LOS ANGELES — Furniture and bedding maker and retailer Ashley is teaming up with three-time Grammy winning performers Pentatonix for a two-day, immersive pop-up here in November.

Ashley and Pentatonix will host “The Ashley Listening Rooms with Pentatonix,” a holiday-themed pop-up experience on Thursday, Nov. 2, and Friday, Nov. 3, at The Grove Storefront in Los Angeles. The free, open-to-the-public event will offer fans a unique listening experience to hear tracks from Pentatonix’s new holiday greatest hits album, The Greatest Christmas Hits, while enjoying Ashley’s newest furniture offerings.

“Ashley seeks to connect customers to the trends of the moment for their home, so what better time to do so than for the holidays when home is top of mind for everyone,” said Kelly Davis, vice president of marketing strategy at Ashley Global Retail. “This year we’ve worked hard to rebrand, refresh and update our stores, while offering affordable and relevant products for our customers with a modernized shopping experience. Through this activation with Pentatonix, we hope to continue to provide our guests with impactful shopping experiences.”

Attendees will walk through three uniquely themed listening rooms, featuring Ashley furniture pieces, where they will be fully immersed in the sounds of The Greatest Christmas Hits. In each listening room, attendees will be able to listen to a selection of songs from the holiday album in three different forms: vinyl, headphones and surround sound. Additionally, attendees will also be able to shop the Ashley furniture elements showcased via QR codes.

• The first listening room, “The Yule Log,” is an ode to Pentatonix’s famous Yule Log videos recreating the warm and cozy fireplace setting reflected in the artists’ Yuletide songs while showcasing Ashley’s Lombardia leather sofa.
• The second holiday-themed listening room is a physical representation of the new Pentatonix “The Greatest Christmas Hits” album showcasing the Maimz sofa, where guests can grab a pair of headphones and listen to the holiday tracks, silent disco style.
• The third “Winter Wonderland” themed listening room leans into bright whites of the holiday season with the comfort of Ashley’s Lindyn two-piece sectional.

“We are so excited to partner with Ashley to celebrate our recently launched Holiday album and bring fans a special listening experience,” said Scott Hoying, member of Pentatonix. “When you think of the holidays, you think of home, so this partnership with Ashley was a no-brainer.”

The first 50 people to arrive at the listening rooms across both event days will receive a complimentary copy of Pentatonix’s new album. Thirty guests will be chosen at random on Nov. 2 for a special meet and greet to be held later that day at the listening rooms. All attendees will have an opportunity to enter to win the grand prize of the event- two tickets to see the group perform in Palm Springs on Nov. 14 and a $1,000 Ashley credit.

See also:

• Ashley betting big on sleep accessories for High Point Market
• How much in scholarships did Wanek family and Ashley award?

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BOSTON — AllModern, Wayfair’s modern specialty brand, is introducing a showroom in Austin, Texas, with grand opening festivities planned for Oct. 28.

The 11,071-square-foot store is located at 9722 Great Hills Trail 10 in Texas’ capital city.

Customers can shop everything from tabletop to decor to larger items like sofas and beds, touch and see products in real life, browse for inspiration, connect with design experts for advice and guidance, bring the small stuff home right away, or place an order for fast and free delivery to their doorstep.

Shoppers also have access to free design services with expert advice on everything from single rooms to full home redesigns. The store features a tech-first approach to shopping where shoppers can download AllModern’s app to build their cart and learn more about the designs they see in store.

The Austin store is AllModern’s third and its first outside of Massachusetts, joining showrooms in Lynnfield and Dedham, Mass.

A grand opening will take place from 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 28, where customers will be invited to shop the store while enjoying refreshments, light bites and a live DJ. In addition, customers can shop AllModern’s Big Sale and receive an additional 25% off all in-store purchases through Oct. 29.

See also:

• It’s Wayfair’s turn to double down on a big sale to lure shoppers
• Wayfair in ‘exciting place’ as it hits on key earnings milestones in Q2

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CHICAGO — High-end French furniture and lifestyle brand Ligne Roset will open a limited time pop-up next to its flagship store here.

Located at 440 N Wells St. in River North, Living Ligne Roset: The Pop-Up Shop will offer a variety of rare, marked down designs, while maintaining the brand’s service and craftsmanship.

“This pop-up location is an opportunity to find Ligne Roset gems at a discounted price,” said Simone Vingerhoets-Ziesmann, executive vice president of Ligne Roset in the Americas. “Ligne Roset’s core values are non-conformism, creativity and freedom of expression, and we believe everyone, at any life stage, should have the opportunity to welcome our products into their home.”

The store will sell sofas, sectionals, beds, dining sets, cabinetry and accessories with discounts of up to 80% off. Included in the store’s initial selection are pieces such as Togo by Michel Ducaroy and Pumpkin by Pierre Paulin. There will also be designs like the Odessa rectangular dining table in marble and walnut by Mauro Lipparini, Alando desk by Eric Jourdan, and TV dining chair, also by Paulin. These pieces will be a mix of floor samples and discontinued designs.

“We are excited to forge an even deeper relationship with Chicago’s illustrious design community,” said Francois Vijayan, brand ambassador and merchandising director of Ligne Roset Chicago, “and we’re looking forward to seeing the joy our customers feel when they discover a unique piece with its own special story to cherish for years to come.”

The pop-up will be open from November through December.

See also:

• Oh mycelium! Ligne Roset moves one step closer to a mushroom-based sofa
• Why furniture retailers are fired up for opportunities in the Windy City

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CHICAGO — With talk of rising costs and inflation and how consumers’ holiday shopping might be affected, retailers and industry experts alike have been speculating whether this holiday will be a season of cheer or a season of fear. Are consumers still planning to spend, or will they be more money conscious?

Circana’s newly released Holiday Purchase Intentions Study just might have some of the answers. The annual study combines valuable perspective on how consumer behavior is changing compared to recent years when it comes to spending and celebrations, as well as new insight into things that are having the biggest impact on that behavior, such as the economy, demographics, timing, value, social media and pent-up demand.

“Consumers are giving thought to spending less this holiday season, but they’re still setting their own purchase priorities,”  said Marshal Cohen, chief industry advisor at Circana. In Cohen’s written report about the study, he points out that “consumers convey conflicted feelings about spending this holiday season,” and “old and new traditions come together for a different kind of shopping season.”

Conclusions Cohen made in the report include:

• Overall, consumers plan to spend similarly to last year on holiday shopping, but they are also prepared to spend more on core gift items.
• Demographics reveal unexpected shifts, with the largest declines in the upper- and lower-income segments.
• Planned credit card usage has hit a new high.
• Plans for both charitable giving and self-gifting have fallen this year.
• Negative feelings about the economy and personal financial situations have both escalated, compounding last year’s concerns.
• Mass merchants, department, chain and clothing stores are high on shoppers’ lists, but stores providing food, value and an experience will capture more of the consumer’s attention.
• Nearly one-third of the respondents, 29%, plan to spend on the home, with a mean spend of $348.
• More consumers will celebrate the holidays at home – 61% of consumers plan to eat their Christmas meal at home, up five percentage points from last year.

“Conflicted spending apprehension from the consumer, combined with the potential for a three-week long, last-minute spending surge in December, makes Holiday 2023 a complex one to plan for and measure,” Cohen added in the report. “Christmas Day lands on a Monday this year, which will split Super Saturday shopping once again (between Dec. 23 and the weekend before), while also giving consumers the ability to push their shopping right up to the last minute on Sunday, Dec. 24. Retailers will need to wait for Christmas week results to get a true read on how the traditional season ended.”

Consumers will not only be shopping later than usual for the holiday season, but they’ll also be putting a higher emphasis on getting a good deal. Circana’s report says: “Overall value for the price and special sale price both grew as top factors that will influence where consumers will shop for gifts this year, identified by more than 40% of holiday shoppers.”

The 22-page robust report also covers the growth and decline of gift categories, how social media will influence consumers’ decisions and more.

See also:

• Customers want the furniture shopping experience, so ‘submerge’ them in it
• Survey hints at how home can grab some of that higher holiday spending

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DALLAS — A curated product vignette that allows retailers to highlight customization options in an approximately 2,000-square-foot space is the idea behind American Leather’s “Shop in Shop,” and the concept — a key strategy of the company’s current brand evolution — was on full display during the recent High Point Market.

Described by the company as a “curated, design-forward retail footprint meant to inspire the customer through a lifestyle vignette,” Shop in Shop showcases the variety of American Leather’s product line in a consistent format. Noting that the flexible size requirements for Shop in Shop allow retailers to create a space that works best within their specific store, company representatives added that each shop features an American Leather design center with a selection of premium leathers and fabrics, as well as customization options for arms, legs and materials.

Although a preview of Shop in Shop debuted earlier this year, this fall’s market marked the full unveiling of the brand evolution and new concept with a 2,000-square-foot example on display in the company’s showroom. Veronica Schnitzius, president of American Leather, said that the reveal allowed retailers to experience Shop in Shop firsthand and that the new in-store focus is just one part of a comprehensive strategy designed to support continued growth heading into 2024.

“Evolution is growth based on experience,” Schnitzius said. “Our ability to reflect upon our own journey has been key to our continued growth striving to balance the sensitivity of design alongside the vigor of innovation that has long been the heartbeat of what American Leather stands for.”

In a previous interview with Furniture Today, Schnitzius and Brian Golden, CEO of Artisant Lane (parent company of American Leather), outlined future strategies for the brand.

“Yes, we are an upholstery resource, but we’re also a lifestyle brand,” Schnitzius said. “We looked at our line and asked ourselves what we needed to complete the room in a home, and we approached product development from that angle. Now, our expanded upholstery line answers that question.”

Golden said that American Leather emerged from the pandemic as a stronger company and that U.S.-based production supported inventory management as demand softened.

“If we look back at 2019, everything has changed,” Golden said. He added that the business strategies implemented by the team during the industry’s pandemic pivot allowed American Leather to start planning for future growth and expansion during a time when many manufacturers were struggling, a move that included Shop in Shop and its product message.

The Shop in Shop concept highlights the focus on “how the brand makes you feel” in contrast to the mechanical innovation showcased in the company’s Innovation Shops and offers a different experience with American Leather products, officials said. Noting that Shop in Shop is highlighting “the human aspect more,” a reference to the 700 employees building the company’s custom products in Dallas, officials said that the concept is about “conveying the mindset — the lifestyle — the whole home.”

“This is so much bigger than a rebrand,” said Ashley Fothergill, creative director. “We are transforming how people see and experience American Leather. Every sofa isn’t just about the sofa; it’s about all of the people behind it, and our new creative direction helps us tell that story and bring the brand to life.”

See also:

• From product development to private equity support, this manufacturer is focused on growth 
• 20 People to Watch: Brian Golden, American Leather

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DELAWARE, Ohio — When Franchise Group combined its Sears Outlet and American Freight businesses in early 2020, it created a brand that reached most every major market in the U.S.

Now, it’s setting its sights on filling in where it can in key markets. Peter Corsa, CEO of Franchise Group’s home segment, which includes Top 100 retailers American Freight and Badcock Home Furniture &more, as well as lease-to-own retailer Buddy’s Home Furnishings, told Furniture Today that adding stores represents the first of many opportunities ahead.

“When Sears Outlet and American Freight merged, nearly every major (designated market area) was covered,” Corsa said. “The only two that weren’t were Salt Lake City and Denver.”

To complete coverage, Salt Lake City and Utah are up first for American Freight. The company will open its first store in the state, in Ogden, on Nov. 10, with three store openings to follow, in Layton, Orem and Logan. The 23,000-square-foot Ogden store is located at 4113 Riverdale Road.

“It’s a tremendous market. Businesses are moving there seeking more favorable conditions. People are moving for opportunities. It’s a naturally beautiful place,” Corsa said. “We have appeal across a lot of income levels, and the value people can get as they’re going into their homes aligns perfectly.”

While American Freight is filling its gaps, Corsa said it’s not enough to simply know where those gaps exist. He said in the time since he came on board about a year ago, he and a team spearheaded by retail veteran Norm McLeod built a system that analyzes drive time, population, income level, costs to rent and renovate, retail cannibalization and other factors to create optimum placements for American Freight stores where they will have their best chance for success, within range of one of the company’s distribution centers or one of its third-party logistics partners.

Upon the opening of the first Utah store, American Freight will have 373 showrooms, and Corsa said there’s room for significant growth in the years to come.

“The key for us is making sure we stay within our financial model,” he said. “The commercial real estate market is very dynamic right now, and there are a lot of things happening with companies closing stores, etc. We’re going to be patient and pick where it fits naturally for us and our customers.”

But before American Freight was in position to grow, Corsa said he and his team had to be sure everything was in sync, and that work started shortly after he came to Franchise Group after leadership stints with Nordstrom, TJX, Old Navy, Stuart Weitzman, KSL Resorts and most recently, as president and chief operating officer for the At Home Group. Corsa said putting people in the right places to succeed was job one, and having the right people in those places created all the necessary momentum for what came next.

“There was a lot to do, which made my job uniquely strategic and granular at the same time. How do we get a great team in place? That’s the most important; the people to your left and right are what’s going to make it go,” he said.

Corsa said everything came together under four pillars: sales, profitability, growth and culture. Key tasks under each of those pillars included developing a unified brand voice, re-engaging vendors, reconciling differences between legacy systems from Sears Outlet and American Freight and making sure that the retailer’s product mix was where it needed to be.

“We spent a lot of time on ‘What’s our mission?’ ‘What’s our value proposition?’ The two teams that came together from Sears Outlet and American Freight was a blending of two cultures. We put everybody in the right spots and started working on big things,” he said.

Corsa said when Franchise Group went private earlier this year, it allowed the team to pick up the pace on those big things.

“All of those things can be accelerated and moved forward at a different level as a private company. It allows us to invest and do things at a faster pace,” Corsa said. “The team has been working at a breakneck pace, so we start next year in a really great place.”

Corsa said he’s looking forward to seeing what American Freight can do now that it has charted its new course.

“I’m excited. When I started, I was excited, and that’s done nothing but grow. We all, collectively, believe this can be a best-in-class national retailer that provides a great product, service and experience to our customer,” Corsa said. “We’ve got a tremendous sponsor group. Franchise Group supports our team and us as an organization and that’s all we can ask for.”

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HOUSTON — Any time the Houston Astros make it deep in the Major League Baseball postseason, you can bet that there will be a national headline or two about Gallery Furniture owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale.

This week was no exception. The Astros were defeated in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series by the Texas Rangers, which meant McIngvale lost at least $7.9 million in Astros-related bets.

And while this particular postseason didn’t play out (or pay out) like he might have wanted, McIngvale has come up big more than once and as recently as last year. Whenever he makes a wager, those bets coincide with a Gallery Furniture promotion in which customers would get refunds on qualifying purchases if McIngvale’s team of choice wins.

Here’s a look at some of his past sports-based promotions since the beginning of 2022.

• Prior to the 2022 college football National Championship Game, Gallery Furniture had a promotion in which customers who bought a $3,000 mattress set would get their money back if Alabama was victorious. Georgia won.
• In February 2022, customers who bought $3,000 or more worth of reclining sectionals, reclining sofas, reclining loveseats, reclining home theater and recliners would be refunded if the Cincinnati Bengals won the Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams won.
• Gallery Furniture created a promotion based around the 2022 Kentucky Derby. If the favorite, Zandon, won, customers who bought $3,000 in made in America furniture or a Tempur-Pedic, Stearns & Foster or Sealy sleep set would be refunded the cost of their purchases. Rich Strike won the Derby.
• Getting in on the March Madness mania, McIngvale and Gallery Furniture had a promotion in place if the hometown Houston Cougars cut down the nets at the end of the Final Four. Customers who purchased $5,000 in qualifying product during the promotional period would be refunded for their purchase. The Connecticut Huskies were the winner.
• McIngvale and Gallery Furniture’s biggest win came at the conclusion of the 2022 World Series, in which the Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies. McIngvale’s bets won around $75 million, and  his store wound up giving refunds for about that much product thanks to its Astros promotion.

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SPRINGDALE, Ark. – An Arkansas furniture retailer is suing its insurance provider for allegedly failing to pay for repairs to one of its stores after a severe storm and tornado hit it early last year.

Brashears Furniture, which operates two stores in Northwest Arkansas and one in Southwest Missouri, filed a lawsuit against Ohio-based State Auto Property & Casualty mid-July for breach of contract and bad faith. The retailer says that its store in Springdale, Ark., was hit by an EF-3 tornado on March 30, 2022, which inflicted heavy interior and exterior damage. Brashears received an engineering analysis soon after, it alleges in the suit, which recommended the building be demolished and rebuilt. A bid for that was $4.1 million, says the retailer.

The insurance company rejected the bid and failed to make a counteroffer according to the suit, alleging it didn’t agree the building had to be destroyed and built again.

Brashears has received payment from Statue Auto, about $2.6 million. But after that, State Auto cancelled Brashears’ policy.

Brashears is suing for $263,500 in unpaid reimbursement of extended business income loss, as well as for losses in property, customers and vendor contracts.

Per the suit, Brashears says that it had to move the store’s remaining inventory to another location, as the building was unusable and irreparable. The company was able to make this happen for existing inventory, but orders for future inventory couldn’t be cancelled. Temporary storage space had to be obtained as a result, and that inventory had to be sold at a loss.

Brashears says it attempted to retain their employees “for months following the tornado” but eventually had to let them go as repairs still weren’t made. The retailer also says its customer base in the area has been lost. Its goodwill and reputation in the area for being a longstanding employer have been ruined, it says.

The store remains closed and damaged beyond repair, as well as being subjected to the elements, Brashears said.

State Auto has not returned request for comment. Per court filings, it denies any wrongdoing.

In an unrelated case, St. Louis furniture manufacturer Goebel Furniture is also in the midst of a lawsuit allegedly its insurance company failed to cover storm damage.

See also:

• St. Louis furniture manufacturer sues insurance company for failing to cover storm damage
• EEOC sues furniture retailer for firing employee who refused COVID vaccine

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ATLANTA — Lease-to-own retailer The Aaron’s Co. reported a decline in net revenues in the third quarter of FY2023, but its loss shrank compared with the same period a year ago.

The Atlanta-based company, which includes Aaron’s and BradsMart, reported revenues of $525.7 million, down 11.4% compared with $593.4 million across the same three months in 2022. Net loss was $4.1 million, or 13 cents per share, vs. a loss of $15.6 million, or 51 cents per share, in the third quarter of 2022.

Officials attributed the 73.5% improvement in net loss primarily to lower total operating expenses at both business segments, including lower write-offs at the Aaron’s Business segment, partially offset by lower revenues at both business segments.

Adjusted EBITDA for the three month period was $25.3 million, giving Aaron’s an EBITDA margin of 4.813%.

“I am pleased that we delivered third quarter consolidated company earnings ahead of our internal expectations,” said CEO Douglas Lindsay said in a statement accompanying the earnings. “The Aaron’s Business segment is benefiting from our lease decisioning enhancements, which led to lower write-offs and a larger than expected lease portfolio size, despite ongoing challenges in customer demand.

“During the quarter, we opened three Aaron’s stores in new markets and our first new BrandsMart store since acquiring the business, and we remain focused on positioning both businesses for growth.”

Aaron’s adjusted its full year outlook to $2.12 billion to $2.17 billion in revenues, down from $2.12 billion to $2.22 billion. It anticipates net earnings in the $14 million to $17.5 million range, down from the $16.8 million to $25.5 million range with a diluted earnings per share expectation of 35 cents to 50 cents per share, down from 55 cents to 80 cents per share.

See also:

• Aaron’s beats earnings expectations for second quarter of 2023
• Which city did Aaron’s pick for 3rd BrandsMart location in Georgia?

The post Net loss shrinks in 3rd quarter for The Aaron’s Co. appeared first on Furniture Today.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Global design company West Elm, a portfolio brand of Williams-Sonoma Inc., has launched a redesigned registry for the brand’s West Elm Baby and West Elm Kids collections.

The new registry offers free registry tools, inspiration, nursery design services executed by West Elm’s Design Crew and a completion discount for a limited time following the launch. Plus, the registry has improved its best-selling product recommendations tool.

The West Elm Baby and Kids Registry also offers customers the ability to add items from all Williams-Sonoma brands including Pottery Barn Kids to their registries.

In 2021, West Elm launched West Elm Baby and West Elm Kids collections with furnishings and textiles designed specifically for babies and children. The company has expanded its offerings to include furniture, bedding, bath, rugs, lighting, décor and gifts.

West Elm has also designed and developed collaborations for both the West Elm Baby and West Elm Kids collections with partners ranging from fashion designers such as Joseph Altuzarra to institutions such as National Geographic.

See also:

• West Elm launches new kids line, collaborating with luxury women’s fashion designer
• Designer brings perspective to 41 pieces for West Elm

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