Leon’s Furniture Ltd. and Furniture.com Announce Agreement

Furniture World News

Furniture.com announced that it has signed an agreement to provide Leon’s Furniture Limited (Ticker: LNF.TSX) – one of Canada’s leading retailers of high quality brand name home furniture, appliances and electronics – with exclusive Canadian rights to Furniture.com's industry-leading web address and online bsales and customer service technology bplatform. “We look forward to our mission: To help drive Leon’s sales, streamline Leon’s customer service, and expand Leon’s operations,” stated Carl Prindle, President and CEO, Furniture.com (http://www.furniture.com). “By utilizing our industry-leading address and technology platform, we will attract new online consumers and drive incremental sales for Leon’s – as well enhancing their already highly-respected operations and array of customer services.” “Our agreement will bring Canada’s consumers the ultimate on-line home furnishings shopping experience,” said Terrence Leon, President and COO of Leon’s Furniture, “combining Leon’s rich tradition of offering high quality merchandise and superior customer service with the unprecedented convenience and ease of online shopping and service provided by Furniture.com.” Leon’s Furniture, with over C$650 million [Canadian dollars] in sales from more than 55 locations, and a consistent record of sales and profit growth, is a leading adopter of technology systems. Through the Furniture.com partnership, Leon’s quickly gains access to new customers through the Furniture.com address and website; added in-store traffic from website shoppers seeking real-life touch tests in local showrooms; incremental revenue generated through sales on Furniture.com’s website; web-based technology and system improvements to enhance merchandising and customer service operations for both in-store and online customers; and access to unique non-personally identifiable marketing data generated by Furniture.com shoppers. The agreement takes Furniture.com international, introduces the leading online home furnishings e-tailer into two additional retail categories – Appliances and Electronics – and brings more than 32 million Canadian consumers into Furniture.com’s reach for fast, local delivery. Furniture.com is expected to introduce a high percentage of Leon’s inventory to Canadian online shoppers at http://www.furniture.com, during the second half of 2005. In addition, Furniture.com will work with Leon’s to launch a separate e-commerce website at the Canadian retailer’s current website address. In the U.S., Furniture.com’s furniture retail partners include the Levitz, Seaman’s, and Harlem Furniture chains. Currently, consumers view some 4 million items per day and add $15 million in merchandise to their online shopping carts each week at Furniture.com, Prindle said. About Furniture.com: Furniture.com (http://www.furniture.com) offers consumers the best of Internet shopping by merging the convenience, accessibility and ease of online shopping with the proven infrastructure of North America’s largest retail furniture chains. At Furniture.com, consumers quickly browse, compare and buy brand-name furniture and accessories, find decorating advice and product information, and utilize interactive design tools. To complete the experience, Levitz, Seaman’s, and Harlem Furniture in the U.S., and Leon’s Furniture in Canada, provide customer service and fast, in-home delivery. Furniture.com, a privately-held company, backed by a private equity firm with over $1.0 billion in committed capital, is a member of BBBOnline, TRUSTe, and VeriSign. About Leon’s Furniture Limited: Since 1909, Leon’s Furniture Limited, a public company (trading on the TSX), has provided Canadian households with high quality home furnishings, brand name appliances and electronics while at the same time offering industry leading customer service and value. For the recently completed year ending December 31, 2004, sales including sales by franchises totaled just under $670,000,000.00. Net income for the year increased 25% to $2.49 per common share. Both sales and income were new highs for the Company.