Alexander County got some good news recently with the announcement of a new production plant in Taylorsville — a furniture plant.

Indiana-based Jasper Group, a commercial furniture maker for nearly 80 years, will create 40 local jobs in an abandoned furniture factory building.

The plant will be in a 93,000-square-foot facility off N.C. 16 South that Kincaid Furniture vacated a year ago.

Company officials expect to start production by this summer, said Alexander County Economic Development Corp. Director David Icenhour. Read more »

La-Z-Boy Incorporated announced a restructuring plan which will include the closures of its Lincolnton, North Carolina and Iuka, Mississippi upholstery manufacturing facilities, the closure of its rough mill lumber operation in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the consolidation of three operations into one at Kincaid’s Taylorsville, North Carolina upholstery operation and the elimination of a number of positions throughout the remainder of the organization.

The company’s Lincolnton facility employs 250 people, accounts for approximately 5% of the La-Z-Boy branded business total upholstery manufacturing capacity and produces high-leg recliners and occasional chairs. La-Z-Boy will cease operations at the Lincolnton plant in July 2007, with production shifting to the company’s Newton, Mississippi, Siloam Springs, Arkansas and Dayton, Tennessee facilities. The Iuka facility produces sofas, love seats and upholstered chairs for the company’s Bauhaus division and has about 150 employees. The Iuka facility is scheduled to close in early May 2007 and its production will move to Bauhaus’s Saltillo and Sherman facilities in Mississippi. The consolidation of the company’s North Wilkesboro rough mill lumber operation into its Hudson, North Carolina facility and the consolidation of the Taylorsville facilities, combined with the change in La- Z-Boy’s corporate structure, will eliminate approximately 100 positions. Read more »

Hooker Furniture Corporation and La-Z-Boy Incorporated announced they signed a letter of intent for Hooker to purchase Sam Moore Furniture, a Bedford, Va.-based manufacturer of upscale occasional chairs with an emphasis on fabric-to-frame customization, from La-Z-Boy.

Sam Moore, a 63-year-old company owned since 1998 by La-Z-Boy, is positioned in the upper-medium price range, has a similar dealer base and is a niche- and item-oriented line like Hooker, making the proposed acquisition a “great fit,” according to Paul B. Toms Jr., chairman, chief executive officer and president of Hooker.

“This acquisition would help us attain one of our strategic goals to further diversify into fabric upholstery,” Toms said. In 2003, Hooker acquired upscale leather seating company Bradington-Young, and the combination of the two seating resources under the Hooker Furniture umbrella “would create approximately $100 million in annual upholstery sales for the Company, and also would take our total revenues closer to the $400 million mark,” he said. Read more »

A new, upscale furniture store will open at the Brandywine Town Center today, just as another furniture store at the Brandywine Hundred mall prepares to shutter its doors.

Drexel Heritage Furniture, an independently owned store selling furniture made by St. Louis-based Furniture Brands International, the largest furniture manufacturer in the United States, has taken over the space formerly occupied by apparel discounter Annie Sez. It occupies 16,525 square feet of space between Old Navy and World Market stores. Read more »

Even though home sales in the Midlands have been growing steadily, local furniture retailers are experiencing a roller coaster of a market.

Some furniture stores and retailers say they are faring well, while others say they are not.

Kincaid Furniture has become the latest national retailer to close its Columbia store, while management at newcomer Rooms To Go boasts that “business is great.”

Staff at Kincaid Furniture Co.’s headquarters in Hudson, N.C., were not available for comment Monday. However, the owner of the company managing the liquidation at Kincaid’s Columbia, Greenville and Charleston stores said sales there were not as strong as at other Kincaid stores. Read more »

Even though home sales in the Midlands have been growing steadily, local furniture retailers are experiencing a roller coaster of a market.

Some furniture stores and retailers say they are faring well, while others say they are not.

Kincaid Furniture has become the latest national retailer to close its Columbia store, while management at newcomer Rooms To Go boasts that “business is great.”

Staff at Kincaid Furniture Co.’s headquarters in Hudson, N.C., were not available for comment Monday. However, the owner of the company managing the liquidation at Kincaid’s Columbia, Greenville and Charleston stores said sales there were not as strong as at other Kincaid stores. Read more »

Newton-based furniture manufacturer McCreary Modern Inc. has purchased and plans to reopen a former Kincaid Furniture plant in Gamewell, outside of Lenoir.

The company will move its existing woodworking operation into the 137,000-square-foot plant, which has been vacant two years, and expects to add 45 new employees within a year.

The plant will make wood frames for the company’s exposed wood upholstered furniture, according to the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission.

Building renovations will begin next month, and the plant should be up and running in the first quarter of 2007, company officials said. Read more »

Scottsdale Unified School District will ask voters Nov. 7 to approve a seven-year, $83.1 million capital override to fund technology upgrades and other district needs.

The override will be funded at $11.8 million each year and will have an additional tax rate of 25 cents per $100 of assessed value, according to district officials.

More than half the override amount – $45 million – will fund part of the district’s technology upgrade plan, according to Ernie Nicely, SUSD information technology director.

Scottsdale resident Mary Kincaid opposes the override because she believes it allows district officials to avoid accountability.

“The district management needs to be held accountable for its inability to live within their budget,” Ms. Kincaid said. Read more »

After a slow summer for furniture stores, some in the industry are hoping that strong Labor Day sales will send furniture buyers to an invitation-only “premarket” in downtown High Point this week with a more optimistic outlook. Starting Monday, some furniture showrooms will open their doors for the informal, invitation-only event to some top furniture retailers.

Premarket, held roughly one month before the official High Point Market — scheduled for Oct. 16-22 — was at one time critical for the home furnishings industry.

Although there is no official sponsor for the event, it usually attracts about 2,750 visitors. This compares with the nearly 100,000 visitors that were registered for the April furniture market. Tourism officials estimate premarket pumps about $1.3 million into local hotels, restaurants and shopping centers. Read more »

“We’re a fried green tomato kind of store,” co-owner Judy Maslowski said referring to the down-home atmosphere and customer service she and husband Joe fashioned for their showroom.

“Customers can pull up a chair and take their time making up their minds,” Joe added.

Jan Larson had just purchased a Pennsylvania House sofa with coordinating chair and ottoman, but was not certain if it was the best match for her home furniture. Judy suggested she take a cushion home so she would feel comfortable with her color selection. Larson also had purchased bright gold fabric from a shop so that Judy could make custom pillows that would coordinate her old furniture with her new pieces. Two professional decorators, Jeffery Hall and Elaine O’Neil, are available to help customers with their design questions.

Joe and Judy’s 4,500 square feet boutique showroom is continually restocked with furniture and accessories, including CBK, from 82 vendors. Two other warehouses located in Naples house additional stock. Customers also can select custom orders from catalogs, including a variety of fabrics to cover chairs and sofas. Read more »