HFN The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network articles from December 2003

HFN The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network archives from December 2003

EDITOR'S NOTE.(home redecoration)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... So I'm sitting there watching "Trading This Old Designer for a Queer Eye" and saying to myself, "This is not my beautiful home; this is not my beautiful life." Exactly when did decorating become an intramural sport? When did entire...

TRENDS; LOOK NO FURTHER FOR THE GIFT FOR SOMEONE THAT HAS EVERYTHING.(Muji's folding cardboard speakers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Spotlight: Muji's foldable, cardboard speakers sound and look just right for bedside or computer side. $37, mujionline.com

NEW WAVE; THE EXCITING NEW LANGUAGE OF STREET GRAPHICS, ALREADY A STRONG INFLUENCE ON FASHION PACKS A VISUAL PUNCH THAT THE HOME FURNISHINGS INDUSTRY IS NOW EMBRACING AS IT RIDES THE NEW WAVE IN SKATE AND SURF CHIC.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The inroads made by graffiti culture on the fashion world has the home furnishings industry listening to the word on the street It is inevitable that the current wave of skate- and surf-influenced fashion, which draws from street art and...

CHECKERBOARD CHIC; SIDE BY SIDE ON THE PIANO...AND WHY SHOULDN'T WE FOLLOW THE OP-ART PAIRING OF EBONY AND IVORY?(home furnishings)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... When bright colors fade, we can always count on the enduring black and white to pack a visual punch. Consider the graphic history, from charcoal line drawings to silhouette portraits to classic black-and-white movies -- all effective mediums of...

SKIN DEEP; THE CALL OF THE WILD IS ANSWERED BY CHIC SHAPES IN THESE MODERN CLASSICS REINTERPRETED IN LUXURIOUS SKINS.(fur furnishings)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Feeling fuzzy? Oft associated with log cabins and mountain lodges, fur gives a cozy and dramatic touch to sharp and modern classics. Corbusier did it with his horse-hair Basculant chair. From wildly graphic zebra to the luxurious texture of...

SPACE INVADERS; FOR CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DESIGNERS, THE FUTURE IS NOW.
December 1, 2003... It -- or in this case, they -- came from outer space. Designers of a variety of products from televisions to toasters are taking a fresh look at the whimsical space-age-inspired designs of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. The result: an espresso...

NO KITSCH-ING; HOME FURNISHINGS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO BE CLICHES.(children's furniture)
December 1, 2003... From playful to sophisticated, and from classic to cutting edge, there is children's furniture available to cater to every type of taste. Peek into almost any kids-oriented home furnishings store or catalog and the cliches abound:...

BOSS TWEED; THE MATERIAL REACHES FOR THE TOP IN HOME FURNISHINGS.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Spotlight: Tweed's time is now, as home and apparel designers feature the comforting fabric on everything from women's suits to throws and pillows. The Roaring '20s brought to life a lot of innovations: bobbed hair for women, jazz...

PICTURE FRAMES; FLAT-SCREEN TVS LOOK BETTER WHEN THEY'RE TREATED LIKE ART.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Viewer Discretion: The onset of flat-screen technology is changing the television's role in furnishing a room. The appeal of large-screen plasma and LCD TVs is that they're incredibly thin, but most of the units have a cold, industrial...

A TOUCH OF GLASS.(glass designer Ingegerd Raman)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Swedish superstar glass designer Ingegerd Raman has built her career on a single mantra: "I emphasize simplicity and clarity." Her glass pieces are sought after by connoisseurs and museums around the world. Raman also designs a collection of...

THE INITIAL PHASE; PRINTED LETTERS ARE MAKING THEIR MARK ON ALL THINGS HOME.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Take a Letter: Monogramming is red hot these days, a fact that hasn't been lost on home furnishings makers Depending on who you are -- and, to a certain extent, where you live -- it might have been on a tree, a slab of raw concrete or the...

NEW FRONTIERS; THE WESTERN FUSION MOTIF COMBINES RUGGEDNESS WITH A VARIETY OF CULTURES.(home furnishings)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Anything recommended by Horace Greeley and the Village People can't be all that bad. Go west -- and there you'll find one of the hottest lifestyle directions for 2004. Consider the carriage trade cowboys who lumbered around the Milan...

WIRED SCIENCE; SLOWLY BUT SURELY, TECHNOLOGY IS TAKING CONTROL OF THE HOUSE.
December 1, 2003... It's been a long time since Spencer Tracy's room-size computer endangered the careers of Katharine Hepburn and her research staff in the 1957 classic "Desk Set." Computers have gone from requiring their own buildings and threatening to control...

SLEEPING ROUND; BED DESIGNS HAVE COME FULL CIRCLE SINCE THE '60S.(round beds)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... When they first rolled onto the scene in the 1960s, round beds represented everything that was bold and daring about the era. Modern as the space age itself, sexy enough to befit the sexual revolution and challenging the convention of what a...

SPACE TRAVEL; WITH MORE ROOMS MEETING THE MAKEOVER CRAZE, THE GREAT WARDROBE MIGRATION IS ON.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Welcome to the Great Wardrobe Migration. "Customize-it-yourself" disciples of the makeover -- the ones who visit Space Savers every week and have their TiVos set to record every episode of "Clean Sweep" and "Trading Spaces" on television --...

HABERDASHER; WITH A NOD TO LILLY PULITZER AND THE LATE BILL BLASS, FASHIONABLE FABRICS PERSONALIZE THE HOME.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Tailored for the Home Savile Row tailoring adds a handsome touch to classically inclined home furnishings. Top of the Line Tweed fabrics lend a masculine touch to refined tabletop wares. Prints Mania Bold and cheerful...

6 GREAT STORES; AN INTERNATIONAL COLLECTION OF MERCHANTS WHO MAKE THE HOUSE A HOME.
December 1, 2003... N'Uovo Via dei Fossi, 21r, Florence, Italy, 39-055-504-7085 N'Uovo, which means new, is nestled like a burst of freshness on the Via dei Fossi, a well-known destination for antique shops. Every object in the shop is designed by Arianna...

LIVINGROOM.(furnishings developments)
December 1, 2003... We're assuming you don't have thaasophobia, which is the fear of sitting down. If that assumption is correct, you're about to enter the living room section of Home Furnishings Now, the first of seven rooms featuring a wide assortment of home...

DININGROOM.(home furnishings)
December 1, 2003... We can't imagine this at all, but we hear some people have deipnophobia, which is the fear of dining and dinner conversation. Those people should turn the page, but everyone else can stay and join us in the dining room, the official room of...

KITCHEN.(furnishings)
December 1, 2003... If you have mageirocophobia -- which, in case you didn't know, is fear of cooking -- you've come to the wrong spot. For everyone else, welcome to the kitchen, the spiritual center of the American home and the place for all sorts of amazing...

BEDROOM.(furnishings)
December 1, 2003... The fear of going to bed is called clinophobia, but have no fear, you've reached the bedroom section of Home Furnishings Now, the one place to turn to for everything needed for a good night's rest... among other things you might do in the...

BATHROOM.(furnishings)
December 1, 2003... Ablutophobia is the fear of washing oneself, which just happens to be one of the big activities in the bathroom. So get over it and check out Home Furnishings Now's rundown of all that's wet and wild for this particular room of your house....

UTILITY ROOM.(furnishings)
December 1, 2003... If your closet or utility space is jam-packed with stuff and you have koinoniphobia, you may want to stay away from the place. That's the fear of crowded rooms. For everyone else, welcome to what's new in storage, cleaning and all the other...

BACKYARD.(furnishings)
December 1, 2003... If you've got domatophobia -- which is fear of being in a house -- then it's obviously time to head to the great outdoors, namely the backyard. That's because The one room of your house not actually in your house is the backyard, that sometimes...

HOROSCOPE.(home furnishings focus)
December 1, 2003... ARIES (March 20-April 19) No more phoning it in at work: On Jan. 14, you'll have to use all six of your keen senses. Even while you've got your front burners fired up, you've got a big idea simmering on the back burner. Sounds like someone...

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK; WITHOUT USING BULKY BOXES, WHISPERING WINDOWS CAN TURN ANY SURFACE INTO A SPEAKER.(from Etrema Products)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Imagine the ability to turn walls, shower doors, glass windows or kitchen cabinets into speakers. It's happening with an innovation from Etrema Products called Whispering Windows, which can be used with any flat surface. But unlike traditional...

HO HO HOME!(home furnishings sales over Thanksgiving weekend)
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Home furnishings brought holiday cheer to some of the nation's biggest retailers over the "Black Friday" weekend, the much-anticipated kickoff to the biggest shopping season of the year. Merchants such as Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney and...

WINDOW WONDERLAND.(holiday windows at Gracious Home, New York)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... It's a sign of the season when stores (in this case, Gracious Home, New York) unveil their holiday windows. For more, see page 8.

THE GREAT TOWEL SHORTAGE: A SELVAGE SALVAGE SAGA.(overseas assistance to stock store shelves)
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Where have all the towels gone? When Pillowtex went under last summer, most retailers turned to Springs Industries and WestPoint Stevens to take up the slack in their towel programs. Five months later, the two largest domestic...

NEWS BRIEFS: BON-TON CEO TO STEP DOWN...DAN RIVER FACES NYSE DELISTING...BURNES GROUP APPOINTS PRESIDENT.
December 8, 2003... BON-TON CEO TO STEP DOWN Tim Grumbacher will resign as chief executive officer of Bon-Ton Department Stores by mid-2004, but will continue as chairman of the board. Grumbacher has served as CEO of the chain since 2000. The York,...

RETAIL STORE SIGNALS BEGINNING OF GROWTH SPURT FOR WEST ELM.
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-With the opening of its first retail store, cataloger West Elm is ushering in a new stage of growth. The next 12 months will see the rollout of several more retail units, along with a significant increase in the number of SKUs...

LEHMAN UNIT BUYS MAJOR STAKE IN HUNTER FAN.(Lehman Bros. Holding merchant banking division)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Lehman Bros. Holdings' merchant banking division said it purchased a controlling stake in Hunter Fan Co. from Stonebridge Partners and Weston Presidio Capital. Hunter is a leading maker of ceiling fans under the Hunter Fan and...

PENNEY: END OF QUOTAS WILL BE BOON TO TRADE.(J.C. Penney Purchasing Corp. president Peter McGrath, import quotas)
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-The countdown to the end of quotas in 2005 has begun, opening up the floodgates for imported products. But it's not only China that stands to benefit. Look out for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam to bite into a chunk of the...

NO REVAMP PLANNED FOR INVISTA UPON ACQUISITION BY KOCH.(Koch Industries)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Steve McCracken, the designated president and chief operating officer of Invista, said there is no major restructuring planned for the $6.3 billion DuPont division formerly known as DuPont Textiles & Interiors, which is now going...

WAL-MART TO DECLINE MASTERCARD DEBITS.(debit cards)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... BENTONVILLE, Ark.-Effective Feb. 1, Wal-Mart will no longer accept MasterCard signature debit cards, due to higher transaction fees when compared with other debit cards, said the company. "As a result of the merchants' lawsuit settlement,...

CORRECTION.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
December 8, 2003... In the Nov. 24 issue of HFN, the article "World Kitchen CEO Talks Up Brands" included a photo of a cooking pot incorrectly identified as Revereware cookware. Here is a photo of the Revere Convenience line.

BIG LOTS APPOINTS MARTIN EXECUTIVE MERCHANDISING VP.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... COLUMBUS, Ohio-Closeout retailer Big Lots Inc. has named John Martin executive vice president of merchandising. The 30-year retail veteran was most recently president of Garden Ridge. He will report to Michael Potter, chief executive officer....

THE GLASS MENAGERIES.
December 8, 2003... Part of the glamour and magic of the holidays in New York, or any town across America, is the annual holiday decorations. Store windows are bedecked and bejeweled extravaganzas that could make even Scrooge say "Merry Christmas." Retailers hope...

ON YOUR MARKETS, GET SET TO GO! AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT WHAT'S IN STORE AT THE MAJOR TRADE SHOWS SLATED FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2004.(Calendar)
December 8, 2003... 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 2004 for changes. In most cases, they're not your same old trade shows....

ON YOUR MARKETS, GET SET TO GO!, CONTINUED.(home furnishings industry trade show previews)(Calendar)
December 8, 2003... AHMA HARDWARE SHOW April 18 to 20 McCormick Place, Chicago The American Hardware Manufacturers Association is independently producing the 2004 Hardware Show for the first time in 60 years. The show will draw on AHMA members and...

IT'S A DATE: THE GUIDE TO GET YOU STARTED.(home furnishings industry trade shows)(Calendar)
December 8, 2003... january 2004 4-6 Orlando Gift Show Orange County Convention Center Orlando, Fla. (678) 285-3976 urban-expo.com 4-7 Philadelphia Gift Show Fort Washington Expo Center Fort Washington, Pa. (678) 285-3976...

JOHNNY PUKE'S HOLIDAY.(managing department store Santas)(Editorial)
December 8, 2003... It's a busy time of year for my old college roommate, Johnny Puke. Johnny earns his nickname managing, and sometimes singing in, punk rock bands. But when the holiday season rolls around, Johnny manages Santa Claus. Hence, his hectic...

SHOW TREK.(home furnishings industry trade shows)(Editorial)
December 8, 2003... We are about to go where no person in the home business has ever gone before. A one-year mission to strange and uncharted territory, to explore bold new shows and markets. And we'll be lucky if any of us make it back alive. Over the...

GROWING IN THE TOWELS; SPRINGS' MARKET SHARE IS BURGEONING IN THE WAKE OF PILLOWTEX'S DOWNFALL.
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Thanks to Pillowtex, Springs Industries is soon to be a towel powerhouse. Industry sources said Springs is the main beneficiary of the towel programs that were left up for grabs after Pillowtex went out of business. That includes...

NEWS BRIEFS: VERATEX BACKS TOUR BENEFIT...FIELDCREST AGENT JOEL BYRON DIES.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... VERATEX BACKS TOUR BENEFIT Veratex is supporting a benefit tour of historic houses in Millburn, N.J., set for Dec. 11. Eight homes in the historic Wyoming section of Millburn will be open for the tour, which benefits the Wyoming Elementary...

TURKISH RESILIENCE; IMPORTERS SAY ISTANBUL BOMBINGS WON'T DETER THEM FROM DOING BUSINESS IN TURKEY.
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Despite recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul that killed dozens of people and the subsequent travel advisories, importers of rugs from Turkey remain committed to conducting business there. On Nov. 20, the U.S. State Department...

NEW CARPET AND RUG GROUP SETS FIRST MEETING FOR SURFACES.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... DALTON, Ga.-Soft flooring trade associations from around the world are banding together to form the World Carpet and Rug Council, with its first meeting Jan. 29, during the Surfaces trade show in Las Vegas. The organization will include...

NEWS BRIEFS: MOHAWK UNIVERSITY ADDS MORE COURSES...CARPET ONE ASSISTS MARINE TOYS FOR TOTS...CUSTOMWEAVE INTRODUCES FIVE WOOL BROADLOOM STYLES.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... MOHAWK UNIVERSITY ADDS MORE COURSES Mohawk University, the training division of Mohawk Industries, is expanding its courses, going to new cities and offering new electronic training tools to help dealers train salespeople. "This year,...

LAURA ASHLEY RUG LICENSE MOVES TO MOHAWK HOME.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... SUGAR VALLEY, Ga.-Laura Ashley has found a new home for rugs, signing a licensing agreement with Mohawk Home to make area, accent and bath rugs, and doormats. The brand will be positioned at the mid- to upper-tier level, with area rugs to...

MOHAWK TO SHOW LINES AS REGIONAL MEETINGS BEGIN.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... DALTON, Ga.-Mohawk Industries this month begins its series of 40 regional meetings, rolling out new products in carpet, hardwood, laminates and ceramic tile. Earlier this year, Mohawk pulled out of Surfaces, saying it would expand the...

CORRECTION.
December 8, 2003... An article in the Nov. 17 issue of HFN about ABC Carpet & Home listed an incorrect date for a concert with composer Philip Glass. The event will be held at the 888 Broadway location in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 6 to 9 p.m.

ASSEMBLING OPPORTUNITIES; RTA MAKERS ARE THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX TO PUT THEIR LINES IN EVERY ROOM IN THE HOUSE.
December 8, 2003... HIGH POINT, N.C.-Ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturers, operating in a washboard economy where "up" doesn't necessarily stay up for long, have learned that diversification across the home furnishings board and beyond can create a smoother...

FURNITURE EXPORTERS IN EUROPE STRUGGLE WITH ECONOMY, ASIA.
December 8, 2003... HIGH POINT, N.C.-European furniture manufacturers have endured rough seas en route to the U.S. market over the past 18 months -- an economic tempest so severe that one executive dubbed it "the perfect storm." The rare confluence of natural...

NEWS BRIEFS: BERKLINE/BENCHCRAFT FILLS NEW POSITION...MATTRESS CHAIN BOUNCING BACK...KELLER PREPARES TO GO PRIVATE.
December 8, 2003... BERKLINE/BENCHCRAFT FILLS NEW POSITION Berkline/BenchCraft LLC has named Lamont Hope senior vice president of corporate procurement. In this new position, Hope will manage domestic purchasing activities and offshore sourcing. Most...

SUPPLIERS REINVENTING THE LAMP TO ADD LIFE AND PROFITS TO BASICS.
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Light fixtures have come a long way since Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Now, at a deflationary time when basic fixtures seem to cost about what they did in Edison's era, lighting suppliers are reinventing commodity goods...

LAMPS PLUS WINS JURY TRIAL OVER INFRINGEMENT OF TREE TORCHIERE PATENT.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... DALLAS-A federal jury here handed down a verdict of willful patent infringement against Patrick S. Dolan, Design Trends LLC and Craftmade International Inc. At issue were three-in-one torchieres, for which Lamps Plus holds utility and...

DARRELL ROSS' NEW ROLE; THE CEO OF ROSS-SIMONS STARS IN THE COMPANY'S FIRST TV COMMERCIAL.
December 8, 2003... WARWICK, R.I.-It's 7:30 a.m., and Darrell Ross has been up since 5 and on the "set" of his Warwick store since 6. A small crew of cameramen and Ross-Simons executives have been quietly milling around him: fixing, adjusting, primping,...

PFALTZGRAFF JOINS KENNETH COLE IN SUPPORT OF AMFAR CAMPAIGN.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Kenneth Cole, president and chief executive officer of Kenneth Cole Productions and vice chairman of the board of the American Foundation for AIDS Research, unveiled the newest AIDS public awareness campaign at the Pfaltzgraff showroom...

NEWS BRIEFS: GIBSON RECEIVES ANTI-TERRORISM CERTIFICATION...TRUDEAU OBTAINS BARBIE CHILDREN'S TABLEWARE LICENSE.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... GIBSON RECEIVES ANTI-TERRORISM CERTIFICATION Gibson Overseas has been granted Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism certification by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. The...

BARWARE AND SNOWMEN PLAY HEAVILY IN HOLIDAY PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-The holiday tabletop promotions seem to be pushing fun with both seasonal and everyday merchandise, whether it be on entertaining with an emphasis on barware, a year-round item, or a strong showing of whimsical snowmen adorning...

THE FRAME & ALBUM REPORT.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... Frames are a $2.4 billion market. Retail sales grew nearly 3 percent in 2003. The mass market is still considered the greatest growth opportunity, but craft/floral shops and drugstores are making inroads.

THE BIG PICTURE: SLOWING BUT GROWING; THE MASS MARKET STILL ACCOUNTS FOR THE LION'S SHARE OF SALES.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... 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 to an estimated $2.4 billion in 2003. There was...

FRAME GROWTH SLOWS IN THE MASS CHANNEL; CRAFT/FLORAL SHOPS AND DRUGSTORES ARE PICKING UP SOME OF THE SLACK.
December 8, 2003... Growth in the photo frame category has slowed in the mass channel. For the third consecutive year, increases were lower than the previous year in the tabletop and wall frame market. HFN estimates that 2003 sales in the mass frame market...

HIGH-END'S UPWARD TURN; PRICE PRESSURE CONTINUES, BUT BUSINESS PICKED UP IN THE SECOND HALF.
December 8, 2003... The upscale frame market is painting a slightly rosier picture in 2003. Sales in the upscale market are projected to increase 2.4 percent, reaching $641.76 million. It's an improvement over last year's gain of 1.4 percent, but hardly...

PICTURE'S STILL FUZZY FOR PHOTO ALBUMS; SALES IN THIS SEGMENT ARE UP MODESTLY IN 2003, BUT THE OUTLOOK REMAINS IFFY.
December 8, 2003... Sales in the photo album market remain lackluster. There is, however, some encouraging news. After three consecutive years of decreases in growth from previous years, sales in the category are projected to rise 2.6 percent, reaching $609...

SWEEPING ACHIEVEMENTS; THROUGHOUT THE VAC INDUSTRY, COMPANIES ARE REACHING THE CENTURY MARK.
December 8, 2003... CLEVELAND-Get ready for a spate of centennial celebrations in floor care. Here's an industry that virtually was invented here in the first decade of the 20th century. Many of the biggest manufacturers in this business are approaching their...

LIFETIME HOAN ACQUIRES GEMCO WARE'S ASSETS.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... WESTBURY, N.Y.-Lifetime Hoan Corp. has acquired the assets of Gemco Ware Inc. in a move that expands Lifetime's wide range of product categories to include glass storage products. Gemco Ware, a 55-year-old supplier of glassware and housewares...

NEWS BRIEFS: FREUDENBERG ACQUIRES O-CEDAR BRANDS...GILLETTE PARTNERS WITH NASCAR, DRIVERS...PHILIPS UNIT REFINES NORTH AMERICA FOCUS.
December 8, 2003... FREUDENBERG ACQUIRES O-CEDAR BRANDS Freudenberg Household Products has acquired O-Cedar Brands Inc. out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which the company had filed for earlier this year. FHP is already invested in the household...

HOOVER ADAPTS TO FACE THE INDUSTRY'S CHALLENGES HEAD-ON.
December 8, 2003... NORTH CANTON, Ohio-Welcome to the new, new Hoover, where there are fewer people and more ideas, where traditional floor care is no longer the whole product line, and where thinking outside the box is doesn't mean redesigning a carton. ...

NEWS BRIEFS: VAC SHIPMENTS UP AGAIN IN OCTOBER...PORTABLE APPLIANCES SHOW MORE STRENGTH.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... VAC SHIPMENTS UP AGAIN IN OCTOBER Manufacturers' shipments of full-sized vacuum cleaners increased 4.7 percent to 1,859,908 in October. Only in 2000 did the industry have a bigger October, at 1,914,997 machines. The Vacuum Cleaner...

CHEF FINDS NEW USES FOR KITCHENWARE.
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Celebrity chef Alton Brown is teaming with Linens 'n Things to promote kitchenware in a marketing program to kick off early next year. The program, to be called Alton's Picks, is designed to take some of the mystery out of...

ADVERTISING FOR MEN'S SHAVERS OUTWEIGHS LADIES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Despite a flux this year in the electric shaving category to take care of the ladies as much as their men, the mood in advertising at this holiday season is all about the boys. In discussing advertising and promotional plans for...

CALL TO ALARMS; NEW FEATURES IN CLOCK RADIOS ARE WAKING UP THE CATEGORY FOR RETAILERS.
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Clock radios have grown into a surprisingly lively and appealing category for a wide range of consumers, according to retailers who are positioning the segment as a "must have." Moreover, the segment was once a product line that...

SHORT WAVES.(briefs)
December 8, 2003... GIFT CARDS TOO HOT TO HANDLE is what analysts from Retail Forward, the consulting firm, expect this year as its consumer survey revealed that 24 percent of shoppers said they planned on spending more of their budget this year than last year on...

FEDERATED TO TEST BOSE KIOSKS IN SIX STORES DURING HOLIDAY.(Federated Department Stores)
December 8, 2003... CINCINNATI-High-end consumer electronics maker Bose Corp. will test in-store kiosks in six Federated Department Stores units through the holiday season. The move marks Federated's second push this year to return to the electronics business. ...

BIG FLAT-PANEL TVS ARE DRIVING HARVEY ELECTRONICS' YULE SALES.
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Franklin Karp, president of high-end specialty retailer Harvey Electronics, told HFN that flat-panel TVs remain one of the top-performing categories this holiday shopping season. "There's no question that the flat-panel category --...

BEST BUY VS. CIRCUIT CITY.(promotions)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... ON THE COVER Best Buy: Sony 32-inch WEGA flat picture tub TV, model KV-32FS100, $699.99 Circuit City: Hitachi 46-inch widescreen HDTV, model 46W500, $1,699.99 TV Best Buy: Mitsubishi 65-inch rear-projection HDTV, model...

BOSCOV'S STEPS UP PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS TO KEEP PACE WITH THE BIG CHAINS.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Department store retailer Boscov's turned up the heat on promotions last week by offering consumers no interest, payments and money down for one year on TVs, electronics and appliances over $399. The retailer also offered shoppers...

ARTISON'S CHRISTIE: SELLING SPEAKERS TAKES SOUND JUDGMENT.(Cary Christie)
December 8, 2003... INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev.-Cary Christie is that rare breed of technology wizard who also has a keen sense of the marketplace. Since the beginning of his career developing speaker systems, Christie, who co-founded the legendary Infinity Systems in...

MAJORITY OF RETAILERS IN HOME GOODS SEE SALES GROW IN Q3.
December 8, 2003... NEW YORK-Winners trampled losers among retailers of home furnishings in the third quarter. More than four out of five of 23 leading merchants tracked by HFN reported revenue increases compared with the same period a year ago, and nearly half...

REX STORES' SALES RISE, NET INCOME DROPS IN 3RD QUARTER.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... DAYTON, Ohio-Despite a strong sales performance from large-screen and high-definition TVs, Rex Stores Corp. saw lower net income and a modest sales increase for the third quarter ended Oct. 31. Net income dropped 4.7 percent to $4.1...

CONTAINERIZED MERRIMENT.
December 8, 2003... The Container Store took the Big Apple by storm with a grand-opening fete for its new store in the Flatiron District. More than 3,000 "guests" filled the mammoth space and chowed down and drank up. The event even had a live band and dance floor...

EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND.(Raymond Waites Design Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2003... A RAY OF SUNSHINE: That's how the home industry looks upon the man behind the mask. A 30th anniversary retrospective of Raymond Waites begins on page 11.

ANTI-DUMPING CASE GETS OK TO PROCEED.
December 15, 2003... 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. trade relations with China. The Department of...