Norwalk Furniture has appointed Timothy Newlin its new president, CEO and member of the board effective May 1. He succeeds Caroline Hipple, who left the major residential furniture manufacturer earlier this year.

Residential furniture and home goods retailer issues performed well last week versus the market, while the Commercial/Contract Furniture stocks, by and large, tread water.

Flexsteel Industries President Derek Schmidt will also take over as CEO effective July 1. He succeeds Jerald Dittmer, who is resigning as CEO effective June 30, and retiring from Flexsteel on Dec. 31. Schmidt was promoted to president of the large residential furniture manufacturer in January.

Delta Children’s Products, a children’s furniture manufacturer, plans to invest $33.1 million in a manufacturing and distribution facility in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. The investment will create 123 new jobs.

Palliser has appointed Mark Letain as the new chief operating officer for the large residential furnishings manufacturer. Letain rejoins Palliser after nearly 18 years at sister company EQ3, most recently as EQ3’s president.

Morgan Li, a custom manufacturer offering fixtures, furniture, and graphics solutions, has launched a new semi-custom furniture program called Make it Your Own.

Watson Furniture Group has completed a multi-million dollar upgrade and expansion, that includes a 10,000-square-foot warehouse addition and new equipment for the production of its contract furniture lines.

Bugatti unveiled the new collection during Milan Design Week, April 15 - 21, located in Palazzo Chiesa's gardens.

It was a tough week for several Consumer Hardlines WTR stock indexes. The Commercial/Contract Furniture Index was off 4.6%, while the Home Goods Retailers Index fell 6.8% versus the four benchmarks (down between 0.8% and 3.4% for the week).The relative bright spot was Residential, which was down only 0.7%. Yet the two reporting issues in Residential did not enjoy the week. Lovesac (-19.7% for the week) continues to gain market share, while Hooker (-16.7% for the week) confirmed exceptionally soft industry demand in its 4QFY24 report.

This year marks the fifth annual juried competition that highlights professional and student craftsmen. The finalists and winning projects will e displayed at the Hall of Fame building in High Point, North Carolina.