Though they’re barely 40 years old, the undesirable waffle-ceilinged, brick-walled dorms of the Butler College quad will be demolished this summer, to be replaced with more desirable dorms by the fall of 2009.

But what about the hundreds of beds, desks and chairs etched with students’ names and graduation years? They’re going to go somewhere — though the University doesn’t yet know where.

“There’s no reason that the stuff should be thrown away,” Butler resident Carrie Carpenter ‘09 said.

And the bottom line, Director of Building Sevices Jonathan Baer said, is that the furniture from the demolished dorms will not be thrown out. The University has a system in place that allows academic departments and local charities to claim the items. Read more »

With the theme song from his reality television show blaring in the background, Donald Trump strode into a showroom at the world’s biggest furniture trade show and started to brag about, of all things, his couch.

“Trump Home furniture offers consumers a tangible way to experience the luxurious Trump lifestyle for themselves . . . even if they can’t afford millions for one of my properties,” Trump said. “Now the public can not only wear my clothes, they can sit on my couch.”

Should Trump’s over-the-top bombast not suit your personal style, how about a couch from model Cindy Crawford? Or a couple of chairs from teen stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen? Such boldface names are all over furniture today, and some touted at this spring’s International Home Furnishings Market in High Point are among the increasing number whose fame isn’t rooted in the business of hearth and home. Read more »

Dubai furniture market is now considered to be one of the largest markets in the region, thanks to the population explosion which has a positive ripple effect on the furniture market. The Emirate’s furniture products are either locally manufactured or imported and the market offers a variety of products; however the most traded products are home, office, school and hospital furniture.

In 2005, Dubai’s total furniture foreign trade amounted to Dh 2.7 billion, of which 70 per cent were imports, 25 per cent re-exports and only 5 per cent were exports, said a Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) report. Read more »

New strategies hint at a glimmer of better days ahead.

Yet, as anticipated, bad news dominated this week’s Bassett Furniture Industries’ report on its performance during the furniture company’s first quarter of 2007.

BFI posted a first-quarter loss of $4.2 million, or 35 cents a share, compared with profit of $2.2 million, or 18 cents, in the year-earlier period.

BFI is a manufacturer and importer of furniture and also owns or licenses a chain of Bassett Furniture Direct retail stores.

Sales declined 15 percent, compared with the same period of 2006.

The company-owned stores performed poorly, too, during the first quarter.

Sales dropped, and the retail segment lost $2.4 million, compared with a loss of $2.2 million during the same period last year. Read more »

Home accent provider Decorize has partnered with Klaussner Furniture Industries to design and source an exclusive line of home accessories, lighting, wall decor and accent furniture to be marketed under the Klaussner’s Complements brand. About 350 SKUs are available in Complements, including top of bed collections, rugs, lamps, wall decor, tabletop accessories and permanent botanicals.

“We selected Decorize as a partner because of their impressive ability to design and manufacture multiple home furnishing categories,” said Jeff Davis, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Klaussner. Read more »

Last week, most senior executives of Florida furniture companies were in North Carolina for High Point Market, America’s biggest furniture extravaganza.

They might have been tempted to stay there.

Back here in Florida, the furniture industry is in one of its ugliest downturns in years.

The housing boom that fueled huge sales at some furniture stores has turned into a housing bust, and some longtime furniture chains are shutting down or packing up and fleeing the state. Meanwhile, a huge shift from American furniture to imported Chinese furniture has caused prices to drop and thrown the whole industry into a “state of flux,” according to the chief executive officer of high-end retailer Robb & Stucky.

Among the hardest hit:

Spectrum Home Furnishings. This small chain shut its eight stores from Sarasota to Naples in the fall after more than 20 years in business.

Modernage. This chain on Florida’s east coast is holding a “Save Our Stores” survival sale but warns it may close. Read more »

The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) announced that i Saloni Worldwide, will be an important part of ICFF, scheduled for Saturday, May 19-Tuesday, May 22, 2007 at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

The Italian contingent is presented by Cosmit, the organization responsible for producing a premier furniture exhibition, the legendary 46-year-old Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan.

Cosmit, which sees a growing demand for Italian furniture in North America, has assembled a total of 42 member companies, all of them leading manufacturers of furnishings for the domestic landscape. The contingent, exhibiting under the rubric i Saloni WorldWide - Furnishing Ideas Made in Italy, will occupy 25,000 net square feet of exhibit space at the Javits Center. Read more »

Bazio, a division of Kinfine USA Inc., a worldwide manufacturer of furniture and accessories, announced today the introduction of a full line of furniture and stands for retail designed to hold a wide array of sizes of flat screen TVs and in-home multimedia systems.

“The market for flat screen TVs continues to grow exponentially,” noted Ken Auld, VP Sales for Bazio. “Many companies are rushing in to fill the demand for attractive furniture to hold large flat TV screens. The big difference is that we’re the factory for the largest line of contemporary furniture for all sizes of LCD and plasma screens. Our full selection will make it hard for competitors to match our product offering in design and pricing.”

The range of styles will be in 24 models that are mostly metal and glass which will be available in Black, High Gloss Black, Silver and Merlot finishes, with some wood models that are available in black, dark oak and light oak finishes. Read more »

Furniture Row® Companies is pleased to announce the grand opening of a new Furniture Row® Shopping Center in Conway, AR. The Center contains four specialty stores and is located at 200 Amity Road on Interstate 40, south of the Home Depot & Target. The stores brands include Oak Express®, Bedroom Expressions®, Sofa Mart® and Denver Mattress Company®. The Center will open on Saturday, April 6 and store hours are Mon-Sat 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Sun 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

“The Center will bring a unique furniture shopping experience to the area,” said Bill McKendry, Marketing Director for Furniture Row Companies. “Unlike other furnishings retailers, our centers have four specialty stores at one destination. Each store focuses on a particular category, and each store is managed and staffed with people who are extremely knowledgeable about their specific lines. And, best of all, they all guarantee their prices to be the lowest.” Read more »

The Furniture Buying Index increased by one point this month to a reading of 81. This Index shows that consumers are looking for, but not finding new items.

Britt Beemer, Chairman of America’s Research Group, said, “lack of new items is causing interest in buying not to grow at this time.”

Beemer added, “consumers are not seeing much new in stores or in advertising which is why the Furniture Buying Index has made virtually no movement.” Read more »