When you need something firm to sit on, bricks why not?

… to tables that create ripple effects.

Someone spilled the table!

But there is more than furniture turning heads on the web, even appliances, small practical ones with sharp design are just a convenient to buy as those at your local mall because of improved consumer shipping choices.

Practical Alarm Clock & Tea Pot Combo

These products were highlighted in the Fresh Home website for interior design and architecture and the website Latest Home Appliances.

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 

 


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:

Nick Mansilla and Dave Tomaschko speaking with IRCE attendees

The ATG reported earlier this year that 30% of consumers use more than three channels of information to research and then purchase products.  For example, they get a catalog, use the company’s website, and consider product reviews. Other channels of information are news articles, Word of Mouth, and advertising.

This statistic also reflects the overwhelming concern among retailers which is integration of the customer experience, from online, catalogs and in-store experiences.  That experience we believe is continued until the product is in its final destination.  Manna representatives Nick Mansilla and David Tomaschko listened to these concerns from retailers.  The options are limited with parcel carriers who don’t handle big ticket items, and with electronics, there are other issues such as fragility and installation that typical delivery providers don’t offer.

Internet Retailer Shows Attendees Up 40% from last year

Another sign the economy is coming back was the 40% increase in IRCE attendee traffic. According to Mansilla and Tomaschko the show floor was busy with considerable interest in Manna Distribution’s high-speed, white-glove service options.  Manna’s national coverage and expertise in a variety of product lines, including electronics, appliances, and furniture gives retailers a one stop (pardon the pun) transportation option.  Email info@Manna.com.

Two of the industry leaders Temper-pedic and Select Comfort, who makes the sleep number bed, reported growth in unit sales. This was echoed by some of the other industry leaders, so if a better night’s sleep is in your future here are a couple of major decision points.

Inner Spring vs Foam –

If you are a inner spring (traditional) person there are a few different kinds. These are my two favorite choices if you have a budget for the higher end mattresses. The blog My Foam Mattress provides these descriptions of the Open-ended and Pocket spring models.

Open-ended springs – all joined together by a wire network set up in the middle of each spring, thus leaving the top and bottom of each spring to move freely in order to independently adjust to the specific weight placed on it
Pocket springs – each spring is placed in its own separate fabric pocket and not connected in any way with the other springs, which allows independent compression of the springs, even if the mattress covering does limit some of the springs’ freedom of movement (these are the most expensive models and are said to be the most comfortable)

Springs do give a familiar feel with ample support in these models above. Many experts say a mattress should last at least 10 years, so divide that out by the number of nights used and you have a pretty sound, reasonable investment.

The Foam Memory mattress is a completely different feel than an inner-spring mattress. it is comprised of billions of cells of air which respond to the body weight. Many say to look for closed cells which provide slightly more support than open cells. This is called Visco-Elastic Memory Foam. Another type of mattress is made of Talalay Latex, this is a closed cell process and produces a different feel from an open cell process.

A popular type of bed for certain segments of the population are adjustable beds. Sleep Comfort is a leading manufacturer of adjustable beds with a variety of mattress types. You can put any mattress style on the frame. Adjustable beds can be positioned to accommodate comfort or sleeping maladies like excessive snoring (guilty). It’s interesting that some of physical symptoms such as lethargy, lack of focus, or chronic pain may have their cause in a poor mattress. At medical sleep centers around the country such as the Health East Sleep facilities in Minnesota, they examine mechanical devices to prevent sleeping on your back where appropriate

So if fatigue is a symptom then a mattress may well be the solution.

Modular furniture that saves space while looking marvelous

Climb on the CaseChair

Here’s another piece that incorporates thoughtful design while saving space. A book case and reading chair combination. You have to love the Chaircase piece by Gail Peter Borden. It comes in walnut, birch and CDX ply. There is a shelf on the back for a, what else, reading lamp. Around the perimeter is designed shelving as part of the chair that can hold up to 400 paperbacks. This will be a collector’s item for sure. I may be the last Chaircase made. If iPad sales continue the way they are, you’ll use those shelves for out-of-print books or nicknacks, power plug ins for your ear buds, wireless printers, keyboard, mouse, speakers. You get the idea. Where there is a shelf there is an item for it.

The issue of whether organizations have a digital presence or even the ability to make a transaction online is not an issue for consumers. They expect rich websites and the ability to purchase. I’m not saying here that generations of relationships should be terminated just to satisfy a clamoring consumer, but their desires can not be ignored. This article about Manna distribution’s high speed delivery in Stores Magazine gets to the heart of this issue of speed as a high ranking customer desire when shopping for consumer products. This demand is proven in sectors like electronics and appliances. The furniture industry is a bit different, but not unique in this regard. Publisher of Hearth & Home magazine, Richard Wright writes a thoughtful editorial highlighting the dilemma the furniture industry faces reconciling a productive system of distributor/dealer with a growing desire to purchase online and get the product in their home hassle free. (This editorial is not available on the web which is why I don’t have a link, ironic isn’t it? )

One of the unique characteristics of the furniture industry is the little-known, but greatly valued function of deluxing which my colleague Linda wrote about last year on this blog. Deluxing is that final inspection and detailing on the delivery dock to make sure that everything in the piece is perfect. Then getting it that last mile with a smile is critical to customer satisfaction. In fact, it’s because of this unique characteristic of the furniture industry that should make most furniture retailers rush to implement nationwide High-Speed, White Glove delivery in conjunction with some web strategy. That strategy can be their own site or plugged into a manufacturers, there are plenty of ways to achieve that web presence.

Given the changes and customer demands in the last few years, some furniture stores are moving to satisfy their

Gloster High End Casual Furniture

The Gloster site is a good example of where the furniture industry may move.

Until now.

The Coolist has the goods on the latest HD projector, the OO Wireless projector, designed by David Riesenberg. Not only is the sleek design a major improvement over the clunky boxes we are used to, but the projector itself is said to feature wireless capabilities. A lithium battery will provide three hours of uninterrupted power, good for all but the longest of movies.

Unencumbered by wires, and featuring premium aesthetics, the projector can finally be released from the wall. Homes with rooms that are not conducive to conventional HD setups may now be able to feature fully-functional home theater systems.

For some larger rooms the projector may make perfect sense, in other situations like retail spaces, a large screen can envelope the audience and create a terrific in-person HDTV experience. In the past, you lost some quality of picture by using a projector. Now with an HD projector you don’t have to compromise picture quality for picture size.

What’s good for the car industry is good for appliances too, right? Things are not that simple in government. When it came to implementing the same style program in a highly decentralized retail industry like appliances, they hit some bumps in the road. One major pothole was that each state had to have a different criteria for Cash for Clunker Appliances. Technically it’s called the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program

This, however, works in the consumers favor . . . maybe. To borrow a political paraphrase, it’s Spring in America and with the economy showing signs of rebounding (because it’s a market and markets do that). That clunker program may well be still going on in your state. That’s right, you might be chomping at the bit for a new refrigerator, that dishwasher might be on its last legs, and who knows how old that range is! Regulators and appliance stores are just waiting to see if you qualify.

I can tell you Clunker Appliance programs have closed in the following states

· Florida
· Illinois
· Iowa
· Kansas
· Minnesota
· Rhode Island
· South Dakota
· Texas

But the rest are up for grabs. Visit the Department of Energy’s website for more details. They are updating state programs with the most current information.

Above is the Pyramid bookcase by Fitting

For a slightly different play on triangles, try this

This one is call make/shift designed by Peter Marigold. It’s interlocking pieces are cleverly made so you can create a different look by arranging each separate section together with the others.

Books afterall are square or rectangles, and this one below incorporates those shapes with an eye toward an urban skyline.

And it’s appropriately named, this Skyline Bookcase is the work of Italian designer Vincenzo De Cotiis