Corona in India: producers are taking orders again

India is the most productive and populous country of origin for handmade carpets, and of course Corona has a strong impact on people and the economy there too. While initially the urban areas were mainly affected, in June the number of infections also rose sharply in rural areas – since the Indian government lifted the strict lockdown and more migrant workers returned from the cities to their home villages. Converted railway wagons were taken to the affected areas for medical care, also to the "carpet belt" around Bhadohi.

According to the "Economic Times India" of 14 June, producers in the weaving regions are once again accepting new carpet orders. Currently, the Carpet Export Promotion Council is preparing a virtual carpet fair, which is to take place from 21 to 25 August. This was reported by the Indian daily newspaper "Patrika" on 21 June.

Austria: Lutz Group reopens 117 stores from 2 May

After almost seven weeks of prescribed closure of Austria's furniture stores, the Lutz Group is reopening all 117 stores of its distribution channels XXXLutz, Möbelix and Mömax this Saturday.

Since all of them cover a very large sales area, there will be sufficient space for customers, the company says.

Despite Corona: Lutz Group's activities in Eastern Europe and Switzerland on schedule

According to a Lutz press release, the conversions of the acquired Kika furniture stores in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania are fully on schedule. In the course of the year, large XXXLutz openings are to take place in all countries. The preparations for the market entry of Mömax in Switzerland are also going as planned. "We are working at full speed on all our projects for 2020, and both the projects in Eastern Europe and in Switzerland can be implemented on time", says Lutz company spokesman Thomas Saliger.

Heymat with German Sales Agency

The Norwegian label Heymat, specialised in high-quality floor mat design, is now represented in Germany by the Berlin sales agency Conceptroom. The agency for Scandinavian interior brands was founded by Magnus Pieper this year.

Difficult times for René Benko's department store empire

Before the Corona crisis, Austrian investor René Benko and his Signa Holding company had been taking over one department store chain after another. Now his projects are presenting him with great challenges as all stores are affected by the virus-related closures and thus by a sharp drop in sales.

Boss (Porta): managing director Hirschbold deceased

Porta is mourning Dr. Alexander Hirschbold. The managing director of the self-service furniture store Boss, which belongs to Porta, died on March 24 at age 47 after a short, serious illness. "As a person who, with his big heart, always had an open ear for the needs and concerns of his employees, he leaves an unbelievably large gap in our ranks," the press release says.

Giga: small presentations instead of one large trade fair

Giga International's yearly trade fair, planned for this summer, has been cancelled due to Corona: This was announced by the purchasing association's managing director Gerald Socher. The event was to take place in Wels, Upper Austria, from 19 to 21 August; now it has been postponed to 2021.

Jaipur Living gets in touch via Instagram livestream

How can a company connect with their customers during the Corona crisis? Via Instagram livestream, for example. That is what global rug and textiles furnishings provider Jaipur Living is doing.

Deutsche Messe AG in the Corona crisis

The German "Bild" newspaper has worked out that the Corona crisis is costing the City of Hanover with its public and semi-public institutions around EUR 3.9 million a day. On the one hand, there are the tax revenues (2019: EUR 1.2 billion), which are expected to fall by 20 – 30 % in 2020. This would mean a daily loss of EUR 1 million. According to "Bild", Deutsche Messe AG, the organizer of Domotex, will also be hit particularly hard. All events have been cancelled until autumn, which means a daily loss of EUR 900,000 for the company (annualised). The employees are already on short-time work.

Balta: Revenue up, operating profit down

The figures the Balta Group announced for 2019 yielded a mixed picture. Europe’s largest manufacturer of textile floor coverings recorded a moderate 3.9% increase in consolidated revenue (2.6% organic) to EUR 671.2 million, but the company’s operating profit declined 5.7% (-7.4% organic) to EUR 74.4 million. One positive consideration is that the EBITDA decline in the previous year, 2018, was twice as large.