Furniture News Briefs January 4-10

Furniture World News

The CAPITAL TIMES WEB EDITION reported that Atlanta based Leath Furniture will close its store in Madison, Wisconsin at the end of March 2006. The article further stated that "After selling furniture in Madison for more than 70 years, Leath decided to leave and put proceeds from the $1.9 million building sale back into its 21 other stores." The full text of this article can be found on www.madison.com. ____________ Local6.com (http://www.local6.com) reported that "Nearly 10,000 children are injured by furniture tipping over in their homes each year." The article sited tips from "Good Housekeeping" such as installing drawer locks, securing heavy dressers/ bookcases to the wall, strap shut doors on cabinets that support heavy televisions and buy cabinets that are less than 30 inches tall. ________________ Alan Granetz, head of the 300 member Metropolitan Furnishings Association, New Jersey's IHFRA affiliate and furniture retailer's assocaition was recently quoted in the Courier News (www.c-n.com). Granetz outlines the competitive pressures on retailers in central New Jersey including imports, gypsy truckers and changing retail trends. The article also lists new and growing players in the central Jersey market including Bassett Furniture, Value City Furniture, ABC Home Gallery, Crate and Barrel, Ethan Allen, Mackie Furniture, Autumn Traditions, Country Manor Furniture, and Sofabed Alley. The full article can be found at http://www.c-n.com ________________ Bloomberg.com reported that Brazil's industrial production rose a less than expected .6 percent in November. The article also noted that "The government said 13 of the 26 manufacturing sub-categories fell in November from the year-earlier period, led by electronic and telecommunication equipment, which fell 12 percent. Electrical machinery rose 21 percent, pharmaceutical output jumped 17 percent and furniture and office equipment rose 47 percent." ________________ The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal covered the State of The State speach by governor Haley Barbour that mentioned his support for the furniture industry of the state. Barbour stated his opposition to an initiative to bring in auto industry jobs to replace the troubled furniture sector. Last year, the article noted, "legislation was passed to provide $12 million in bonds to help the furniture industry combat overseas competition. The governor proposed using a portion of that money to help furniture manufacturers obtain Foreign Trade Zone status that would allow the companies to ship furniture parts overseas at a cheaper rate and thus preserve jobs in Northeast Mississippi." The full article can be viewed at http://www.djournal.com. ________________