Catawba Furniture Mall Stores Make Top Five Lists

Business Wire, August 25, 2003

Business Editors

HICKORY, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 2003

About Last Nite(R) and Studio 70 in the Catawba Furniture Mall in Hickory, NC were recently ranked in the top five lists of accessories and furniture stores to visit in North Carolina. The list compiled by Author Ellen Shapiro is based on research and on site visits to North Carolina. The book is entitled Shopping The North Carolina Furniture Outlets.

About Last Nite(R) sells linens for the bed and bath as well as bedroom furniture and accessories. Sheeting made of Egyptian cotton with thread counts ranging from 200 to 1020 threads per inch is available as well as top of the bed linens from 27 major linen manufacturers. Also available are linens made from 100% Italian wood fiber, which have the luster and soft drape of silk with the familiar ease of cotton. "About Last Nite(R) carries a wide selection of linens so fine, let's just say they're good enough for the White House and the Vatican", stated Shapiro. About Last Nite(R) has two locations in North Carolina, one in the Catawba Furniture Mall in Hickory, NC which displays 27 beds and one in the Atrium Furniture Mall in High Point, NC which displays 13 beds.

Studio 70 is a contemporary furniture store carrying lines by Carter, Carson's, Weiman, Tempur-Pedic Swedish Mattress and Doimo. The store specializes in upholstery, case goods and bedroom suites. Ms. Shapiro states in her book about Studio 70, "I must admit, I'm not a big fan of contemporary furniture, or so I thought before I walked into Studio 70. The selection of contemporary furniture is the largest of any store in Hickory and I was surprised by how many of the pieces I not only liked for their whimsical nature but also for their simplicity and practicality". Shapiro continued, "Even if you're not a "contemporary person" it's worth a peek if only to see the versatility of the contemporary look". Studio 70's web site is www.studioseventy.com.

The book began at a cocktail party. As the author, Ellen Shapiro, listened to a twenty-something couple describe the $1,000's they saved by flying to N.C. to buy furniture, she was compelled to come find out for herself if the tale could be true. Hundreds of interviews later a mini-guide to N.C. furniture shopping was featured in the magazine Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel.

Shapiro said the response was so tremendous the only way to tell the full story of the world of North Carolina discount furniture shopping was book-length treatment. Recently released "Shopping the North Carolina Furniture Outlets" is more than just a listing of all the outlets and the brands they carry, but a "how to" of furniture buying in N.C. including dining, lodging and attractions.

Among the comprehensive study is a "Top 5" list which features the top five furniture retailers in four categories: large retailer, small retailer, manufacturers' outlet and clearance centers, and non-furniture accessories stores. Overall quality, quality-to-price ratio, craftsmanship, and customer service were the criteria for ranking. About Last Nite(R) and Studio 70's top five ranking were in the categories of "non furniture" accessories stores and "small retailer".

The paperback edition is published by Three Rivers Press of Random House, New York and can be purchased through Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.