The Las Vegas Market.
It’s the “Big Show” of the furniture world, or at least since High Point, but let’s face it, Las Vegas Market has a lot going for it, namely great furniture showcases and discussion panels. This year will be a pivotal one for the furniture industry. As I am writing this post I’m listening to a roundtable of “experts” on CNBC talking about indicators that the economy is starting to come back. A variety of sectors will impact furniture sales including housing, remodeling, hospitality and banking. Examples are Ryland homes reported closings up 30% and Hilton is reporting a rise in occupancy rates across brands.
Manna Distribution Services representatives are meeting with furniture manufacturers and retailers at the Las Vegas Market to get the pulse on the industry and talk logistics.
In addition to being on the ground in Vegas, we’ll be watching comments online, there are more than a thousand followers of the World Market Center profile on Twitter also the topic #LVMkt is a collection of Tweets about the Las Vegas Market.
At the High Point market in April furniture makers were raising prices for the first time since the recession. Higher prices from Asian manufacturers and trans-pacific shipping costs were the reasons they gave for the price hike.
Meanwhile, Manufacturing.net reported furniture retailers are looking for ways to better serve the customer with added value and remain competitive. That is the ideal retailer to speak with Manna as they are looking to reduce lost sales due to remorse returns and painfully slow transit times domestically to the consumer. Manna’s high speed, white glove delivery can keep furniture retailers competitive while helping to reduce back room costs.
To schedule an appointment and discuss better transportation options for furniture manufacturers and retailers email info AT Manna DOT com
That’s right, you procrastinators, get your act in gear, start putting away a couple of schkels for the 3D HDTV this holiday season. Some say it will be the next big thing in home entertainment or just the next opportunity to be the first on your block to have it. Either way, it’s pretty cool technology. The big players are lining up, LG announced last week it’s tossing in free 3D glasses when you buy the bundled TV and 3D Blu-Ray player.
This holiday season will be critical for 3D HDTV sales. Author of the article on the LG announcement, Matthew DeCarlo, and commenters to his post believe the industry is getting behind a big push for 3D HDTV. They do express some concern about the Catch-22 relationship with hardware and content for 3D to catch on. Will there be programming to make it worthwhile? Meanwhile programmers want to see if there is a market to invest in making the programming. What it comes down to at this early stage of the game are those early adopters of technology and whether there are enough big players to make 3D viable.
An impressive list of manufacturers and programmers are willing to try. Content providers are starting to push programming, first with movies, Avatar, Up, Alice in Wonderland and several others. Television programming is also getting a boost with ESPN and Discovery. You can just imagine how some shows and events will be enhanced by 3D. Golf for example, is such a game of depth and detail. Whether it’s the camera angle from behind the golfer looking into a 170 yard approach slightly up hill, or the side view of a 25 foot putt on an undulating green, 3D in HD would be a clearly better viewing experience. HDGuru.com has more examples of 3D HDTV content.
On the manufacturing side in addition to LG, Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung are pushing new products into the last half of 2010. Most manufacturers will include 3D glasses that work with their sets, but likely those glasses will not work with sets from other manufacturers. Fear not, there are plenty of options for universal 3D glasses. Just like the universal remote gives you power throughout your house and beyond, so too will you be able to purchase 3D glasses that work in your house and when you crash your neighbor’s Super Bowl Party.
Take a Look at some sets here:
You can pre-order the Sony Bravia 60” 3D from JR.com
This Samsung 46″ LED 3D with glasses and player you can get delivered right now from B&H Photo:
Blog | Albert Maruggi | 
July 29, 2010 12:04 pm | 
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