The slump in the housing industry is knocking the stuffing out of furniture sales, merchants and analysts say.

A recent casualty is Domain, an upscale regional chain that is liquidating all 27 stores, including its showroom at the Promenade at Sagemore in Marlton.

“In the past year or so we’ve lost Levitz, Storehouse and Bombay Co.,” said Jerry Epperson, furniture industry analyst at Mann Armistead & Epperson in Richmond, Va. “It’s a very challenging time for the business.”

In a recent poll of dealers by Furniture World, a New Rochelle, N.Y.-based trade publication, 70 percent of retailers said orders were down. Read more »

It appears the 20 Wickes Furniture stores in the Chicago area may have a short future.

The Wheeling-based Wickes Furniture Co. announced Tuesday it has abandoned hopes of reorganization and agreed to put itself on the bankruptcy auction block before the end of the month, according to court papers.

Citing ”operating losses and liquidity concerns,” Wickes said Monday it would seek bankruptcy court approval to sell all its assets by Feb. 29.

The company said it would be sold either as an operating business or piecemeal in a liquidation.

Wickes Furniture stores are currently selling merchandise in the store and in the warehouse, but taking only credit-card payments. Back orders may be subject to a refund. Merchandise was still being delivered and serviced on Tuesday, a service representative said. Read more »

Art Furniture, which has operated for nearly 14 years at Arizona Avenue and Elliot Road in Chandler, is going out of business, a casualty of the housing slump.

A liquidation sale is under way.

At one time, owner Yalchin Balci was grossing nearly $1.5 million a year. But business began to fall in 2006. The death knell for the company came in November, traditionally the busiest month for furniture retailers, when business was off 70 percent.

The decision to close the business has been painful. Read more »

With some of its competitors fading away because of bankruptcies and closings, furniture retailer Raymour & Flanigan is moving quickly to fill the gap at the Shore.

The company a month ago opened its second Shore-area store in Freehold Township. And it plans to open its first Ocean County store on Route 70 in Brick, possibly in September, a company spokesman said Friday.

“We seem to be thriving,” spokesman Brian Burmeister said. “We know our competitors are having troubles, but we have a plan of action and footprint that continues to grow.”

Liverpool, N.Y.-based Raymour & Flanigan sells medium-priced furniture and promises delivery within three days. The privately owned company wouldn’t reveal its annual revenue, but it said its strategy has helped it become the biggest furniture retailer in the Northeast.

The company, which first entered the Shore market a year ago with a store in Ocean Township, has expanded as some of its competitors have faltered. Read more »

Ask merchants along Furniture Row on Route 110 in Farmingdale about a new player moving in and you get shrugged shoulders and some “big deal” expressions.

False bravado or not, this is a big deal: Bob’s Discount Furniture opened on Route 110 Thursday, positioning itself in a 32,000-square-foot store between a giant Levitz outlet and the more modest Design Furniture Gallery. The Connecticut stalwart joins more than 25 furniture stores on Route 110, a strip some in the industry say is the highest concentration of furniture shops in the country outside North Carolina.

Those already established on Furniture Row affect a blasé attitude about Bob’s. “It’s just another furniture store,” said Albert Macanian of Design Furniture Gallery, while Jose Samora, manager of the neighboring Levitz, added, “Bob had to come here. Everyone is here on Route 110.” Read more »

An extranet launched by Furniture.com in November is being used by Toronto-based Leon’s Furniture to enable 21 affiliate stores to sell furniture online, according to a Furniture.com announcement Wednesday.

Furniture.com President and CEO Carl Prindle said the extranet was developed for furniture retailers like Leon’s that have networks of independent affiliate stores operating under the retailer’s brand. In the case of Leon’s, the independent stores sell from Leon’s online catalog and can set local pricing for their region.

“Furniture retailers who rely on independent dealers can now offer e-commerce to their customers,” Prindle said. “Independent dealers can add advanced e-commerce capabilities that would be difficult for them to replicate on their own. The end result is a seamless experience for customers and significant sales lift for retailers and dealers alike.” Read more »

Furniture retailers using Furniture.com’s e-commerce technology and services platform can now enable e-commerce for their independent dealers.

Furniture.com, which provides Internet solutions for Furniture retailers representing nearly $2B in retail sales, views their new Dealer Extranet as an important addition to their offering.

“Many large furniture retailers do not own all of their stores, instead working with independent dealers who sell under the retailer’s brand,” says Carl Prindle, Furniture.com’s President and CEO. “Our Dealer Extranet allows these independent dealers to enable e-commerce for their locations, with complete control of how their online business operates.” Read more »

Extended warranties can be big moneymakers for retailers. While such warranties are more closely associated with electronics and appliances, they are also a mainstay of the furniture industry. Extended warranties–essentially service contracts that are supposed to cover fabrics and manufacturing defects–are often seen as a sucker’s bet because their cost can approach or even outstrip the actual cost of repairs.

One of the major names in furniture extended warranties is Stainsafe, based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Its warranties and fabric-, leather-, and wood-protection products are sold at hundreds of furniture stores nationwide. “We deal with millions of customers,” says Anita Mitchell, a Stainsafe spokeswoman. But the company’s reputation doesn’t match the promises in its warranties. Just ask Carrie Colarusso. Read more »

Levitz Furniture, a leading specialty retailer of furniture, bedding and home furnishings, officially opened its new corporate headquarters today in the historic Woolworth Building in downtown Manhattan. The move comes one year after new ownership took over management of the company, implementing an aggressive plan to revitalize one of America’s great retail brands.

The Company, which formerly had its corporate office in Woodbury, NY, now occupies the entire 23rd floor (approximately 30,000 square feet) of the Woolworth Building, located at 233 Broadway between Barclay Street and Park Place in downtown Manhattan. The Company maintains a small corporate presence in Woodbury. Read more »

Levitz Furniture, a leading specialty retailer of furniture, bedding and home furnishings, announced that it will relocate its corporate headquarters to the historic Woolworth Building in downtown Manhattan. The announcement comes as the home furnishings leader continues its significant progress towards rebuilding the Levitz brand. Levitz Furniture expects the relocation will be complete by mid-December.

The Company will move its current corporate office in Woodbury, N.Y. into the entire 23rd floor of the Woolworth Building, located at 233 Broadway between Barclay Street and Park Place in downtown Manhattan. Levitz Furniture will take approximately 30,000 square feet in the building in a sublease from Reuters. The Company will continue to maintain a small corporate presence in Woodbury, mostly within its Information Technology area. Read more »