Sometimes there are just late possibilities that just don’t work ,often because they were just pipe-dream ,Hail Mary, alcohol over -doses.Originally Posted by Edward Weber
According to business scientists.
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Sometimes there are just late possibilities that just don’t work ,often because they were just pipe-dream ,Hail Mary, alcohol over -doses.
According to business scientists.
Contributor
Just looked up “hope chests” and there is a bunch of that stuff ! And it’s most cedar chests. There are also lots of old chests and coffers for
sale all the time. They have been making them for hundreds of years ,and they don’t wear out fast enough ! But I’m sure furniture scientists
are trying to fix that ! One thing standing in their way is hokey modern building notions like caulk and insulation.
Last edited by Mel Fulks; 11-27-2022 at 2:44 PM.
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Since I tend to beieve journalism has died in the world and been replaced by sensationalism - I pass on making a judgement call on this until all the facts are in.
I just hope it isn't the start of a new way of doing things.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
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It sounds like they were in serious trouble last summer when they fired the execs running the company. My guess is the company was trying to get a loan to bail it out and it didn't come through. Once the details come out I'm betting that there's no money in the company's bank accounts. No money, no way to pay salaries.
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Whatever the reason, I suspect the name 'Lane Furniture' will be sold to an offshore company which will be up and selling soon.
I also agree with the employee(?) who said, in the comments, that the top management will get bonus severance pay.
It is sad to see so many one time household company names being used to shill import items on TV ads. Thinking of Bell & Howell, Fuller Brush, etc.
Rick Potter
DIY journeyman,
FWW wannabe.
AKA Village Idiot.
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Speaking as someone who has had to shut down companies a couple of times (small biotechs that ran out of funding), that just says there was really bad planning on the part of management combined with an utterly callous disregard and disrespect for the people who worked there. Funding a transition for your employees is something you plan for and deal with if you are a competent and responsible employer. It's the decent thing to do.
Running out of money isn't something that sneaks up on you; it's something that, as a manager, you constantly make contingency plans for.
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It has not been legal in the United States to price medical insurance differently based on the insured's medical condition since 2014. As long as Lane's former employees aquire new coverage quickly, the price they pay for private insurance will be based solely on the plan they choose, and their ability to pay.
That doesn't make this company less reprehensible, nor by any means mean that its former employees aren't in some tough situations. Getting new insurance in a timely fashion if your in the middle of a health "episode" is trying and scary, and it shouldn't be necessary. But being priced out of the insurance market because you have an existing medical condition is not one of the problems.
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Not meaning to go political but I thought "Obamacare" fixed that.
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It's pretty clear none of this snuck up on anyone.
In June of 2021, the Board of Directors terminated its CEO, CFO and executive vice president of sales, and named a former Standard Furniture President as CEO. A move like this suggests a dire set of circumstances and a shift to survival mode. No one is thinking about a gentle transition for their employees, they are thinking about keeping a company afloat so it can continue to have employees. If I was a Lane employee this would have been a clue for me to dust off the resume.
Following the purge of the "C" Suite, They restructured their sales organization, naming new Presidents for both the Domestic and Import business units. Step 2 of the reorg.
Following that, the company laid off 300 employees and closed or repurposed several facilities. They did this to stop the bleeding. They had way too much capacity. Two facilities transitioned from Manufacturing to Warehousing. That means they don't need heat or lights. More bleeding stopped and chances for survival improved.
In my experience all these steps take place to either make the remaining company a more attractive target for acquisition or more suitable to receive refinancing. When both fall through you turn off the key. It's a sad state of affairs.
Last edited by Rob Luter; 11-28-2022 at 9:15 AM.
Sharp solves all manner of problems.
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How did a furniture company go out of business with all the furniture people bought during COVID? There are quite a few furniture companies in the southeast USA that are backlogged by six months to a year.
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I didn't know that. My experience was back in the early 2000's and they definitely charged based on your medical history.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
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Some states require companies to continue benefits for a specified time period, other states do not. Given the lack of quality of the last Lane recliner we purchased new, it is little wonder that the thing company dived. Our recliner, purchased for my wife on doctor orders after her back surgery, fell apart three times within the first six months. It spent 6 weeks in the furniture sales companies back room the first time. I ended up making a consumer complaint against the company and retailer and got my money back.
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That seems to be an oft repeated story in our consumer/capitalist society, upper management, often new management, decides to cut cost and raise their own salaries, then they take the money and run.
It leaves everyone else holding an empty bag.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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I can't speak to your local area, but around here the various used places are full of unwanted furniture of various designs. A lot of it seems to be things that are no longer useful (secretaries, roll top desks) or cheap and nearly destroyed. I think there was a huge demand for modern desks, but maybe not so much for the type of furniture they make and sell. A lot of that was probably inherited from the people who have passed in the last couple of years.
Contributor
Another thing happening now is retirees getting rid of good stuff. Obvious that their children don’t want it. Almost every day on the local
Next Door app we see something fine for sale at a low price. Few pieces are “snapped up”.
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