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 »

Recently Pipefine Patio Furniture Company’s manufacturing facility in Ft. Lauderdale was purchased and relocated to a new home in northeastern Florida, resulting in the adoption of new processes and technology, streamlining and creating more efficiency in the manufacturing and craftsmanship of their distinctive PVC furniture line.

Terry Potter, the new owner of Pipefine, liked what he saw of the 40-year old company: “Pipefine’s successful 40-year track record was what initially attracted me to purchase the company”, Potter said. “In addition, the designs are very distinctive – unique curved design elements set Pipefine apart from competitors, and the use of UV-treated furniture-grade PVC, which is twice as thick as most manufacturers, enables Pipefine to offer a lifetime warranty.”

Potter plans to offer more design elements and options and take the company to a new level in resort and leisure furniture. “Because our product range is not mass-produced, but instead built to customer specifications direct from the factory, we customize each order to suit individual décor or corporate image and colors”, he said. “Our extensive range of strap furniture products is ideally suited to hotels, spas, resorts, apartment complexes and condo environments where harsh treatment calls for durability and low maintenance.” Read more »

Gayle Zalduondo is a sculptor, who became a hot furniture maker, who became a CEO.

So it’s no wonder she’s ready to try something bigger. After 20 years of running a boutique furniture company in Miami, Zalduondo is leaving her wholesale niche and opening a salon that’s sort of a hybrid version of a store and a think tank.

It’s a tricky endeavor, even Zalduondo admits. Her metal furniture has become ubiquitous, carried by Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Ethan Allen and other major retailers. She’s also been featured in The New York Times and twice won the top award from the American Society of Furniture Designers. But her company, Urbanus Inc., remains largely unknown outside the trade.

”The national furniture industry knows us, but nobody else does,” she said. “We were laughing the other day, saying we’re a start-up with 20 years of experience.” Read more »

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – You’ll soon see three new furniture lines from American institutions: The Smithsonian, Better Homes and Gardens – and Donald Trump.

Trump created the most buzz when new looks were unveiled late last month at the High Point Market, formerly the International Home Furnishings Market. He strode the red carpet like a rock star and gave a thumbs-up to more than 300 cheering fans. He even managed to get in a snarky comment about Rosie O’Donnell.

Trump’s furniture will be at home in your uptown penthouse or country estate, but the line from the iconic magazine is most likely to fill your suburban great room. A few pieces in the Smithsonian line were surprisingly current, even though they’re based on historic artifacts, proving that classic design endures.

Celebrity endorsements have been important to the furniture industry for more than a decade. The industry said the three lines helped push the trend to a new high at this market, and offered a recent survey to help explain why. 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 »

JACKSONVILLE, FL – A First Coast businessman accused of scamming dozens of people is now operating his business while out on bond.

We first told you about the long list of complaints against 56-year-old Eric Nelson back in December.

He is the owner of W.S. Industries, a furniture restoration company. Nelson was recently charged with organized fraud. Consumers complained, saying Nelson owed them money and furniture.

Now complaints are growing and consumers are taking the hit. Read more »

Almost 70 firefighters from throughout Habersham and Banks counties spent much of Wednesday night battling a fire at Hartford House Handcrafted Furniture in Anderson Village off Highway 365 near Alto.

Firefighters received the call shortly before 8 p.m., with the building 40-percent involved by flames upon fire department’s arrival, said Habersham County Interim Fire Chief Jeff Cain.

Water had to be shuttled from hydrants on the Demorest Water System because the Baldwin water lines serving the complex didn’t provide sufficient pressure to support the firefighting effort.

“The water situation was pitiful – absolutely pitiful,” said Cain on Thursday. “It was almost lack thereof.” Read more »

Vermont has long enjoyed an excellent reputation in the furniture industry. A company in the Northeast Kingdom is cashing in on that.

In a former Packard car showroom, machinists now drive lathes, turning out table legs by the tens of thousands. Matthew Burak says, “Usually they’re an inspiration from something historical.”

Burak designs the wooden pieces. A team of workers executes his vision. Burak says, “I basically saw a need in the marketplace that wasn’t being met.” Read more »

That’s the ballyhoo that had customers flocking to Welcome Home Furnishings in search of bargains on beds last week. The Christiansburg store’s “Emergency $1,000,000 Liquidation Sale” announced the razing of some property at Northgate Village Shopping Center.

“They’re going to tear the building down,” said furniture store manager Gary Bryant. “They’re going to put a grocery store here.”

Todd Walters, a Christiansburg plan reviewer, confirmed that he is in the process of studying plans for a new Food City supermarket at the North Franklin Street location. Read more »

“When I first heard the crashing noise I thought a car had smashed into the store,” says Kris Sorensen, gazing up at the splintered wood in the ceiling at the front of his furniture store.

It turned out that it wasn’t a crashing car that damaged the Furniture World outlet, but likely Mother Nature and this winter’s heavy snowfall, says Sorensen, the store manager and owner.

Fire crews and city engineers were called to the scene Tuesday after employees at the Second Avenue store heard disturbing noises coming from the northeast corner of the roof and observed ceiling tiles had shifted.

“Safety was the No. 1 priority, so we closed the store,” says Sorensen, who purchased the building about 14 years ago. Read more »