Americans celebrated the Fourth of July over the holiday weekend—and for the first time in a long time, hosting from home has reentered the interior design conversation. Stay in the know with our weekly roundup of headlines, launches and events, recommended reading, and more.To get more news about China Furniture Factory, you can visit beour.com official website.
The U.S. housing market is still booming, but many small contractors aren’t reaping the rewards of increased demand, The Wall Street Journal reports. Due to the ongoing shortage of skilled workers, subcontractors such as carpenters and plumbers are asking for two to four times their typical rate, forcing customers to turn to bigger construction companies with the capital to bring on the added costs. Plus, the rush on supplies for both new home construction and remodeling during the pandemic has increased competition and driven up prices—another pressure point for smaller providers, who account for 82 percent of private employment in the U.S. construction industry. Mosaic Companies LLC has announced the acquisition of Walker Zanger and Opustone, distributors of luxury natural and engineered stone slabs and tiles in the North American market. Opustone president Eric Schigiel will retain his role in addition to serving as a strategic adviser for the slab division at Walker Zanger, where Jeff Lupica will continue as acting general manager supported by the existing team. According to a statement from Mosaic CEO Glen Morrison, the acquisitions fit into the holding company’s strategy of achieving growth and diversification across product categories and key channels including retailers, distribution and luxury showrooms.
The Stamford, Connecticut–based startup Tomo, which aims to reinvent the mortgage process, has announced the completion of a $70 million seed funding round led by Ribbit Capital with participation from DST Global, NFX and Zigg Capital, TechCrunch reports. Helmed by two former Zillow executives, the company has launched operations in Seattle, Dallas and Houston, offering services that include issuing underwritten pre-approvals within hours and guaranteeing on-time closing. Tomo’s ultimate goal is to use data to get homebuyers to close in as little as three weeks—less than half of the industry average of 47 days. Etsy has acquired Brazilian online marketplace Elo7 (also known as the “Etsy of Brazil”) for $217 million, TechCrunch reports. The platform was one of the 10 biggest e-commerce sites in the region—home to 1.9 million active buyers and 56,000 active sellers—and will remain a stand-alone brand after the acquisition, operated by its current team in São Paulo.
Ashley Furniture has temporarily suspended operations at two of its plants in Vietnam, Furniture Today reports, after a small number of workers tested positive for COVID-19. The shutdown affected two of the Wanek Furniture Company Limited plants, which primarily produce cut-and-sew kits for the Ashley’s U.S. upholstery production facilities. With a backup stock of materials available, brand representatives have said the three- to seven-day shutdown is not expected to negatively impact shipments.
As supply chain disruptions continue to drive up container prices, some retailers are drawing the line or limiting the amount of container business they do, Home News Now reports. Many of the orders driving up quotes were placed during the September High Point Premarket—as Miskelly Furniture’s Gentry Prestwood tells HNN: “We were in get-everything-you-can mode.” Now, fast-changing price increases and surcharges from manufacturers are prompting companies such as American Furniture Warehouse to decline quotes over a certain premium and rely on existing stock, while others, like the Houston-based Exclusive Furniture, are willing to broaden their budget to receive long-awaited goods. In other logistics-related news, WSJ reports that the next headache along the supply chain has hit domestic receiving businesses, where labor shortages and a lack of warehouse space have led to major home furnishings backlogs. In response, retailers are expanding their network of regional warehouses and boosting hiring—in June, warehousing and storage operators added 13,600 jobs in the sector’s biggest one-month increase since November.
