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Local furniture retailer Harry Gregorie got a bird’s-eye view of Summerville’s explosive growth during a recent small-plane trip over the area.

During the flight, he said he was struck by the vast number of new homes and neighborhoods cropping up around the town. “It’s just unbelievable,” said Gregorie, president of Charleston-based GDC Home.

The upscale home-furnishings company is hoping to tap into that residential boom, targeting Summerville for its fourth area location.

GDC plans to open a store this fall in North Main Market, located off U.S. Highway 17-A, also known as North Main Street and one of the town’s main shopping drags. The complex is anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter, a Lowe’s home-improvement warehouse and a Belk department store, and is across the street from the Azalea Square Shopping Center, home to a number of big-box stores. Read more »

New Furniture Orders

According to our recent survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors, new orders in February 2007 were 4 percent below February 2006 levels following a 7 percent decline in January and a 6 percent decline in December, both compared to the prior year results. February orders were 8 percent higher than January orders. While somewhat typical for new orders in February to be higher than January, the 8 percent improvement was, at least, positive.

Those reporting an increase in orders over last year declined from 45 percent of the participants in January to 39 percent in February.
Year-to-date, new orders have decreased 5 percent compared to the first two months of last year. One thing to remember when looking at these comparisons, the industry started last year much stronger. For the first two months of 2006, new orders were up 6 percent and February orders alone were up 7 percent. Read more »

Shares in South African furniture retailer Lewis rallied on Tuesday after it posted upbeat results and made positive comments about the outlook for the sector on Monday.

Lewis leapt 6 percent to 61.48 rand, before paring gains to 60 rand, up 3.4 percent, by 1228 GMT. Rival Ellerine rose 2.4 percent to 76.46 rand. The JSE general retailers index climbed 0.78 percent.

Abri du Plessis, chief investment officer at Gryphon Asset Management, said the furniture counters were boosted by Lewis half-year results, especially its comments on the market.

Lewis said on Monday its first-half normalised headline earnings per share increased by 26.5 percent to 278 cents. Read more »

Not much can get Michael Yessick down. The owner of Orange Crate Unfinished Furniture Outlet in Northport, Yessick is known for an optimism that can seemly weather any storm.

“Michael’s one those guys who takes everything in stride,” said Tim Haskew, a long time friend and fellow member of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. “It’s very rare to see Michael down or discouraged, he’s just always upbeat.”

But when fire claimed the Orange Crate, the business he owns with his wife, Rita, in April, it was too much for even Yessick. Read more »

Whether one is in the market for a new sofa, some Lebanese handicrafts, or a sub-zero refrigerator encrusted with Swarovski crystals, BIEL is the place to find it during the 11th annual ArtDeco exhibition. International and locally made home design accessories and appliances are being displayed at some 110 pavillions, according to ArtDeco’s organizers, Promofair.

Lebanese American University graduate Dia Batal – who is exhibiting her line of modern, but Arab-influenced furniture at ArtDeco for the first time – was a bit disappointed about Friday’s turnout.

“It was not crowded Friday,” Battal said, “but you know, Thursday was the first day and everybody is watching the football. Maybe more people will come during the weekend.” Read more »

Shares of Furniture Brands International Inc. continued to follow an industry-wide slump Thursday, despite its reaffirmation of modestly positive sales expectations and a mildly upbeat analyst note.

Shares of Furniture Brands fell $1.71, or 8.3 percent, to $18.87 on the New York Stock Exchange in above average midday trading volume. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $16.07 to $25.34.

A Raymond James & Associates Inc. analyst reaffirmed a Wednesday downgrade to an “Outperform” rating from “Strong Buy,” and a $31 target price on the stock in a Thursday note to clients.

Shares of Furniture Brands and other furniture makers fell Wednesday on fears of interest rate hikes, concerns over a retail slump and a bearish forecast and quarterly losses reported by recliner maker La-Z-Boy Inc. Read more »

Shares of Furniture Brands International Inc. continued to follow an industry-wide slump Thursday, despite its reaffirmation of modestly positive sales expectations and a mildly upbeat analyst note.

Shares of Furniture Brands fell $1.71, or 8.3 percent, to $18.87 on the New York Stock Exchange in above average midday trading volume. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $16.07 to $25.34.

A Raymond James & Associates Inc. analyst reaffirmed a Wednesday downgrade to an “Outperform” rating from “Strong Buy,” and a $31 target price on the stock in a Thursday note to clients. Read more »

Exhibitors and visitors alike delivered a powerfully upbeat verdict from the recent 2005 All China Leather Exhibition (ACLE), the China International Footwear Fair (CIFF) and Moda Shanghai. The “Three in One” format exhibition ran from September 7-9, at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre in Pudong.

The success of any trade fair is judged, ultimately, on the number of exhibitors who believe it worth the time and expense of participating. By this criteria both events continued on the upward trend established since their inception, with a total 857 exhibitors for ACLE and 231 for CIFF and Moda Shanghai combined. An increase of 182 exhibiting companies over 2004 brought the fairs’ combined total participants to 1,088 companies from 36 countries and regions. Of these, 90 companies were first-time exhibitors and six countries and regions were represented for the first time. ACLE held 19 group pavilions, and CIFF held three, with a 20% increase in floor space.

“We are delighted with the growth of the shows,” said Ms. Perrine Ardouin, Senior Event Manager of Asia Pacific Leather Fair Ltd, which co-organises the events with the China Leather Industry Association. “It was a pleasure to welcome new exhibiting countries such as Belgium, Indonesia and Iran. Equally pleasing was the growth in support from our long-established exhibitors such as Italy, which increased its representation from 50 companies to 80. Industry leaders such as France, Spain, Turkey, and India were among other countries whose representation increased by between 20 – 50%.” Read more »