Indonesia Furniture Directory

By: Furniture World Magazine

MicroD software and services now fully support the furniture industry standards for electronic commerce developed by the Furniture Industry Data Exchange (FIDX) Committee.

The standards developed by FIDX, which is jointly sponsored by AHFA, NHFA and HFIA, use XML technology to define product catalogs, purchase orders, order acknowledgements, invoices, advance ship notices, bills of lading, etc. Steve DeHann of NHFA currently serves as Chairman of FIDX and Ron Martell, MicroD Chairman, is Chairman of the FIDX working group. Formal FIDX meetings are held semi-annually in Charlotte or Greensboro and Internet based meeting are held on an as needed basis. The standards are posted on the FIDX web site at www.fidx.org and all industry participants are invited and encouraged to participate in FIDX. (more…)

By: Furniture World Magazine 
The Business Journal (www.bizjournals.com) reports that Russell Turner of Thomasville, Ga., a licensee for furniture manufacturer Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., is in the process of opening five stores and a distribution center in the High Point, NC Triad area. Stores in Greensboro and Winston Salem are already under construction. The distribution facility site has yet to be chosen.
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By: Furniture World Magazine 
SATRA recently welcomed members of the Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishers (AMUSF) to its Technology Centre in Kettering, Northants, England. Mike Spencer, AMUSF Chief Executive, together with 14 other AMU members from the Midlands took part in a tour of the SATRA laboratories.

On show was the latest technology in chair and bed testing, as well as the evaluation of cabinet finishes, flammability testing of foams and upholstery covers and performance testing of upholstery covers. (more…)

– Furniture Today
Event aims to promote promising designers

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — George Little Management, producer and manager of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, is inviting designers to enter a juried competition in connection with the show.

The competition, called ICFF Studio, will be a part of the annual fair, which takes place May 20-23 in New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
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By: Furniture World Magazine 
Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture recently donated over 100 bedspreads to two local furniture banks, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless Furniture Bank in Lynn and the Central Mass Housing Alliance Donations Clearing House in Worcester. The bedspreads, which had previously been used in furniture displays in Bernie & Phyl’s stores, will be given free to any person in need of a warm blanket. This donation is one of many that Bernie & Phyl’s regularly makes to organizations serving needy populations across the region.
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– Furniture Today,
Italian costs seen too high

LOS ANGELES — Living room and dining room importer Sigla Furniture has moved its production from Italy to China, with the new factory beginning work by the end of this month.

The 300,000-square-foot factory is finished, said President Ben Bakian, and the line will start once the last machine arrives from Italy.
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By: Furniture World Magazine 
After more than one year of ongoing construction, Coconis Furniture has finished the final phase of the most comprehensive expansion and remodeling project ever in its 78 year history. Over 20,000 square feet of the original warehouse has been converted to showroom that now totals 65,000 square feet.

A new state-of-the-art off site warehouse located adjacent to the store was completed in the summer of 2005.
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– Furniture Today
Offers low price in-home consultation

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – City Furniture has launched an effort to bring affordable interior design services to its customers.

The Dianne Davant Academy of Design, in a 150-square-foot space inside the Wellington, Fla., store, is the first step in a program that is expected to be rolled out in all 21 City Furniture stores within a year.
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By: Furniture World Magazine  
Jane Hamley Wells (JHW), an emerging name in upscale contemporary outdoor furniture wholesale and distribution based in Chicago, announces the appointment of Mark C. Daboul as National Sales Manager.

In his new position, Daboul will work directly with JHW President and founder, Jane Humzy, as the company expands its national sales and distribution efforts. (more…)

Larry Thomas — Furniture Today
Dealer traffic modest but steady

TUPELO, Miss. — Order pads and fax machines are in heavy use here this week as this city’s furniture market is solidifying its reputation as an order-writing event for promotional and mid-priced goods.

Many exhibitors said traffic doesn’t appear to be as heavy as at a typical Tupelo winter market, but said the new Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule and the proximity to last month’s Las Vegas market may have altered traffic patterns.

The only period in which many showrooms were slammed with dealers was Wednesday afternoon — the second half of opening day. Otherwise, traffic appeared to be modest but steady.

Order writing, however, has been anything but modest. Producers said dealers were anxious to get their hands on promotional merchandise for tax-refund season.

“We wrote some very good orders with both the majors and some smaller dealers,” said Tim Connors, vice president of sales and marketing at Collezione Europa. “The order-writing was way up over last August.”

Thomas “Chopper” Russo, vice president of merchandising at Union City, was enthusiastic.

“We wrote more business during the first day of the Tupelo market than we did during the first day of the Vegas market,” he said.

While numerous Top 100 retailers and representatives of major buying groups roamed the halls, exhibitors said most shoppers were small and mid-sized dealers from the Southeast, the Tupelo market’s traditional base.

“We saw a lot of dealers from states like Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana,” said Michael Campbell, president of leather upholstery importer Leather Italia USA. “And we don’t see those people in High Point or Las Vegas.”

Louisiana-based Fraenkel Corp. reported similar traffic patterns, noting that replacement furniture for homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina is starting to drive sales in some areas.

“Our business has been super,” said Jim Burress, Fraenkel’s vice president of merchandising. “Ninety percent of the people who came into our showroom placed orders.”

For the second consecutive show, market organizers encouraged exhibitors to develop a program of  “Tupelo only” specials for dealers who placed orders, and the program appears to have met with success.

“It makes the buyers feel like there is a real reason to shop here,” said Lynn Davis, president of Davis International.