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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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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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?

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BOSTON HEIGHTS, Ohio — Top 100 retailer Arhaus opened its newest showroom at Westfarms, just outside of Hartford, Conn., on Oct. 20.

The 11,155-square-foot space, located at 1500 New Britain Ave. in West Hartford, is the Boston Heights, Ohio-based retailer’s second store in Connecticut, joining a location in Norwalk at The SoNo Collection.

As with all Arhaus showrooms nationwide, the Westfarms location offers complimentary design services to assist customers with home projects of any size.

In celebration of the Westfarms showroom opening, Arhaus will donate $10,000 to American Forests, the oldest nonprofit conservation organization in the country focused on creating healthy and resilient forests from coast to coast.

See also:

• 2023 People to Watch | John Reed, Arhaus
• Get a glimpse at what’s new in Arhaus’ fall 2023 collection

The post Arhaus builds New England presence with second Connecticut showroom appeared first on Furniture Today.

ATLANTA — Omnichannel retailer and furniture designer Ballard Designs opened its newest showroom in October in Columbus, Ohio. Located at 3883 Gramercy St., the showroom is located between Easton Loop West and Morse Crossing.

“We’ve wanted to open a retail location in Columbus for a long time,” said Dominic Milanese, vice president of retail for Ballard Designs. “Thanks to our website and catalog, Ballard already has a loyal following in this region, so when the opportunity came to design and build a gorgeous new store near the Easton shopping district, we jumped in.”

With more than 12,000 square feet, the light-filled showroom showcases its upscale home furnishings, interior décor, home accents and fully decorated room vignettes, and guests can schedule a complimentary appointment with an expert design consultant.

“For decorating lovers, our stores are like a playground,” Milanese said. “You can browse hundreds of designer fabrics, get inspired, and find the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday list. Our design consultants can help you with everything from choosing the right fabric to an entire home makeover.”

Ballard’s sister brand, Frontgate opens next door soon in this free-standing building, and there is dedicated, easy access parking is in front of each store.

Ballard Designs has operated a successful outlet store in West Chester Township, Ohio since 2000. The Columbus location is part of the 40-year-old brand’s ongoing retail expansion.

See also:

• And they’re off! Ballard Designs, Carson Kressley collaborate for Breeders’ Cup project
• How Ballard Designs shares its social side

The post Which Ohio city is newest home for multi-channel retailer Ballard? appeared first on Furniture Today.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Warehouse retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. announced that CEO Craig Jelinek is stepping down, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Ron Vachris, who has served as president and chief operating officer since February 2022, has been elected president and CEO, also effective Jan. 1, 2024. The company says Jelinek and Vachris have worked together over the 21 months in Vachris’ role as president and for many years before that. This is the culmination of the long-standing succession plan that Jelinek has discussed with the board.

Vachris is a Costco veteran with more than 40 of service to the company, starting as a forklift driver and subsequently serving in every major role related to Costco’s business operations and merchandising activities.

“Costco has a very strong culture and a deep bench of management talent,” said Jelinek. “I have total confidence in Ron and feel that we are fortunate as a company to have an executive of his caliber to succeed me.”

Jelinek will remain with Costco through April 2024, serving in an advisory role and assisting Vachris during the transition. He will also continue to serve on the board of directors and will stand for reelection at the January 2024 annual meeting.

See also: What is growing in 48,000 recalled FXI mattresses sold through Costco?

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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei – Jackhan Sdn. Bhd opened a new Ashley store on Oct. 7 and held a ribbon cutting to commemorate the occasion.

Jackhan owns one additional Ashley store in the region. The 13,000-square-foot Sunway Centre store will employ approximately eight people and will be the flagship Ashley store in the country of Brunei. Ashley has more than 1,125 locations worldwide.

“We are hoping this new flagship store will allow us to bring the No. 1 furniture manufacturer in the world closer to our customers and provide a world class experience for our guests,” said Jason Son, managing director of Jackhan Sdn. Bhd. “At the same time, offering more new variety of home furnishing to Brunei’s market at exceptional values while providing the best customer service in the industry.”

The showroom features complete lifestyle vignettes, down to the final detail of lighting, rugs and wall art. Product categories include bedroom, dining room, upholstery, leather, occasional tables, home office, youth bedroom, recliners, mattresses and accessories. Technology enhances the environment, incorporating various elements to improve the customer shopping experience.

The new showroom is located on Unit A4-A7 Sunway Centre, Block A, Kg Sg Akar, Mukim Berakas ‘B’ Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

See also:

• Ashley licensee adds store to its lineup Down Under
• Ashley betting big on sleep accessories for High Point Market

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