MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Hooker Furnishings’ HMI brands are expanding the company’s Drew & Jonathan Home brand with accents through the Pulaski Furniture division.

In addition to the accent items, the Lanier bedroom and dining room collection by the Samuel Lawrence division will also join the line this fall, adding a new design aesthetic to the brand. Called Lakeside, the new design aesthetic is inspired by the Scott brothers’ childhoods in Canada.

The accent items, Lanier collection, and representative pieces from all collections within the Drew & Jonathan Home brand will be on display in a dedicated space within the company’s 220 S. Elm location during the High Point Market.

“We’re excited about the expansion of our Drew & Jonathan Home brand into the accent category,” said Page Wilson, president of Hooker Furnishings’ HMI brands: Pulaski Furniture, Samuel Lawrence Furniture and PRI. “We’ve had tremendous success with our Pulaski accents, and it is a natural extension to introduce these pieces into the Drew & Jonathan product assortment. Offering our retail and design partners yet another opportunity to drive sales with end consumers, the pieces are versatile in design and scaling to add character, style, and depth to any space.

“We’re also thrilled to add a fifth design aesthetic to the partnership,” he added. “Our current offering spans four design aesthetics: California Coastal, Urban, Pacific Northwest and Regency Moderne. The addition of the more casual and comfortable Lakeside design theme will allow us to expand our offering to reach an even broader audience of consumers across a variety of geographies and demographics.”

With pieces ranging from spot tables to entertainment consoles to writing desks to serving carts, bar cabinets, curios and consoles, the new accent items are versatile in their design, allowing them to easily complement any of the eight collections in Drew & Jonathan Home – or stand on their own in a variety of interior spaces.

Featuring family-friendly furnishings that bring the outdoors in, the Lanier Collection draws inspiration from Drew and Jonathan’s love for the outdoors. With pieces reminiscent of the warm, inviting furniture during their family vacations at the lake, Lanier is characterized by warm wood tones and a casual, inviting, and comfortable style.

Marking the eighth collection in the Drew & Jonathan Home brand for Hooker Furnishings, the 15-piece collection includes bedroom and dining room items crafted with white oak veneers in a warm gray finish. Key design elements include arched detailing on headboards and mirrors, trestle-style table bases, post-style case frames, tapered feet, and metal ring pulls.

Bedroom pieces include a panel bed, dresser and mirror, a drawer and door chest, and two nightstand options. Dining room items include a trestle and pub table, upholstered side chairs, a dining bench as well as pub-height dining stools and a pub-height bench seating option. Dining storage items include a server and curio china cabinet.

See also:

• Hooker Furniture, Susan G. Komen extend partnership, unveil new accent pieces
• Traditional oak and sophisticated cherry – Hooker adds two new whole home collections for Market

The post Hooker boosts Drew & Jonathan Home brand with new category, design aesthetic appeared first on Furniture Today.

BINH DUONG, Vietnam – As part of a bid to expand its global footprint, Parker House has added a new office and showroom in Vietnam. The space was previously owned and used by the now out-of-business Klaussner Home Furnishings.

The four-story building will serve as a home base for Parker House’s international staff, who provide quality control, product development and administrative services.

“This is a really exciting time for Parker House,” said Doug Townsend, chief operating officer. “Our unprecedented growth over the past few years has created a need to expand our company’s infrastructure to support our Eastvale operations, and this opportunity presented itself at just the right time.

“Having an additional fully staffed campus in Vietnam will help to alleviate the workload of some of our domestic departments, and it will provide us with a central location in Asia where our product development team can meet and collaborate with our vendors and various stakeholders,” he continued. “Moving into Klaussner’s former office and showroom affords us a turnkey solution that is ready on day one.”

The 7,000-square-foot space joins a growing portfolio of Parker House properties, which includes an expansive 300,000-square-foot warehouse and corporate office building in Eastvale, Calif.; a 37,000-square-foot freestanding showroom in High Point; and a 27,000-square-foot showroom at World Market Center in Las Vegas.

“As our company continues to grow and develop, so do our opportunities,” said Chris Lupo, CEO. “We have been heavily investing in our infrastructure, evolving quickly to keep up with our increase in demand; this new office and showroom was the next logical step for us. We feel well-equipped to continue to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers, providing the excellent product and service that Parker House has come to be known for.”

Parker House bills itself as a whole home furniture resource, offering case goods and upholstery for the living, dining, home office, bedroom and entertainment categories. It will exhibit at High Point Market this week at its showroom at 309 S. Elm.

See also:

• Industry vet promoted to new role at Parker House furniture
• Parker House implements surcharge decrease

The post Parker House buys Klaussner’s former Vietnam office appeared first on Furniture Today.

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis-based furniture manufacturer is suing its insurance provider for allegedly failing to cover the costs of a storm that damaged its facility in 2021.

Goebel Furniture, a high-end domestic furniture maker, is taking Cincinnati Insurance Co. to court for breach of contract, alleging the company would only pay 10% of its $1 million policy.

In March 2021, according to court documents, Goebel says a “catastrophic” storm struck the St. Louis metropolitan area, damaging large portions of the roof of the company’s 15,000-square-foot facility. In the following weeks, “significant” amounts of rainwater began to leak through the roof, according to documents. Despite taking all measures it could to prevent damage within the plant, Goebel says the water critically damaged machinery and equipment.

Goebel says Cincinnati Insurance was immediately contacted about the damage, and a contingency contract with a construction company was signed to repair the damage. Payment to the construction company would be paid by Cincinnati, Goebel said.

An insurance inspector soon came to the plant and allegedly took no photographs or measurements, Goebel said. After the inspection, the agent said Cincinnati would likely only pay up to $100,000 in damages, an amount “woefully insufficient” to conduct necessary repairs.

Damages will have to be paid for by Goebel in the meantime, stunting its growth.

“As a direct and proximate result of the aforementioned roofing and water damage, and Cincinnati’s subsequent refusal to pay the full monetary value for the repairs and damages to, Plaintiffs will be caused to expend sums of money for reasonable and necessary repairs and remedial actions to their property in the future, for which they will become indebted,” the suit reads.

Goebel is seeking payment to repair the damages and $25,000 in compensatory damages.

“It’s been quite the 2.5+ years of pivoting to stay operational as we are working with a heavily compromised infrastructure,” President Martin Goebel told Furniture Today. “We’ve taken many measures to deal with it, but the protracted process is paralyzing our business, much less growth.”

Goebel says diminished manufacturing capacity is hurting its big new launch – the Kindred Heirloom line – a collection representing the company’s foray into the consumer market. Goebel is primarily a manufacturer of high-end hospitality furniture and private residential commissions.

“Three months ago, we launched our mass market sister brand Kindred Heirloom Collection to incredible positive feedback but have been forced to put that on an indefinite hold,” he said. “The line was supposed to go live on Perigold.com (Wayfair companies) as of July. Unfortunately, this was not possible due to diminished manufacturing capacity.”

Furniture Today reached out to Cincinnati Insurance Co. for comment and was told the company does not comment on pending litigation.

See also:

• High-end domestic manufacturer enters the consumer furniture market with new collection
• EEOC sues furniture retailer for firing employee who refused COVID vaccine

The post St. Louis furniture manufacturer sues insurance company for failing to cover storm damage appeared first on Furniture Today.

OSLO, Norway – A small startup in Norway is hoping to bring sustainability to the furniture industry on a new level, and through an unlikely source: Seaweed.

Agoprene is an Oslo- and Copenhagen-based biotech company recently founded by Celine Sandberg that’s working to develop a sustainable alternative to the oil-based foam widely used in furniture. Seaweed, Sandberg says, is a great candidate material, as the petroleum currently used to make foam is itself a product of biomass degraded over time.

“You can, in theory, use biomass to replace petroleum,” Sandberg told Wired. “In the furniture industry, everyone knows that foam is bad for the environment, and no one wants to use it, but there are no other alternatives. I want to supply an alternative to what we have today, with no petrochemicals.”

Sandberg started Agoprene with the intention of developing a furniture foam made of biomass but didn’t yet decide on seaweed specifically. But over the pandemic, she found herself forced to source biomass from Norway only, as access to European suppliers was cut off. Norway has the second longest coastline in the world, she says, which gave her the idea of seaweed.

Agoprene has been given funding from several science-based research organizations, including around $90,000 from the Norwegian Research Council and around $525,000 from the BioInnovation Institute Venture Lab in Denmark. Per the Venture Lab funding, the company has been given access to a bigger lab, as well as support and advice for developing a business plan and hiring a larger team.

The company has developed samples of its seaweed foam, recently completing a four-week pilot production. Sandberg told Wired she has gotten inquiries from furniture manufacturers, as well as a shoemaker and a soundproofing company.

She hopes to hit the market by the end of 2023.

See also:

• Case goods vendors ask: Do consumers want sustainable furniture? And will they pay more for it?
• How to use sustainability as a selling point

The post Startup aims to take furniture sustainability up a notch… with seaweed appeared first on Furniture Today.

LOS ANGELES — City of Hope and the International Home Furnishings Industry group selected three leaders from a pair of furniture manufacturers to receive the 2024 Spirit of Life awards.

The honorees — Flexsteel’s Jerry Dittmer and Tim Newlin, and Kuka Home’s Matt Harrison — will be introduced at the Spirit of Life kickoff event during the High Point Market at 4-5:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 13, in the Flexsteel showroom (International Home Furnishings Center, C-601).

• Jerry Dittmer, president and CEO of Flexsteel, has led the 130-year-old company through critical times with rapid changes to transform into a true omnichannel organization. Under his leadership, Flexsteel has become a top 10 U.S. manufacturer and marketer of residential furniture under the Flexsteel and homestyle brands. His experience and demonstrated success in guiding organizational transformations and complex, customer-focused businesses have helped the company accelerate growth while contributing to a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable future for all. He is also a past City of Hope National Business Products Industry Hall of Famer.
• Tim Newlin, vice president of strategic business development of Flexsteel, is a 30-year veteran of the furniture industry with a 26-year tenure at Flexsteel serving in key roles. His vast knowledge of the organization and broad experience in retail, sales and product management shape his leadership and management efforts at Flexsteel to expand its business model, brands, products and channels into profitable and fast-growing areas of the market.
• Matt Harrison, president of Kuka Home North America, has successfully navigated the company through some of the most challenging times in the industry in recent years, including tariffs and the pandemic. He’s played a pivotal role in expanding Kuka Home’s manufacturing plants into Vietnam and Mexico, further solidifying the company’s global presence and increasing production capacity, in addition to expanding product offerings and enhancing its e-commerce business to meet the evolving needs of North American customers and transforming the brand for future growth.

The Spirit of Life Celebration is one of the industry’s flagship fundraisers for IHFI and City of Hope. The annual awards dinner will be held during the spring 2024 High Point Market on April 14.

See also:

• Think pink: City of Hope sets ‘Pink Out’ day during Market
• Industry group tops $16 million for City of Hope over 31-year history

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TEMPE, Ariz. – Furniture manufacturing appears to be back on the decline, shrinking two months in a row now following three months of gains.

The Institute for Supply Management measured the overall manufacturing sector at 49% in September, representing the 11th straight month of contraction. September’s number is a slight improvement from August’s 47.6%, but still represents a decline.

“The U.S. manufacturing sector continued its contraction trend but at a slower rate, recording its best performance since November 2022,” said Timothy R. Fiore, ISM chairman. “Companies are still managing outputs appropriately as order softness continues, but the month-over-month improvement in September is a clear positive.

“Demand eased marginally, with new orders contracting, though at a slower rate. Panelists’ companies improved production compared to August and continued to manage head counts, primarily through attrition and hiring freezes. Manufacturing supplier lead times continue to decrease, but at a slow pace,” he continued.

Of the 18 manufacturing industries recognized by the ISM, just five reported growth. Furniture and wood products were among those to report contraction.

Furniture had been one of the only manufacturing industries to show growth from May through July, with the industry at-large sagging around it. In August, it realigned with the rest of the sector, showing a decline.

That decline has continued in September and more severely than in August. The industry reported the second-largest decline in new orders for the month, as well as the second-biggest dip in production output. Furniture was also one of eight industries to report a decline in employment.

It reported no change in supplier delivery speeds. It was one of 11 to report a contraction in inventories. It also was one of 10 to report that its customers’ inventories are too low. Only one industry reported paying more for raw materials (petroleum and coal products). Furniture reported paying less.

Finally, furniture was one of 11 to report lower backlogs.

See also:

• Furniture manufacturing levels out in August after months of gains
• July: In the weak manufacturing sector, furniture continues to shine

The post Back on the decline: Furniture manufacturing shrinks in September appeared first on Furniture Today.

HICKORY, N.C. – Vanguard Furniture is a manufacturer of high-end furniture based in North Carolina, employing 600 workers across six manufacturing plants in the state, as well as a location in Hillsville, Va. It also operates a 40,000-square-foot showroom in High Point. The company has been making furniture for more than 50 years.

Furniture Today recently asked the company’s CEO Andy Bray this question: “When business starts to pick up, what is at the top of your list to tackle and why?” Bray’s answer was insightful, giving analysis on the industry’s current issues and offering a reflection of what Vanguard has gone through over the past few years.

Here’s his answer, in-full:

The last three years have been crazy. A roller coaster, ride of ups and downs. Vanguard has been fortunate. Our orders have been pretty steady, up 4% from a year ago. Much of this is attributable to our ability to ship custom furniture in four to six weeks.

About a year ago, our management team looked into the crystal ball and tried to predict what business would be like in 2023. Like everyone else, we were bombarded with economic news of an impending recession and out of control inflation. We concluded that that was the wrong question.

We have been in business for more than 50 years and expect to be in business another 50.  For the foreseeable future, everyone is going to need a place to sleep, a place to eat and a place to sit. Furniture is not going away.  A quote attributed to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky admonishes: “Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” We started this journey a year ago.

The most important decision we made was to increase our manufacturing capacity by opening another plant in Morganton, N.C. We predicted that interest rates would increase and that there would never be a better time to borrow money. This has paid huge dividends in our ability to ship quickly and attract a quality experienced workforce.

Equally important was our goal to reconcile inventory. There is little that is more worthless than obsolete case goods inventory. Many of the companies that are going under have choked to death on overvalued inventory and debt.

In addition to being obsolete, it is overpriced because of the inflated container costs built into the cost of the products. In some cases, the freight was more expensive than the furniture. No retailer is willing to pay for a manufacturer’s inventory mistakes, nor should they. By the same token, retailers need to shed their excess inventory, regardless of what it does to the balance sheet. It will never be worth more than what you can sell it for today. Likewise, no retailer should pay inflated prices to cover a manufacturer’s debt.

A continuing issue that faces all furniture manufacturers is the ability to attract, train and retain talent that will replace our existing labor force in the coming decade. Making custom furniture requires skill and experience. It is artistry and craftsmanship rather than assembly. It takes passion and a special kind of workmanship. As an industry, we need to promote the nobility of working with one’s hands to create luxury of enduring value.

Finally, we need to work with our customers to help them be more profitable. It’s a symbiotic relationship, and one cannot succeed without the other. This has always been a relationship business, but to stand out, we need to provide our customers with the fashion-forward product they want, in a reasonable period of time and at a fair price. We depend on each other to keep our promises and look out for one another.

We are now poised to scale our business intelligently and profitably. We are optimistic about the future of our economy and the furniture sector in particular.

Historically, every trough has been followed by a peak. We are due. Inflation is under control. We gave back some of the stock market gains in September, and consumer confidence is moving to normative levels, but spending and employment are still strong. Slowly but surely, retail inventories are being re-balanced.

Demographics are on our side. Households are increasing. Moreover, people are getting married later, creating a greater number of single households. In every city, large and small, there is massive apartment construction at all price levels.

We have every reason as an industry to be optimistic. Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Those manufacturers and retailers that can read the tea leaves and adapt their models will be successful. Those who try to do business as usual will become extinct.

See also:

• Need to build labor pool? Stress artisanship, says Vanguard exec
• Vanguard Furniture invests $5.9 million for capacity build

The post Vanguard CEO: How did we get here? And where are we headed? appeared first on Furniture Today.

WASHINGTON – Three U.S. senators and one house representative have written letters to multiple furniture industry associations urging manufacturers and retailers to comply with the new STURDY furniture tip-over standard. STURDY went into effect Sept. 2.

Led by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), the team of politicians, which included Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), the letter pushed industry companies to ensure all furniture available in stores and online complies with the new rules, while warning of the risks of selling non-compliant furniture.

Versions of the letter were sent to the Home Furnishings Assn., Retail Industry Leaders Assn., the American Home Furnishings Alliance and the National Retail Federation.

“This law will have a tremendous impact on safety and will save lives,” the letter reads. “Manufacturers and retailers must take prompt action to comply with, and even exceed, the requirements set forth by the standard. Children’s lives are at stake. … The burden is on your companies to be good corporate partners, come into compliance imminently and to provide this information to consumers. Delay or hesitation will not only have civil and criminal repercussions for your members, but also may cost lives.”

The new standard is based on ASTM International’s F2057-23 voluntary standard, which was voted to meet the requirements of the STURDY Act on April 19 of this year in a 3-1 vote. Signed into law last December, STURDY represented the collaboration between the furniture industry and consumer safety groups including Parents Against Tip-overs.

The STURDY Act changes the stability standard for manufacturers of clothing storage units from voluntary to mandatory. That standard went into effect on Sept. 2, meaning that all furniture manufactured after that date must comply.

Read the members’ full letter to the HFA below. See the letters to the Retail Industry Leaders Assn., the American Home Furnishings Alliance and the National Retail Federation here.

To the HFA’s Mark Schumacher:

Dear Mr. Mark Schumacher,

We write to you today to urge prompt compliance with the safety standard required under the Stop Tip-Overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth (STURDY) Act, which passed into law in December 2022. The STURDY Act directed the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to adopt a mandatory stability standard for new furniture to protect children from furniture tip-overs. As a result, CPSC recently adopted an industry and consumer-developed standard, ASTM F2057-23, as the mandatory standard with enforcement beginning earlier this month. As the lead sponsors of the STURDY Act, we urge your retailers to expeditiously come into compliance with these new safety and stability requirements to ensure consumers can purchase the safest furniture possible now. Failing to do so puts children at risk of injury or death.

Furniture tip-overs have tragically impacted thousands of families. Tip-overs can occur when children pull, hang, or climb on drawers and the piece of furniture is not anchored to the wall. CPSC estimates an average of 22,500 emergency room injuries are treated each year when furniture tips over; 44 percent of these injuries are suffered by children. Since 2000, there have been more than 581 deaths associated with furniture, TVs, and appliance tip-overs; a child was the victim in 81 percent of these incidents. Efforts over the last decade to encourage caregivers to anchor furniture to the wall helped to lower fatal tip-over incidents but did not eliminate risk—more is needed.

As a result of the STURDY Act, federal law now requires any furniture manufactured after September 1, 2023 to meet new stability and testing requirements; manufacturers must mimic real-world conditions when testing their furniture to ensure it can resist tipping over onto children. This law will have a tremendous impact on safety and will save lives. Manufacturers and retailers must take prompt action to comply with, and even exceed, the requirements set forth by the standard. Children’s lives are at stake.

Manufacturers and retailers should act with urgency to ensure all furniture available in stores and online is compliant with the new safety and stability standard. This means prioritizing manufacturing of new, compliant furniture in lieu of selling non-compliant, stockpiled furniture. If any of your members do continue to sell non-compliant furniture that was manufactured on or prior to September 1, they should label it to ensure parents and caregivers understand the safety implications and can make safer choices for their families. We also encourage your members to provide consumers with guidance on how to properly anchor furniture to their walls. The burden is on your retailers to be good corporate partners, come into compliance imminently, and to provide this information to consumers. Delay or hesitation will not only have civil and criminal repercussions for your members, but also may cost lives.

The STURDY Act brought parent advocates, consumer advocates, retailers, and manufacturers together with the shared goal of prioritizing children’s safety. We expect that this cooperation will continue as the STURDY Act is implemented—there is nothing more important than protecting children.

Sincerely,
Senator Robert P. Casey
Senator Richard Blumenthal
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Representative Jan Schakowsky

See also:

• AHFA proves update on tip-over standard effective date
• Consumer groups pen letter to furniture industry urging STURDY compliance; citing ‘confusion’

The post Senators write letter to HFA, other industry groups urging STURDY compliance appeared first on Furniture Today.

LOGAN, Utah – Malouf Home has expanded its marketing department with a new marketing director and an email marketing specialist.

Ashlee Willes is returning to the company as marketing director after a brief stint as marketing manager with University of Utah Health, and Nikki Johnson has joined the company as an email marketing specialist. Willes and Johnson will work directly with Sydnee George, brand manager, and Kelsie Nelson, content marketing specialist.

“Ashlee and Nikki are amazing at what they do, and we’re excited to have them on the team,” said Joel Dewberry, vice president of marketing. “They have several years of experience in marketing, and their creative skills are a huge asset to the company. Working together, we can build our brand even more and take the next step in making Malouf a household name.”

Previously, Willes was brand manager for Malouf for more than two years and social media manager for more than two years. In her new role, Willes is responsible for developing and executing marketing strategies based on market trends, consumer behavior and competitive landscapes. In addition to her time with Malouf and University of Utah Health, Willes was a market research consultant at Qualtrics, an experience management company.

“I’m looking forward to new innovation within our family of brands, as well as a continued investment in our retail partners’ success,” Willes said. “Our No. 1 goal is to provide value to our retail partners, and that’s why we continue to raise the bar when it comes to high-quality assets that help them drive sales online and in stores.”

Johnson brings her market research and analytics background to her new position. She oversees the development of weekly emails, analyzes performance and builds new customer segments. Prior to joining Malouf, she was a marketing research assistant at Utah Valley University, and she also worked at Vivint Smart Home Security as a social media specialist.

“I love that Malouf has a growth mindset and that everyone is willing to improve processes,” Johnson said. “I approach my work with a strong mix of creativity and analytics. My background has given me a lot of experience to manage both of those things, and I believe that will make our email strategy even more competitive in the future.”

See also:

• Malouf touts the benefits of its endless aisle drop-ship program
• Malouf Home turns to 2 company insiders for key account managers

The post Malouf expands marketing team with 2 new appointments appeared first on Furniture Today.

CLEVELAND – Sherwin-Williams has unveiled its 2024 Industrial Wood ColorMix, which is designed to complement its residential trends released in August, syncing the wood finishes to wall paint to create a complete color offering.

Four new palettes — Nature Inspired, Energetic Creativity, Serene Harmony and Dramatic Moods — are designed to influence product development and emerging styles within the wood finishing industry.

“Our new collection provides the perfect balance to other residential trends,” said Maggie O’Hare, Sherwin-Williams senior manager of color and design. “Our customers in the industrial wood market want to know that what they are selling will complement other design choices in their customer’s homes, so we simplified the situation by factoring that in from the get-go.”

“A finish can make or break a product — whether that be cabinets, furniture or any other wood item — so by looking at trends, we have a better understanding of what’s ahead for the industry, and we can add value for our customers,” said Eric Crosby, Sherwin-Williams’ material and finishes expert. “We understand our customers’ businesses and that they have a lead time they need to plan for; by letting them know the upcoming trends, they can design and manufacture products that will hit the market at the right time.”

See also:

• Sherwin-Williams looks to the skies for 2024 Color of the Year
• Sherwin-Williams adopts new approach to annual color forecast for 2024

The post Sherwin Williams syncs wood finishes to wall paint in complete new color offering appeared first on Furniture Today.