Xylexpo draws more than 50K visitors

Xylexpo, the biennial world exhibition dedicated to woodworking technologies and furniture supplies, held in the Fiera Milano-Rho exhibition center, May 4-8, saw 652 exhibitors, covering a net exhibition area of about 125,000 square feet. Visitors totaled 51,480, 48% of whom came from outside Italy.
“Many exhibitors have told me about their satisfaction and the quality of visitors coming to Milan, who were actually interested in the acquisition of solutions and technology within the next few months. These businessmen did not just walk around the stands, they had a real need to update their production equipment. There were orders signed during the exhibition, something we had not seen for a long time,” said Ambrogio Delachi, president of Acimall, the Italian woodworking machinery and tools manufacturers’ association, which organizes the show through Cepra spa.
The next Xylexpo is scheduled for May 8-12, 2012, in the Fiera Milano-Rho exhibition center.

February furniture orders 13% higher than 2009

New residential furniture orders were 13 percent higher in February 2010 than 2009, according to Smith Leonard’s Furniture Insights, a monthly survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors.
This marked the fourth month in a row that orders were up over the previous year’s same month comparison. (October was flat, November up 10 percent, December up 12 percent and January up 4 percent.) Admittedly, all of these months were comparing to poor results in the previous year. But the good news is that we seem to have stopped the downward flow.
Shipments in February were 4 percent higher than February 2009. January shipments were 6 percent higher than January 2009, resulting in the year-to-date shipments up 5 percent over the same two months of last year. This was the third month in a row that shipments were up over the same period a year ago.

Jan. 2010 furniture orders up

January 2010 new furniture orders were positive again compared to January 2009, according to Smith Leonard's most recent Furniture Insights survey of residential furniture manufacturers and distributors.
While not quite as positive as the November and December results, orders still were in positive territory, showing a four percent increase over January 2009.
This four percent increase follows a 12 percent increase in December, a 10 percent increase in November and a flat October, in year-over-year comparisons. The study found January results negatively impacted by bad weather, and expect February results also to be affected.
Some 59 percent of survey participants reported increased orders, down slightly from 62 percent in December.
Shipments in January were six percent higher than January 2009, following a three percent increase in December. While shipments were down 24 percent in January 2009 versus January 2008, December’s increase in shipments was the first since June 2006.
Shipments in January were 10 percent lower than December 2009, somewhat normal in the January to December comparisons, according to the study. Approximately 62 percent of survey participants reported increased shipments in January, up from about 50 percent in December.

Dynasty, Melrose Place and Barcelona

It had all the makings of a catty nighttime soap opera, see “Mies van der Rohe Furniture Designs causes legal catfight” but ended rather anti climactically.
Knoll Inc. and Alphaville Design Inc., settled their dispute relating to Knoll's registered Barcelona trademark. Knoll had alleged that certain products sold by Alphaville Design infringed the Knoll trademarks, while Alphaville Design claimed that the trademarks were invalid. To resolve the dispute, Alphaville Design Inc. acknowledged the validity of, and Knoll's rights to, the above-referenced trademarks, and in return Knoll granted them the right to sell similar furniture products for a limited period of time. In connection with the settlement, the parties have agreed to dismiss the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Diversify, diversify, diversify!

Technology is shaping how we live and what we buy. A savvy furnituremaker in Oregon, Substrata, sells a gorgeous line of custom wooden cases and docking stations for the iPad, iPhone and other personal electronic devices. The cases are made from exotic woods such as, Zebrawood, Maple, Fir, Walnut, Padauk and Wenge.

The tech accessories as well as other products create a nice revenue stream when consumers are hesitant to invest thousands in a custom piece of furniture. A $100 to $150 custom case for their newest toy is easier to swallow. iWant one!

Ugly furniture

Cabinet sales decrease 6.4% in Jan.

Cabinet sales for January 2010 decreased 6.4 percent compared to sales for January 2009, according to the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association monthly Trend of Business Survey.
Stock cabinet sales decreased 11.9 percent, semi-custom sales increased 5.6 percent and custom sales decreased 11.9 percent.
Survey participants include stock, semi-custom and custom companies whose combined sales represent more than 50 percent of the U.S. cabinet market.