2009.04.24
Furniture news
I've had furniture on the brain today. That's because this week has been a big one for furniture news. Here's what I'm working on and learning:
Kroger's first regional furniture department: I'm working on a story about a large new furniture department housed inside Kroger's Vinton store. It carries sofas, chairs, dining room tables, lamps and more. The Vinton store is the first Kroger in the Mid-Atlantic region to offer this expansive home furnishings collection.
To find out more about it, check out my story tomorrow's newspaper and online.
Ashley Furniture HomeStore reopens: In case you missed the news from earlier this week, a Richmond-area retailer has reopened the Ashley Furniture HomeStore on Valley View Boulevard in Roanoke. The store shut its doors abruptly last year. Read my story to find out the scoop.
North Carolina furniture market: The High Point Market in North Carolina begins tomorrow and lasts through Thursday. This twice-yearly marketplace is called the largest furniture market in the world, and it's the place where furniture retailers go to scout out the newest designs.
This is an interesting story in the Triad Business Journal about how the national lending crisis is making it difficult for showroom owners to refinance loans on space at the High Point Market. Also, showroom vacancies are higher than usual.
Showrooms are housed in more than 180 buildings at this market.
