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How important is speed to market? Ask Target, which last month acquired Shipt for $550 million, one of the largest acquisitions in the retailer’s history, to facilitate its entry into the same-day-delivery business. Ask Home Depot, which was recently reported to be discussing a potential acquisition of XPO Logistics, partially as a defensive move to keep it from being acquired by Amazon china office furniture.
Ask Amazon, which has made speed to market such a critical differentiator over the past two decades that today it’s the cost of entry for those looking to compete in e-commerce.
While none of these moves have furniture as their ostensible impetus, the implications for the furniture industry are profound. Ashley proved nearly two decades ago that furniture is a logistics business, that the ability to minimize cost in the movement of goods from point A to point B and ultimately to point C (the consumer) can be a critical differentiator. The nation’s largest furniture retailer, and manufacturer, has since turned that into an art
form, giving dealers the ability to order LTL quantities of virtually anything in the Ashley catalog and have it in time frames that few, if any, can match on comparably sized items.
The two fronts on which the next furniture war will be fought and won will be technology and logistics, with intersection between the two forming a critical salient.
Ask Wayfair, which has made massive investments over the past 18 months to enhance its in-house logistics operations and the performance of its remaining third-party providers. In September the e-tailer launched a live tracking feature for furniture in 10 markets and is scaling its logistics team so rapidly that it is among the key contributors to the company’s most recent third quarter results.
“Scaling our teams is essential in our three key investment areas, namely building out our international capabilities, developing our proprietary logistics network and increasing penetration of priority product categories,” said Niraj Shah in a statement explaining the company’s third quarter 2017 loss.
None of this is intended to suggest that e-tail is the future and that brick and mortar is dead. Just the opposite in fact. Every other retail channel is rushing to achieve capabilities that furniture stores have had for generations.
What’s different this time, however, is the time frame. No one is building the capability to deliver furniture in six to eight weeks. This time, success will be measured in days not weeks.
Gallery Furniture’s Jim Mclngvale once said, How do you do same-day delivery? You put it in a damn truck and follow the customer home.”
And while it was said facetiously, Mack – as only he can do – captured the essence of guangzhou negotiation desk manufacturer furniture stores’ greatest strength.
Nineteen major metropolitan markets individually sold $1 billion or more in guangzhou office furniture and bedding retail sales in 2017.
This impressive group, led by the New York City metro area, retailed a combined $39.9 billion, which amounts to a 36.8% market share of total sales.
The New York metro area, including surrounding cities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, alone sold $6.7 billion worth of furniture and mattresses last years, accounting for 6.2% of all retail dollars. The area’s sales are predicted to rise another 21.4%, matching the national rate, between 2017 and 2022 to reach $8.2 billion.
All U.S. major markets garnered $101.8 billion of furniture and bedding sales, amounting to a 94% share of sales. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a major metropolitan statistical area as one containing a core urban area with a population of 50,000 or more.
The Williston, N.D., metro area is the fastest-growing major market, with $13.4 million in sales this year. It is projected to hit $17.7 million in 2022, a 32% increase. The Dickinson, N.D., metro is expected to grow its sales by 31.1% over the five-year period from $12.1 million to $15.9 million.
Of the 25 fastest-growing major markets for guangzhou filling cabinet manufacturer furniture sales over the next five years 11, are located in the Midwest, nine are in the South and five are in the West. None are in the Northeast.
China office furniture provider Mattress Firm has entered into a new credit facility that it says demonstrates the strength of its business and the value of its assets.
The company announced last month that it had an up-to-$225 million senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility.
Mattress Firm is owned by Steinhoff International, which is in turmoil as questions swirl about its financial condition. Steinhoff reported accounting irregularities and said it was investigating the issue, an announcement that saw its share price plummet. That has led to speculation that the company would sell some assets to restructure its business.
For its part, Mattress Firm said it has remained focused on growing its business, and it noted that the new credit facility will be available for working capital needs and other general corporate purposes. Officials said the facility has an initial aggregate principal availability amount of $75 million.
The company intends to up-size the facility via an incremental availability feature to a total aggregate principal amount of up to $225 million, officials said.
This new credit facility guangzhou conference desk manufacturer provides independent liquidity and capital to support our strategy.
Furniture and bedding sales in the Lone Star State reached $8.8 billion in 2017 and are expected to grow China office furniture factory 21.8% over the next five years to $10.7 billion by 2022.
The greater Dallas metro area, which includes the Fort Worth and Arlington metropolitan areas, accounts for the most furniture sold in the state of Texas and in the entire Southern region. Dallas retail sales are expected to increase by 21.3% from $2.3 billion to an estimated $2.8 billion in 2022.
Texas is home to two of the five regions in the South with the most sales: after Dallas, the Houston metro area is forecasted to have sales of $2.1 billion in 2017.
The South is currently home to six separate billion-dollar-or-more furniture metro areas: Dallas, Washington D.C., Houston, Miami, Atlanta and Tampa, Fla. These six metro area’s sales of $11.7 billion account for more than 28% of the South’s total furniture sales.
The Pecos, Texas, metro area is projected to increase sales at the greatest rate at 25.9% in the next five years, an increase from $3.8 million to $4.7 million. The second fastest-growing metro area of Clewiston, Fla., is set to grow its sales by 25% to $14 million in 2022.
Overall, the South accounts for 38% of country’s total furniture and bedding retail sales. This year, the Southern region of the country is forecasted to have $40.9 billion in sales and grow guangzhou office chair manufacturer 21.2% between 2017 and 2022 to $49.6 billion.
The nine states of the Northeast region contain 56.3 million people, who live there and purchase furniture and bedding. Those China office furniture company consumers spent a combined $19.4 billion on product in 2017.
The region contains the largest metropolitan area in the country, both in terms of population and in furniture sales, New York City. The greater New York major metro is projected to increase furniture sales by 21.7% over the next five years.
Four states in the Northeast are predicted to increase sales faster than the national average of 21.4%: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Massachusetts’s and New Hampshire’s furniture and bedding sales are anticipated to grow by 21.5% each; New York’s sales are expected to grow by 21.4% and Vermont by 22.2%.
Ithaca, N.Y., has the highest rate of growth from 2017 to 2022 in the Northeast of 23.3% to reach $43.2 million. The average household living in Ithaca earns $88,258.
The second fastest-growing metro area in the Northeast is Watertown-Fort Drum, N.Y., which is slated to grow 23.1% over the next five year and Auburn, N.Y., with a growth rate of 23%.
Overall, 32 metro areas in the Northeast are expected to outpace the national average of 21.4% sales growth from 2017 to 2022.
Forest County in Pennsylvania is predicted to grow guangzhou office chair manufacturer furniture sales by 24.5% to $2.5 million over the next five years. That makes Forest the fastest-growing county in the Northeast. Average household incomes within Forest are $56,229. A total of 7,328 people and just 2,400 households live there.
guangzhou office furniture manufacturer furniture and bedding retail sales increased an estimated 3.3% this year reaching $108.2 billion. Retail sales totaled $104.8 billion in 2016, 2.7% over 2015’s sales of $102 billion.
These furniture and bedding sales figures are Furniture Today’s market research estimates, based on personal consumption expenditure data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The U.S. economy remains in expansion through 2017. Economic reports are “a reflection on the fairly solid economic environment we’re currently enjoying” said Russell Price, senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit.
Median household income has continued to grow. The real median household income for 2016 was up 32% to $59,039 from the 2015 median income of $57,230, according to the latest information from the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase in median income was seen across all characteristics including region, age, and race and ethnicity.
Housing starts, however, is a low spot. After three months of decline, October saw a housing start increase of 13.7% to 1.29 million up from a revised September of 1.135 million, but down 2.9% from one year ago.
“Housing still remains a drag on the economy, as shortages of labor and available lots, coupled with rising building material prices, further complicate existing inventory, affordability and sales challenges,” said Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan.
Sales for housing have seen improvement, though. Through September, new home sales have increased 18.9% from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000, an increase of 17% over September 2016. guangzhou office partition manufacturer existing home sales reversed course slightly in September after three months of decline, rising by 0.7% to 5.39 million.
All the fundamentals that presage sales growth for the China office furniture manufacturer industry are in place.
Housing activity positive? Check. Consumer confidence strong? Check. Unemployment low? Double check. Demographics of household formation rising? Check.
With all that in mind, 2018 should be a great year, right?
Not so fast. All those things were essentially true in 2017, and yet, depending on whom you ask, the words you’re likely to hear about this year are “disappointing,” “struggle,” “flat.” According to Furniture Today estimates, which tend to be somewhat conservative, the industry will end 2017 up a little more than 3%. In a tough economy, that would be considered a victory. Except there is nothing to suggest this is a tough economy; in fact, just the opposite. And yet sales of big-ticket goods, not just furniture, continue to be challenged.
There are factors that could positively impact sales activity, mostly in sections of the country impacted by various natural disasters, which are serving to bring consumers back into the market. However, for the remainder of the country, questions still remain about what it will take to get consumers to part with their discretionary dollars.
And the answer for 2018 is likely to be essentially the same as in 2017 – hard work, an ever-increasing share of voice and a relentless commitment to delivering functionally and aesthetically unique product. Couple this with an in-store experience worthy of turning off the computer, getting in the car and driving to the store, and you’re starting to understand all that goes in to being successful in today’s more competitive retail environment.
And that doesn’t even include the digital portion of the experience, which had better align seamlessly with that of the store.
If all this sounds impossible, take heart – it’s not. In fact, there are retailers that are delivering on most and, in many cases, all of this. And guess what? They’re outperforming the industry.
Take RH, whose membership model and design galleries offering food and drink for sale propelled the retailer to 7% same-store gains in the most recently reported quarter.
After a challenging 2016 putting the pieces in place to disrupt its own model, RH has rebounded strongly and appears well positioned to deliver above average growth in 2018. And it is not alone. There are many, albeit lower-profile, retailers that are finding their own paths to success.
The difference is they are no longer relying on the traditional business drivers or even their own traditional methods to grow their business. They are breaking out of their comfort zones, trying new things, testing, failing and trying again.
There is no question that 2018 has all the elements to be a great year for the guangzhou office desk manufacturer furniture Industry. And it will be, for those who make it so.
Sales at migeof furniture and home furnishings stores rebounded in October with a 4.4% increase over the same month last year and trailed the 4.7% gain for the broad retail sector, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported recently.
Estimated furniture and home furnishings store sales reached $9.7 billion in October, up from a revised $9.3 billion in October 2016, the government said. Sales for the sector increased 0.7% from the month before, after the government revised up the September number to $9.64 billion from the previous $9.57 billion estimate.
From August through October, furniture and home furnishings store sales gained 4.2% over the same three months last year and were up 0.6% from the May-through-July 2017 period, the report said.
Total U.S. retail and food services sales increased 4.6% in October from the same month Last year to $486.6 billion and were up 0.2% from revised September numbers. Retail sales increased 4.7% from a year ago and 0.2% from September 2017.
The largest year-over-year gains came from the same two sectors as the previous month – building material and garden equipment and supplies stores (up 8.8%) and gas stations (up 7.5%). Sales for non-store retailers – primarily by e-commerce and catalog businesses – increased 6.8% from October a year ago for the third largest gain but were down 0.3% from September.
Only one retail subcategory last month posted a year-over-year sales decline – sporting goods, hobby, books and music stores – down 2.5%. Department stores, a subcategory of general merchandise stores that has been rocked with year-over-year declines every month this year posted a slight gain this time with October China school furniture manufacturer sales increasing 0.8% over the revised October 2016 number.
Lavender shoes with yellow soles and a lavender shirt announce Bill Herren’s comfort with color and arresting migeof presentation.
Despite his obvious flair, however, Herren, an industrial engineer by training, was hired 31 years ago to redo Whitecraft’s customer service department.
Then the company’s showroom designer quit, and Herren’s search for a replacement failed. All the designers he interviewed lacked the fundamentals of good showroom design: “They don’t know us, or our customers or our furniture,” Herren recalled telling his boss.
So Herren began designing showrooms 16 years ago, and when Woodard Furniture bought Whitecraft in 2012, Herren became the company’s creative director.
Merchandising done well builds clientele and boosts sales, which is why Herren spends much of his time visiting Woodard’s retailers.
He often starts with showing the retailer how to display outdoor product to grab customer’s attention.
“I’ll do a whole sofa in some wild fabrics for two reasons,” Herren said. “To make sure everybody stops and looks at it, and so that dealers don’t get scared to show something like that.
“Because if the dealers have the right salespeople, they can put some of the more unusual stuff on their floor, knowing that their salespeople are able to explain to customers, “This isn’t the only way you can get this. You can order this with any of 500 different fabrics’.
“If they can do that, then they have a chance to show a little bit more color and life on their floors than … beige.”
Applying the showroom concept used with indoor furniture also helps, Herren said, because customers need to see more than just a few choices.
“If you’re only showing two sets or three sets, then the customer might say, “Well, I don’t like those’, and they’ll turn around and walk out,” Herren said. “It’s not giving them an opportunity to pick something that they like.”
But with floor space at a premium. retailers need to select styles they know will appeal to their customers and “put it with the right finish and the right fabric that will show well in their store, Herren said.
The next step is to accessorize each grouping completely. “I love throw pillows,” he said. “It’s a less expensive way of dressing up something” or adding color to a neutral upholstery.
“A set table always looks so much nicer than an empty rectangular empty space,” he said, and a rug defines the whole ensemble and “makes you look at just that set right there, like it’s in its own little box.”
If a retailer has a grouping set up and accessorized correctly, Herren said, “the customer’s not only going to buy that furniture, they’re going to buy everything around that furniture so they can duplicate it at home.”
Keeping the showroom tidy is a must, but also a challenge because customers will sit in a group of furniture, handle the accessories, rearrange the throw pillows, leave their water bottles and walk to the next group, Herren said.
The entire store will soon be in disarray if a retailer doesn’t have someone continuously tidying up. “Hopefully you have customers coming in throughout the day,” Herren said, “so it’s not an end-of-the-day kind of thing.”
Floating furniture doesn’t sell as well, Herren has concluded. Woodard makes iron, aluminum and woven collections, and at one point displayed those groups separately.
Customers may enter the store and “in their minds are saying, “I only want iron furniture,” and if they didn’t like that iron group, they might just turn around and walk out.”
But if they see something they hadn’t thought of before, such as a woven group as they’re walking through, “they might say “let me see how that feels.”
This is where the eye-popping accessorizing can help. For a customer to even consider buying furniture, “it has to look good,” Herren said. “Then it has to sit good. If you have those, then the price appeal is not that big a deal anymore.”
All this can fail, however, if the sales staff isn’t properly trained.
“Unless you’re knowledgeable about outdoor furniture, how do you explain to someone that they’re going to pay $2,000 more for something that’s going to sit outside, as opposed to the sofa that’s going to be inside that they’re going to sit on everyday?” Herren posed.
Retailers need staff who can explain to customers the quality, the warranties, the durability that come with the price tag.
And who can deliver the one thing that should go without saying, Herren added: “China training furnitures manufacturer Customers are not going to buy from anybody, be it store or online, who doesn’t give them the service they should get.”
Retailers attending migeof office furniture Furniture Today’s Leadership Conference here last week reported strong Black Friday weekend business for the most part, gaining ground on other retail sectors.
Bill Daniels, president of Fair-field, Ohio-based Furniture Fair, characterized Black Friday business as “very good” with sales ahead of last year. Three days before Friday, the retailer starts promoting with a teaser campaign, letting consumers know the stores are closed on Thanksgiving. It then ran a promotion Friday through the weekend and extended into Monday, offering 48-month interest-free financing or a large cash discount.
“I think people are looking for reasons to buy and Black Friday pulls them out,” Daniels said. Over 10 years ago, the holiday wasn’t that important to the retailer, and it really didn’t go after the business. “But once you start, you can’t stop. You’ve got to keep going after it.”
Daniels also believes the dilution of the holiday by broader sector retailers – with sales creeping into Thanksgiving day and with more consumers shopping online – has actually been good for furniture stores.
“I waited on several customers myself who said that (they’re doing other shopping) earlier and on the web,” he said. “They’re using Black Friday for the bigger ticket items.”
Walker Furniture’s Black Friday promotion included an eight-page circular filled with “great promotional price points and door busters,” said Mike Cohen, president of the Las Vegas retailer.
“We limit the quantity,” he said, adding, “We had a line wrapped around the front of our building waiting to get in at 8 a.m.”
In the past, Walker has promoted more specials for what has always been its top day of the year. But this time, it managed the offering better to present values that were truly door busters, he said, such as a five-piece bedroom for $399, limited to 25 sets, and sharp-looking sofas for $299 and $399, also limited to about 20 sets.
“We sold out of most everything,” he said. “It was a great Black Friday (Friday through Monday).” And by controlling the specials better, Walker’s margins were up considerably, he said.
“It was much more successful, because we also gave sales-people something else they could step a customer into, with a little more margin – still a strong value, but we gave sales-people purpose in selling to try to increase average ticket.
“We would rather do less business more profitably,” Cohen said. “And the result was it wasn’t really that big of a difference. We still had a great Black Friday, but by managing our back end much better we had a much more profitable promotion.”
Steve Rotman, owner of Worcester, Mass.-based Rotmans, called Black Friday “good but not great,” and it all came down to one mistake. On one of its circulars the retailer accidentally left off the store name – and for a category that is typically one of its best categories for the period – bedding.
If anything, Rotman said this shows that print advertising is still important, at least in secondary markets where broadcast advertising can be unaffordable. Despite the gaffe, China reception desk manufacturer he said sales were still up for November.