Palliser Furniture’s CEO Inducted to Canadian Manufacturer’s Hall of Fame

April 20th, 2009 Leigh

Art DeFehr, Palliser Furniture’s President and CEO was inducted into the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Hall of Fame last March.

He credited the company’s success and long life to his father Abram Albert DeFehr, his brothers, who are also his partners, and the Palliser management team during his acceptance speech.

Palliser Furniture, headquartered in Winnipeg, MB, has more than 4000 employees in its operations in several countries including Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Indonesia. Currently, its main focus is to distribute furniture specializing on leather upholstery all throughout North America.

DeFehr has won recognition for his business leadership as well as his contributions to humanitarian projects all over the world. He was a leader in the United Nations refugee work during Somalia’s war with Ethiopia. He was also assigned work in several other countries including Cambodia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and the Soviet Union.

Read the original article here.

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Fairmont Designs is Developing New Lifestyle Brand “NewLeaf” for the Chinese Market

July 11th, 2008 Matt

Fairmont Designs currently operates 3 furniture manufacturing plants in China and 5 retail stores in Shanghai. They are currently creating a new brand, NewLeaf that is targeted towards China’s upper middle class who are concerned about the environment. Since Fairmont Designs owns and operates their own manufacturing plants, they can manage new eco-friendly standards for their products. With a scheduled launch date of 2009, NewLeaf products will soon be available in Fairmont Designs’ flag ship store in Shanghai.

costa mesa bedroom furniture set
Costa Mesa Bedroom Furniture Set

retrospect dining table set
Retrospect Dining Table Set

Wholesale Furniture Brokers currently offers Fairmont Designs products on both websites - GoWFB.com and GoWFB.ca.

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The Truth About Direct Buy

June 14th, 2008 Matt

Have you seen the Direct Buy website? You can take an online tour that explains how Direct Buy works. Direct Buy has a good point when they say retail stores generally mark up their products to cover the cost of the store expenses. Direct Buy is offering you a chance to buy home furnishings without paying a retail markup. When you are a member, all you pay is the actual manufacturer’s price plus shipping and handling. Design, delivery, and installation options are also available. There are testimonials on the Direct Buy website. Here is an example:

“Yeah, we’ve been members now for about four or five months. And in that amount of time alone, I would say we’ve saved about seventy thousand. It’s just been phenomenal and we really hate to use the same old quote, but we’ve just hit the tip of the iceburg as far as you know. Building a whole new home, it’s just been a blessing in disguise because we’ve been able to do more than we really didn’t think we’d be able to.”

This is a strong message because the person who bought from Direct Buy was able to save so much. If you want to become a member, you can click on the Free Visitor’s Pass and fill out your contact information to receive a free visitor’s pass to a local Direct Buy center.

Have you searched for Direct Buy on Google? The number 2 spot when I searched Direct Buy on Google was complaints from actual people who have become members. It’s called Direct Buy Complaints and it’s worth looking into. When I checked, there were 34 pages totaling 668 complaints.

Some of the complaints include:

1. Sales pressure from the Direct Buy sales representatives.
2. You can’t look at the catalogs until you join.
3. Each showroom has different policies and fees.
4. You don’t know what you can buy until you join and do the research.
5. It cost $6000 to join at one Direct Buy location. If the person didn’t pay, they wouldn’t be allowed back for 7 years.
6. Membership costs between $2200 and $4500 to join at other Direct Buy locations.
7. You cannot cancel your membership after you join. You may not get your membership fee back.
8. You can’t order online. You have to order at a showroom.

That’s just some of the complaints I read on the first page. There are 34 more pages, so I’m sure there will be other similar complaints from other actual Direct Buy members.

It’s a good idea to read about other people’s experiences before deciding on investing money for the membership at Direct Buy. What do you think of Direct Buy? Have you had a good experience or a bad one? Post a comment and let us know.

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The Cindy Crawford Home Furniture Collection is Exclusively Sold at The Brick in Canada

June 13th, 2008 Matt

Cindy Crawford is now promoting her home furniture collection in Canada. It’s being sold exclusively at The Brick. Have you seen pictures of her on the flyers or even on The Brick’s website? The Brick’s website even has online commercials you can download.

You can view the official Cindy Crawford website to find out where you can buy Cindy Crawford Home furniture in the USA.

Are you more likely to buy from The Brick now that they have Cindy Crawford on their advertising? Post a comment to let us know.

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Donate Furniture and Other Household Items to People in Need at Furniture Bank

June 4th, 2008 Matt

Furniture Bank is a registered charity located in Toronto, Ontario that wants to help recycle your furniture and other household items by giving them to people who are in need. The mission of Furniture Bank is to give new hope to those in need and make sure every person has the basic needs for sustainable living in the Toronto area. Furniture Bank also provides employment to people receiving Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits and other people with limited employment opportunities. Furniture Bank needs basic apartment furnishings including dressers, kitchen and dining tables, and beds of all sizes. Financial donations are also appreciated. Tax receipts can be claimed on donations over $25. You can find out more information and help donate your furniture to clients who are living in shelters, hostels, or are homeless by visiting the Furniture Bank website.

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What Does Green Furniture Really Mean?

May 27th, 2008 Matt

Some company’s state that their furniture is made of 20% recycled content. What does that mean to you as a consumer? You have to trust the manufactures with their claims of “green” practices since most of the manufactures outsource their products to other countries. Standards in one country might be different in another.

Some of the steps that manufacturer take to produce “green” furniture include reducing chemical use, improving their procedures on finishing their products, and reducing and reusing waste.

As a consumer, you still need to think about how manufacturers are making a conscious effort to preserve the environment when they market their products with “green”, “natural”, and “eco-friendly”.

Manufacturers should be able to prove their “green” practices with certification from respected organizations. When introducing “green” products, audiences with the knowledge of sustainable practices will be able to judge the quality of the “green” practices from the manufacturer which could be favorable or embarrassing to the company.

Questions that should be answered when finding out about eco-friendly products include:

”What materials are in the furniture?”
”Are the materials harvested with renewable practices?”
”Do you minimize damage to the environment wherever possible?”

Wholesale Furniture Brokers researches the “green” practices by its manufacturers before claiming their eco-friendly status. On GoWFB.ca, you can find eco furniture by Lifestyle Solutions.

Details used in this post were found in the Furniture Today article about Marketers discussing promoting green products.

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Zuo Modern Contemporary Inc. Opens New Warehouse in Montreal, QC on May 15, 2008

May 8th, 2008 Matt

On May 15, 2008, Zuo Modern Contemporary Inc. (Zuo Mod) will have a total of five warehouses around the world including warehouses in Oakland, Guadalajara, Guandong, Miami, and their new 20,000 SQF warehouse in Montreal. The new warehouse will mean more inventory, no custom broker hassles, drop shipping in Canada, French customer service, and the same great value products. Zuo Mod offers innovative, modern furniture designs ranging from office, bar, dining, occasional, and outdoor. You can check out the Zuo Mod website to see all of the latest designs.

Expect the new Zuo Mod furniture available to order on GoWFB.ca soon!

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Is it Easy to Buy Furniture Online?

May 2nd, 2008 Matt

“According to a study conducted by OTX in August 2007, consumers cite too many options (42 percent), uncertainty regarding design preferences (41 percent) and too little information on how to make selections (29 percent) as factors causing a lack of confidence when buying furniture. Almost 75 percent of those surveyed said they would utilize a resource that provided simple, easy to understand information prior to buying furniture. More than 40 percent said they would buy furniture more often if they had greater confidence in their purchasing decisions.”

All of the concerns these consumers have about ordering furniture are important factors when designing a user-friendly website. Have you tried ordering from other websites and found it difficult to add the options you want or change your options after you have placed items in your shopping cart? It can be frustrating. At Wholesale Furniture Brokers, we are constantly working on improving our customers’ shopping experience by giving them easy-to-use drop down options and explanations on how to order. Customer satisfaction is our number one goal from ordering furniture to having the furniture arrive at the customer’s home.

How was your shopping experience on GoWFB.ca? Post a comment to let us know.

You can view the entire article about HGTV’s Exclusive Preferred Retailer Program on the NHFA website.

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Inspiring Contemporary Furniture Designs by Brastilo and Pieter Maes Debut at ICFF

May 1st, 2008 Matt

Pieter Maes has combined his creative talents with Brastilo to develop intriguing furniture designs for chairs and consoles that are inspired by the Brazilian culture. Peter’s new designs will be introduced at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) this May in New York City.

“We have pushed the envelope in the way wood is graphically and sculpturally used. This is an aggressive, edgy and elegant look for us,” stated Isaque Kirschner, Brastilo’s Managing Director.

View the new designs by Pieter Maes for Brastilo that will be introduced at the ICFF.

You can view the entire article about Pieter Maes and Brastilo on PRWeb.com.

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