A charcuterie board of furniture biz news bytes: Conn’s, B. Riley and Scherer & Sons
When no column idea tickles the little gray cells, my pro move is to hit the research databases and shake a few trees to see …
Author: Brian Carroll
Brian Carroll covered the international home furnishings industry for 15 years as a reporter, editor and photographer. He chairs the Department of Communication at Berry College in Northwest Georgia, where he has been a professor since 2003.
Back to the future: malls, train heists … pirates?
If the past is a prison, I suggest that there’s been some sort of jailbreak. In last week’s news, I read of the heady returns …
Licensing, leveraging and layoffs: the advantages of being ‘asset light’
What do Conn’s, Badcock, Sports Illustrated and Shaquille O’Neal have in common? You’re going to need a beer for this answer, and maybe a finger or …
The plot thickens for players in the Conn’s-Badcock deal
Since the late-December acquisition of Badcock by Conn’s, the dark clouds have been gathering over the principal players in the deal, including the seller, Franchise …
Cologne fair spotlights sustainability and hospitality theme
COLOGNE, Germany — Oh, were this dateline accurate and true. One of the annual highlights of covering case goods internationally for so many years was …
Motive, means, opportunity: Pinboarding the mystery of the Conn’s-Badcock deal
Lee Child, the prolific writer of the Jack Reacher series of page-turners, said that the way to write a thriller is “to ask a question …
A holiday visit from St. Wanek
‘Twas the night before the Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yule/Boxing Day/Christmas festive cycle, when all through the exquisitely decorated, midcentury modern-furnished home, not an interest rate was stirring, not even the …
Musings on the promises of AI and what it can do for us humans
We end the calendar year with a bunch of coal in our stockings: bankruptcies, rising loan rates, diminishing demand for discretionary goods, and the specter …
What’s behind the bankruptcies of the past year?
Almost exactly a year ago, more than 2,700 furniture factory workers, truck drivers and office personnel got the big bald turkey of an email that …
Luxury retailers create bespoke ‘experiences’
At the upper end, the focus is on offering desirability, custom design and a memorable experience for the customer The idea of buying and transacting …
