Furniture Brands Bankruptcy

Has High Point Implications

HIGH POINT, NORTH CAROLINA

 

By hpe.com

Furniture Brands International, facing serious recent financial difficulties, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 9, and a company associated with the ownership of the three main buildings at the High Point Market will acquire most of its assets.

Furniture Brands, which has a major presence at the High Point Market through lines such as Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, Lane, Lane Venture, Broyhill, Hickory Chair, Pearson and Maitland-Smith announced that it will sell the vast majority of its furniture brands to Oaktree Capital Management. In 2011, Los Angeles-based Oaktree became an instant major player in the High Point furniture market when it joined with other investors to buy the three main showrooms here and the World Market Center in Las Vegas.

Oaktree is one of the investors in International Market Centers, which owns and operates the International Home Furnishings Center, Showplace, Market Square and other showroom complexes. Furniture Brands' announcement took place on the opening day of Pre-Market in High Point, which draws major trade show exhibitors and key customers to the city about a month before the High Point Market. The fall furniture market takes place Oct. 19-24.

"It is certainly devastating news for the industry, and we hope that it gets sorted out quickly because these are important brands for the industry," said Tom Conley, president of the High Point Market Authority.

Oaktree will acquire substantially all of the assets of Furniture Brands except the company's Lane business, subject to the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Furniture Brands said it is evaluating "sale alternatives for the Lane business, and has received several indications of interest from potential acquirers."

(Note: According to Gary McCray, president of Lane Venture, "Lane Venture is a part of the proposed section #363 sale to Oaktree Capital. The Lane Home Furnishings business in Tupelo is not a part of this sale.")

Furniture Brands said it has received a commitment from Oaktree for $140 million in "debtor-in-possession financing." The financing will allow Furniture Brands to continue paying employees, meeting customer orders, operating facilities and addressing other obligations in the near future.

"After careful consideration of a range of alternatives, we firmly believe that our Chapter 11 process represents the best long-term solution for Furniture Brands to address its liquidity challenges, strengthen its operations and continue to provide our customers with the highest quality products and service that they have come to expect from us," said Ralph Scozzafava, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Furniture Brands.

The Furniture Brands bankruptcy filing doesn't come as a surprise to the furniture industry. Earlier this year, after a dismal quarterly financial report, industry analysts began predicting that the St. Louis-based furniture conglomerate would file for a financial reorganization through the courts.

Telescope Casual to Roll Out

Specialty Retailer Support Program

GRANVILLE, NEW YORK

 

Telescope Casual Furniture, a leading manufacturer of quality outdoor and patio furniture since 1903, will debut its Specialty Retailer Support Program at the annual International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market to be held September 17-20 at the Chicago Merchandise Mart. The program will provide Telescope retailers across the United States access to several nationally-produced, high-quality television ads that will promote Telescope products, build retailer brand awareness and aim to increase store traffic.

 

While telling the Telescope story, each commercial will allow Telescope retailers to add their own messaging and contact information within their market. There will be several 30- and 15-second ads for retailers to choose from.

"In today's highly competitive marketplace, retailers need all the marketing support they can get, and our team at Telescope Casual Furniture has decided to do something about that," said Kathy Juckett, CEO of Telescope. "It's critically important to deliver a strong message that distinguishes your business from your competition, grabs the consumer's attention and brings them through your door. These high quality ads will help our retailers accomplish that."  

The campaign was produced by Millennium Business Communications, an award-winning advertising agency based in Albany, New York, that recently was named agency of record for Telescope.

Specialty retailers will have access to the ads at no charge from Telescope. Their only expense will be the minimal cost to tag each ad with their message, as well as place it on air.

"For over five generations Telescope Casual Furniture has been known for manufacturing beautiful, high-quality outdoor and patio furniture right here in the USA, so we wanted our ads to reflect that message and that quality," said William Vanderminden, executive vice president.

"We value our retailers and want them to have the tools necessary to not only successfully promote Telescope furniture, but also their own businesses. By producing and giving our retailers access to high-quality marketing assets at no expense to them, they can advertise more effectively and efficiently. We're all in this together."

Luxury Clean-Face Insert 

Opens Design Options

BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS

 

Just in time for the fall heating season, Empire Comfort Systems has introduced a Luxury Clean-Face Contemporary Insert that's perfect for the cool temperatures ahead.   

 

These heater-rated, direct-vent systems - available in 30,000 and 35,000 Btu models - feature a unique burner that accepts decorative glass or other fireplace media. The porcelain liner comes in black or white and reflects the fire to add to the illusion of depth.   

 

The insert's large ceramic glass view window directs your gaze to the fire, making this insert the focal point of the room. The window measures 400 sq. in. on the 30,000 Btu model and 584 sq. in. on the 35,000 Btu model. The surround conceals the valve and controls. These inserts accept a variety of decorative fronts in black, hammered pewter and stainless steel.   

 

Empire's Multi-function Remote Control lets you operate your insert manually - varying flame height and blower speed at the touch of a button - or by thermostat. In "Smart" mode the remote continuously compares set temperature to room temperature and automatically adjusts the flame height and blower output to meet the demand.   

 

Empire offers surrounds in matte black that work for most installations.  For fireplaces with unusual opening dimensions, Empire's new custom program lets you specify a three-sided or four-sided surround up to 44 in. tall and 50 in. wide. Visit the White Mountain Hearth website or contact Jeff Cleveland, Marketing manager, at (618) 233-7420 or jcleveland@empirecomfort.com.

 

Visit the Empire Comfort website. 

ECCO Supply Is New
Wolf Steel Distributor

BARRIE, ONTARIO