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NEW YORK-A strong housing market was not enough to offset a variety of pricing pressures as home furnishings underperformed retail in general in 2004. Home furnishings should have eclipsed total [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-China again dominated the International Home Furnishings Market, thanks to a bitter trade dispute and a new flood of low-cost Chinese furniture introduced at the show. While case [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-An undercurrent of uncertainty marked furniture's big show here, as a divisive trade war with China and persistent deflation blunted expectations for a robust recovery. The upcoming ruling [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-The 11 million square feet of the International Home Furnishings Market offer something for everyone this week -- plenty of traditional European, a touch of country and a [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-Vendors may be wringing their hands over reports of a hot-and-cold retail climate, but many buyers coming to market this week say that positive sales trends so far [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-No one's singing 'Happy Days Are Here Again' just yet, but furniture manufacturers aren't singing the blues, either, as they open their showroom doors here for the spring [...]

NEW YORK-Raw material prices are up as much as 70 percent. Now the big question: Who eats the cost? Vendors are trying to absorb as much as they can, but [...]

NEW YORK-A good product is only as good as it looks on retail shelves. Presentation is everything. Below are packaging and fixture statements found at last month's home textiles market [...]

NEW YORK-Unusual materials were incorporated into everyday items to make last month's home textiles market interesting. Dante Living, a supplier to high-end specialty stores, showed some glitter with Swarovski crystal [...]

NEW YORK-The quota situation was on the minds of retailers at the textiles market here last week, even if it was not causing them to stock up on goods in [...]

NEW YORK-It was all about brands in home textiles at last week's spring market here. Group 3 Design kicked it off with a brand presentation on the return of Royal [...]

CHICAGO-Most conversations at the International Home & Housewares Show eventually turned to what has become every vendor's worst scenario -- out-of-control raw material prices. Manufacturers are being hammered by stainless-steel [...]

CHICAGO-Vendors attending this week's International Home & Housewares Show anticipate that the traffic might even be up at this year's event. Most are gauging expectations by the number of appointments [...]

CHICAGO-To raise or not to raise prices: That is the question. Many in the housewares industry have no choice but to pass the rising cost of materials on and are [...]

NEW YORK-Following Martha Stewart's guilty verdict, the manufacturers of most of the products carrying her name are putting a stoic, yet optimistic, foot forward, counting on quality to carry Martha [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-Furniture retailers who do their homework are enjoying solid success in the casual/outdoor furniture category. American Furniture Warehouse in Thornton, Colo., added outdoor furniture at all nine of [...]

TUPELO, Miss.-Early-rising buyers, healthier retail sales and the possibility of anti-dumping duties on some imports from China were the talk of the ever-expanding Tupelo Furniture Market in late February. Inspired [...]

NEW YORK-Total sales for the housewares industry were up only a half percentage point in 2003, reflecting the frustrating impact of price deflation and tarnishing the industry's reputation as 'recession-proof.' [...]

If you want to do business in China, here's what you need to know: Don't count too heavily on January or February. It's frequently down time for the multitude of [...]

TUPELO, Miss.-Exhibitors at this week's furniture market here, encouraged by upbeat reports from retail, are dressing up their best bargains and gearing up for a strong show. Tupelo, famous for [...]

With the International Home & Housewares Show finally drawing close, housewares executives are reviewing the impact the new date has had on business planning and some are evaluating the importance [...]

Rounded edges, simple dials and other details lifted from your grandmother's kitchen circa 1935 are still going to influence the look of housewares in the months to come, but with [...]

The fall of the U.S. dollar against other world currencies and the rising cost of such materials as steel and copper are just some of the issues that will keep [...]

SAN FRANCISCO-Many furniture exhibitors were smiling as a new Winter Market schedule brought increases in orders from newly confident retailers. The San Francisco Mart moved to a Wednesday-to-Saturday schedule for [...]

NEW YORK-'Here it comes,' is the way one senior home executive reacted to the big Federated bombshell announcement combining all home buying and merchandising into one unit. Reaction across a [...]

NEW YORK-Color -- reports of its disappearance and possible death to the contrary -- is back, baby. While neutral shades still dominate many home furnishings color palettes, bold and vibrant [...]

SAN FRANCISCO-Optimism for a gradually rebounding economy and an improving employment rate are leading some retailers to approach this week's San Francisco Furniture Market with confidence and enthusiasm. Michael Gennet, [...]

As brides continue to flock to tabletop departments to register for china, crystal and silver, soft-goods suppliers are more actively targeting that captive market. Yet many suppliers have not developed [...]

While tabletop companies have long targeted the bridal business, brides and grooms have a lot more to choose from these days than china and silver. The Hearth, Patio and Barbecue [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-At first glance, furniture is hardly a high-tech product, but there are some surprising innovations to be found in a variety of products, including entertainment furniture, mattresses, lighting [...]

NEW YORK-Faster, smarter, stronger -- no, it's not a description of the upcoming 'Six Million Dollar Man' movie. Home furnishings got the tech treatment in 2003, too, as vendors created [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-With trade shows stretching from San Francisco to Paris, January is easily the busiest market month in the furniture industry. And with the U.S. economy gaining strength, organizers [...]

WASHINGTON-A group of U.S. furniture producers has cleared the first hurdle in an anti-dumping case that promises to widen the rift with retailers and importers and could further strain U.S. [...]

After years of rapid growth, photo frame sales, like those in many home furnishings categories, have slowed. Nonetheless, overall revenue for both mass and upscale frames grew nearly 3 percent [...]

NEW YORK-Pack up the suitcase, break out the travel toiletries, buy the latest John Grisham novel -- travel time, a.k.a. show season, is upon us. Check out the lineup for [...]

NEW YORK-The practices of chargebacks, reverse auctions and competitive line reviews are bad and getting worse, according to home furnishings vendors. Vendors polled in the new HFN exclusive Chargebacks and [...]

GE, Dr. Scholl's, Black & Decker and names like Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren and George Foreman have become mainstays in the home furnishings industry, exemplified by their prominent placement among [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-As vendors and retailers gathered here to preview introductions for next month's International Home Furnishings Market, showrooms buzzed with talk of China, the anti-dumping petition and encouraging news [...]

NEW YORK-The big stories at last week's textiles market here were found in new licenses, new product categories, and fashionable and functional products. Whether they were showing window, bedding, bath [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-The beleaguered furniture industry is buzzing with newfound optimism here this week as the biggest vendors and retailers get together for premarket, the unofficial precursor to next month's [...]

NEW YORK-Martha Stewart is waiting for her day in court as she faces charges of obstruction of justice, conspiracy, securities fraud and making false statements to investigators. Meanwhile, Chuck Conaway [...]

SAN FRANCISCO-Soft business conditions in the West may have kept some retailers at home, but there were some heavy retail hitters shopping the summer market here, and vendors rolled out [...]

NEW YORK-More than two months have passed since the World Health Organization reported the appearance of a strange new pneumonia in Hong Kong. Since then, the well-worn passports of most [...]

NEW YORK-As cash-strapped airlines began cutting out meal service on most domestic flights as a way to save money, a few have toyed with the idea of charging passengers for [...]

NEW YORK-Show organizers are finding it difficult to predict market attendance for the second half of the year, admitting that there are many factors affecting business, with some hoping that [...]

NEW YORK-In a business world where everyone wants everything faster and faster, suddenly a 10-day waiting period has become a mandatory policy for some of the biggest companies in the [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-'It wasn't a good market, but it wasn't a disaster.' That's how one top vendor characterized the spring International Home Furnishings Market that ended its seven-day run here [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-Early activity may have been lighter than usual at the spring International Home Furnishings Market here, but exhibitors said their biggest accounts came to market despite the war [...]

NEW YORK-The spread of the mysterious pneumonia virus in Hong Kong and southern China has begun to wreak havoc on the home furnishings industry. Most vendors and retailers are following [...]

HIGH POINT, N.C.-Spring market opens here this week under a cloud of wartime anxiety, but exhibitors and buyers are hoping that a quick resolution in Iraq will boost consumer confidence [...]