan. 15, allows retailers to purchase as few as 500 cubes on a container, or about one quarter the capacity of a 1,950-cube container.

That means they can purchase goods with up to thee other retailers who also purchase 500 cubes worth of goods. Five hundred cubes is the equivalent of about two to three bedrooms, depending on how many pieces are ordered.

Retailers also can mix up to five of A.R.T.’s 18 collections on a container.

The program is operated in conjunction with Zenith Global Logistics. The goods will be shipped from A.R.T.’s China warehouse and will be distributed through one of three quick-ship zones in California, Texas and North Carolina.

While it’s not as inexpensive as full container pricing, customers who participate in the program will achieve lower shipping costs than if they ordered through the A.R.T.’s domestic warehouses. Split container orders are targeted to arrive at the retailer’s door within six to eight weeks of the order placement.

“The split container program is designed to offer flexibility, convenience and true savings while minimizing the inventory investment,” said Bill Sibbick, vice president of sales and marketing.

Source : www.furnituretoday.com

MILFORD – As a single mother who works part-time as a crossing guard, Sandra Stanley didn’t have much money left over to give daughter Robyn a bed, let alone the bedroom the 6-year-old dreamed of.

A social worker referred her to New Life Furniture, a nonprofit organization based at Milford First United Methodist Church. And a week before Christmas, volunteers delivered a chest, daybed and bedding, night stand, chest, lamps and even a 7-foot decorated Christmas tree.

“She was really excited; it really made her dreams come true,” said Stanley of Robyn. “It made a very big difference to me and put the spirit of Christmas in my heart.”

Stanley is among 160 local families to receive for free nearly 1,500 pieces of gently used furniture last year from the Milford area furniture bank.

Founded in 2006 by friends Tim Nabors and Holly Young, the organization serves people recovering from acute financial problems or who are transitioning from shelters into homes.

Many families are suffering from the ravages of the recession. Virtually all are at or below the poverty level.

“Truthfully we’re just meeting the tip of the iceberg and that’s sad,” said Young, of Union Township. “Our goal is not to provide everything; it’s to provide those things that make a family cohesive: dining tables, couches and beds.”

“We always say, ‘Imagine moving into your first apartment with two kids – you need everything,’” added Nabors, a Milford resident. “We do what we can to help them get started.”

Nabors, a stay-at-home dad, and Young, a freelance artist, both dedicate 25-40 hours a week to the program. Another 10-12 volunteers assist each week in picking up and delivering items.

Pick-ups are made in a donated box truck and stored in a 4,500-square-foot Blue Ash warehouse donated by nearby Matthew 25: Ministries.

The duo hopes to raise enough funds this year to draw a full-time salary, which they say will help them increase the number of families they can serve – and allow them to dedicate more of their time to their passion.

“The furniture gets us in the door, but we don’t just drop off the furniture and leave,” said Young, who says that volunteers often help families with food, clothing and provide a compassionate shoulder to cry on. “People deserved to be loved.”

Although helping local families is the furniture bank’s most important mission, its work is good for Mother Nature, too.

“There’s so much nice furniture that people throw away,” said Young. “We’re saving landfills, too.”

The organization has a waiting list of about 30 families, who are referred by social service organizations. The most critically-needed items include twin and full-size mattresses and box springs, dressers and living room furniture.

“The kids are usually so excited to get a bed or a couch to sit on. Most families will cry,” said Nabors. “It makes you feel kind of sad sometimes, but glad too. It’s just one more burden we help them overcome a little bit.”

Source : http://news.cincinnati.com

This facility was in existence in the past and was later cancelled as per instruction from the Attorney General on October 10, 2005. This had caused inconvenience in the transportation of timber and the Ministry was inundated with complaints to relax the regulations.

The Minister had then made several discussions with the dealers and had issued a circular to enable the forest rangers to issue permits to transport these items as from July 31, 2007. This step had greatly reduced the inconvenience faced in the issuance of transport permits.

However, the Minister has further relaxed the regulation by allowing the transportation of all the furniture manufactured using this timber and a gazette notification to this effect will be out shortly.

Source : www.dailynews.lk

According to the Patio and Garden Furniture blog, garden furniture can help improve the appearance of a home’s outdoor space.

For those who are budget conscious, the blog piece recommends using shorea wood as a cheaper alternative to teak.

It adds that both woods are strong and have natural oils that resist water and rot.

“When it is left to mother nature, Shorea and teak will fade to a beautiful silver gray patina if untreated,” the blog noted.

Gardens can also be updated with new plants and equipment or some brightly coloured pillows, it added.

According to the Chair Mat blog, people who want cheap garden furniture should try out plastic pieces.

It noted that many new pieces of plastic garden furniture “are built to last a lifetime and there is a wide choice available.”

Posted by Lee Buller

Source : www.gardenxl.com