Retail
Staff -- Home Accents Today, 7/1/2005 12:00:00 AM
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Family Dollar Stores is looking to ramp up its focus on home by upgrading its merchandise and adding more special events as well as improving the performance of its urban stores and opening 500 to 560 stores this year, according to David Alexander, company president and COO.
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Federated Department Stores will cut 200 jobs from its credit card group, but the affected employees are to be reassigned to new tasks. The news came less than a week after the Macy's parent said it would sell its Financial Administrative and Credit Services Group to help bankroll its $17 billion takeover of St. Louis rival, May Department Stores. Federated is selling its credit assets to Citigroup for almost $7.4 billion. Federated officials said they told employees in an internal memo the same day as the announcement that they will actually cut 300 positions but also take back 100 employees currently on General Electric's payroll when the retailer ends its relationship with the conglomerate's financial services arm.
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West Elm, former cataloger owned by Williams-Sonoma (also parent company of Pottery Barn and Hold Everything), opened its fourth location in April. The San Diego store is in the Mission Valley shopping center and other locations include Oak Brook, Ill, Corte Madera, Calif. and Manhattan and Brooklyn, N.Y. Six more locations are said to be opening this year in Portland, Ore., Santa Monica, Calif., Princeton, N.J., Washington D.C., Atlanta and Houston.
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Houston-based, Star Furniture debuted its Casa Cristina Furniture Collection June 8 with Cristina Saralegui, host of The Cristina Show. Shoppers were able to meet the TV star and view a collection of photographs depicting milestones in her life as well as get photos and a limited number of Cristina's book, My Life as a Blonde, autographed. The event was sponsored by Pulaski Furniture, manufacturer of the Casa Cristina Collection, and was one of the first in a series of events to be held throughout the country to promote the new line. Shoppers were given home cards worth $100 on Casa Cristina furniture purchased within 30 days of the event, and are eligible to participate in a drawing for a piece of furniture from the Casa Cristina collection as well as a drawing for tickets to attend a taping of one of Cristina's shows. Star Furniture also will make a donation to Neighborhood Centers, Ripley House and the Mexican Women's Initiative in conjunction with the introduction of the furniture collection, and in support of Star Furniture's continued commitment to the community.
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Kmart and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia launched Everyday Rooms by Martha Stewart, ready-to-assemble furniture in stores. The collection features 20 pieces for the bedroom, kitchen and living room including beds, nightstands, armoires, china cabinets, kitchen islands, upholstered sofa and armchairs, demilunes, nesting tables and more.
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Lane Home Furnishings is moving into Orlando in a big way. Father and son team, Tony and Dominic Persampiere, plan to open four new Lane Home Furnishings stores in Orlando by the end of 2006. The first store opened June 17. Until now, Lane sold its Eddie Bauer, National Geographic, Country Living and Robert Idol lines through retail outlets that didn't bear its brand name, including the Persampieres' store, The Leather Galleries, in Orlando.
The stores will enter a competitive Central Florida home furnishings market. Should the current $8 million local undertaking go well, Lane has authorized the Persampieres to add another four to six stores in the area, company officials said.
Also, Lane Home Furnishings recently opened its Houston-area furniture store with the help of Trading Spaces' interior designer Laurie Smith. Smith is the official spokeswoman for Lane. The opening Sugar Land store follows openings in other metro Houston areas of Webster and Willowbrook; additional stores are set to open later this year in The Woodlands and Katy. The Houston stores are the only locally owned Lane Home Furnishings stores in Texas.
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Retail briefs
Jun 20, 2005
