Weekly Furniture News Briefs & Links

Furniture World News

The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com) reported on a “feud” between a new website, Europe by Net, based in London and conventional furniture retailers of high-end furniture. It seems that the internet retailer takes orders from consumers for high-end European lines such as Minotti, Cassina, Poltrona Frau, and B&B Italia. Europe by Net then purchases the furniture from European retailers and ships it directly to US consumers at a 20% to 40% savings. “Ms. Edwards,” the article noted, “whose site is six years old, said the company took orders on its Web site, found the furniture at retail stores in Europe and shipped it to customers. This is considered operating in a gray market because customers don't buy the goods from sellers with official agreements with manufacturers.”” _________________________ wftv.com, Orlando, FL reported that the Furniture Landing store on North Orange Blossom Trail in Kissimmee, Florida was destroyed by a fire on July 4th. _________________________ The Reno-Gazette-Journal (http://news.rgj.com) posted a July 5th article that reported on the planned closing of McMahan’s Furniture’s 45,000 square -foot store. The article noted the growing demand for furniture in the area and the influx of new stores in the area such as Ashley Furniture, a new 190,000 square foot R.C. Willey, Ethan Allen, La-Z-Boy and Bassett Stores. _________________________ An article in the Winston-Salem Journal (http://www.journalnow.com) reported on the latest efforts of the International Home Furnishings Market Authority (High Point Market) to reach its target of raising $20 million to fund its five-year marketing campaign. The Authority did convince the NC General assembly to contribute, "$875,000 in nonrecurring financing for fiscal 2006-07 and $875,000 in annual financing," but they still need to convince local communities who benefit from the Market's presence to give more.