The Second-half Challenges of Furniture – MIGE office furniture

Toisky said some clients have smaller profit margins, so they sometimes China office furniture manufacturer feel the need to cut expenses as opposed to hiring a factoring firm to handle their accounts receivable. “We did have a particular client that decided to handle their receivables on their own, and it’s been about four months since they did that. They just called us last week because they realize how much the factoring service not only improves their cash flow, but also the actual collections of the receivables have been difficult for them,” he said. “So they will likely be back with us shortly.” Baron and others said a big concern was the presidential election. “And not just the politics of it,  but what the outcome ultimately means for the economy, the furniture market and individual businesses,” Baron noted. “No one knows for sure what 2017 will bring but threats to the economy are always destabilizing especially so for growing businesses.”

In addition to the elections, Hanjin Shipping’s bankruptcy was a challenge. “Our container-direct accounts could foresee troubles with Hanjin and were able to prepare in advance,” said Eagle Capital’s Donnell. “Fortunately the outcome China conference desk manufacturer experienced was not nearly as bad as it could have been—only a two- to three-week delay with receiving some product. “Neither the presidential election nor the Hanjin catastrophe had the negative impact on our manufacturers and container-direct accounts as one would think based on the media attention both received.”

CIT’s Hudgens said labor is sues affect many clients. “We do business with a lot of North Carolina and Mississippi upholstery manufacturers, and labor continues to be an issue, not so much for experienced upholsterers, but there’s a shortage of cut-and-sewers,” he said, noting that many manufacturers had farmed out cut-and-sew to foreign sources. “With companies wanting to do more here — sewing their own kits—and be more responsive with quicker turnaround times, that’s an issue. “You aren’t going to get furniture in two days, but you don’t want to wait 12 weeks. All the component pieces need to move closer to the manufacturer, and that’s proven to be a problem because of the labor issue.” As part of that, the challenge Guangdong leather chair factory for manufacturers is they have to react to customers wanting quicker turnaround times. For importers, that perhaps means carrying more inventory “A contributing factor is with the consolidation at retail,” Hudgens added. “The Top 100 is doing more and more business, and those retailers have more clout Manufacturers have to react to that, and some are doing better than others.”

Milberg cited a tough retail environment, slow new housing growth and re-allocation of disposable income as second-half stumbling blocks. “This is probably the most under-rated and under-reported aspect of consumer spending,” he said of the last factor. “This new line item that everyone has includes ‘the digital world’ such as cell phones, apps, games and data. This expense never existed 15 years ago and is now a regular portion of disposable income. It is no surprise that low oil prices have had virtually no effect ‘to the good’ to consumer spending. Until this sorts out, that is where costs get normalized, it will continue to be a challenge.”

Existing Tough Situation in Furniture Market – MIGE office furniture

“Our existing customer’s sales have been sluggish,” said Rick China office furniture Mantin president “Mind you, these are the customers that were strong enough to weather the tough business climate that we have seen for the past decade and still remain in business. The overall U.S. economy, with only 1% growth for the past eight years, has really taken its toll on our existing customers’ business.”

Business was flat to slightly up at Milberg Factors, which Dan Milberg senior vice president, said “has been on par with expectations.” He cited fewer doors at retail, flat consumer wages and uncertainty about the presidential election as 1ctors. Baron & Associates, a strategic partner of private commercial finance company Rosenthal & Rosenthal, expected a tough year.

“We have predicted for a year that there would likely be a downturn in credit availability in the furniture market space and that seems to be what we’ve all been witnessing this year.” said Mike Baron, president. “As in years past, China office chair manufacturer Baron and Rosenthal have been preparing for that downturn and focused on providing more value to our furniture clients through innovation and smarter technology which has had a significant impact on their businesses. “When businesses feel the squeeze on their bottom lines, our needle always moves.” DSA Factors actually exceed edits expectations in the past six months, picking up several new clients.

“We are finding many of these new clients are continuing to supply product that Is manufactured overseas, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Honduras, etc., and especially as is the case with the Asian manufacturers, they require payment China office sofa factory in full for their product prior to its shipping to the U.S.,” said Howard Tolsky, president “So companies need to be funded for their invoices immediately instead of them waiting for payments from their customers in 30 to 60 days.”

Upbeat Factors for Furniture in 2017 – MIGE office furniture

Factoring companies serving the furniture industry had pretty migeof decent reviews for business in this year’s second half. While all said they met expectations, in some cases those expectations were fairly low. Others said they did very well considering home furnishings sometimes lackluster performance at retail during the period.

“Interestingly enough, the second half lived up to expectations,” said Michael Hudgens, managing director and Southeast regional manager for CIT Commercial Services. “We came into 2016 with high expectations, but the first quarter was disappointing, just marginal growth, and we had the same in the second quarter. Our expectations for the second half of the year were not that great,  China office desk manufacturer minor growth of a few percentage points versus the double digits we’d seen in 2014 and 2015.

“It’s hard to put a finger on the reasons—the economy, the election? I really don’t know. I do know that High Point Market was very positive, so, maybe the fourth quarter will surprise us all.”

Eagle Capital had a good second half of 2016. “We are proud to say that we have exceeded last year’s totals and are on track to show at least a 15% to 20% average growth margin throughout our client base,” said Kirk Donnell, sales manager at Eagle. “The new companies we have brought on this year are producing solid consistent numbers, and all have a very positive outlook for their growth potential in 2017.” He attributed Eagle’s strong growth this year to several factors.

“For one, although we are large enough to handle the China office partition manufacturer large volume accounts in the furniture industry, we are still small  enough to maintain the personal touch of true financial partners that is so often lost in the banking and finance world,” Donnell said. “That partnership allows us to be flexible and not only celebrate the victories of our clients, but also to share the pains.

“We keep our eye on the industry the global market, the trends and the headlines so we are prepared for not only the industry trends but the unexpected opportunities. As simple and cliche as it sounds, we communicate with our clients often, and that level of communication prepares us to assist with just about anything our clients are faced with.” He credited clients with early recognition of problems at bankrupt carrier Hanjin shipping and their making appropriate changes in logistics, as well as communicating concerns with Eagle.

Lyon Credit Services saw its factoring business grow in 2016, but It was slow growth based upon Lyon continuing to add new clients.

Furniture Resources Has Fully Prepared – MIGE office furniture

“The strength that we have is in the balance of product we offer,” he said of the line, which features twin beds that retail from $299 to $449 and twin-over-twin bunk beds that retail from $599 to $899. “We have a nice China office furniture mix from rustic to sophisticated hung type groups. … We are covering a big spectrum for our retailers.” David Gingrich, senior vice president of multi-channel sales for Powell Home Fashions, said furniture business was good in the youth segment this year driven in large part by products in April and at the summer Las Vegas Market. This included new solid pine furniture the company Is sourcing out of Brazil, including a soccer themed bed that retails at $149 in twin. In addition to strong looks and values, he said, the Brazil product is available at shorter lead times than from Asia,although the company continues to source product China office chair manufacturer from Vietnam, including two new bunk beds shown in October that retail at $299 for a twin over twin.

He said this year the company saw its strongest growth among existing Top 100 accounts, but also had about one-fourth of its growth in the category from new customers, including those drawn to the Brazil product.

Looking forward, youth resources said they are largely optimistic about the year ahead, particularly with the election over and strong economic indicators on the horizon. “I think it is going to be a better year for youth and the China office sofa factory industry in general — we are looking at a very good 2017,” said Jeff Scheffer, of Universal. “All the data, whether you are looking at employment, consumer confidence or housing are all good, and that historically has boded very well for furniture.”

Devine, of NE Kids, expects 2017 to be a major growth year. “We have some strong branding initiatives that will benefit us as we go into the first part of 2017, and I think a lot of what we have built in 2016 will benefit us in 2017,” he said, noting that the company had particularly strong reaction to its fall introductions. I think we have a nice stage set.” He added that the company also plans to update some other inline groups to help make them even more relevant at retail.

“We are constantly evaluating where we are and where our product is to improve things for our retailers and their customers, with an eye on growth.” Gingrich, of Powell, said the company expects a strong 2017 in the category. “The economy is still in recovery mode, interest rates are low, and wages are creeping up. We are expecting good things in 2017.”

Youth Furniture Business Drivers – MIGE office furniture

This year, youth resource Stone & Leigh, a division of Stanley Furniture, boosted Its marketing efforts to Millennial customers through a digital marketing campaign launched in May. Through this campaign, it posts banner ads on Facebook and mobile phone screens of young moms or moms-to-be who may be in the market for youth furniture. The company mails a consumer who clicks on those migeof ads a catalog that also bears the name of the retailer in their area that carries the line. The store mentioned in the circular has displays that mirror the images in the catalog so the consumer knows what to expect during their visit.

Interest in the youth line helped bolster sales during the third quarter Stanley noted in a recent quarterly report The company also used the October market to bolster the line with 94 new items spread across five existing groups. These products China office desk manufacturer along with inline pieces will continue to play a role in the company’s digital marketing campaign moving forward officials said.

Legacy Classic Kids also reported its youth business was up over last year much of which was driven by product in existing collections, as well as its licensed Wendy Bellissimo line, said Don Essenberg president. “The majority of our business this year has been with product we have introduced the last couple of years: he said, noting that the division continues to do the bulk of its business at traditional furniture stores versus youth specialty stores.

The challenge, he said, relates to the location of the youth displays China office partition manufacturer at retail and the fact that many youth departments are not expanding to absorb more product. “It makes it difficult to add collections to your assortment, he noted of the defined square foot age for the category at retail. In the year ahead, Essenberg said the company will focus on developing product geared towards specific youth lifestyles.

Doug Devine, president of Hillsdale Furniture’s youth division NE Kids, said that one of the big drivers of business for the youth bedroom resource this year was the completion of a move from its former Virginia warehouse into Hilisdale’s new 650,000-square-foot warehouse in Kentucky, where Hilisdale is based. He said the move effectively allows NE Kids to double its amount of product it keeps in stock. “Our business definitely took off for us,” Devine said. “We made positive strides with existing and new retailers that hadn’t bought from us in Virginia.”

He said the company’s balance of styles across 10 collections also helped drive business among its customer base.

Shape of 2017 Furniture Business – MIGE office furniture

Outside of the abatement of negativity associated with the election, several manufacturers are considering how possible policies might shape the business environment in 2017. Len Burke, vice president at Klaussner Home Furnishings, said that after an expected softening of regulations, he doesn’t expect further impact from the election and that Klaussner will focus on its core collections. “We will continue to expand our two licensed collections by Trisha Yearwood and William Mangum with not only new product offering but also with effective marketing China office furniture manufacturer tools that will assist our retail partners in marketing to their consumers,” Burke said. “The challenge we face as a leading solutions provider is to create excitement across multiple categories. We are able to do that with our licensed collections by offering great product with a great story that creates emotions, which drives sales.” George Jordan, president at The MT Company, said that policies could be a positive business development but that the effect might not be immediate.

“Lowering corporate taxes and reducing regulation will likely put more money in the pockets of potential customers, but the timing may not impact anyone until 2018,” Jordan said. “Our business is fairly steady but we’d like it to grow more, so we are rolling out promotions in top-selling items for the end of Q4 and early2Ol7.”

Some of the initiatives at The MT Company include emphasis on performance fabrics, sectionals, swivels and “everything tufted,”Jordan said. “Pricing sensitivity continues to be a challenge for many retailers, so we are in the process of adding more fabrics on the less-expensive end of the spectrum,” Jordan said. “Many of those will be performance.” At Universal Furniture, the election isn’t expected to have any significant impact on 2017 projects, according to Jeff Scheffer, president.

“The biggest impact will be less talk around the water cooler,” Scheffer said. “I think most are happy it’s finally over. We believe we’ve set the table for another good year, and our focus continues to be on executing our strategy China conference desk manufacturer and being the easiest company our customers transact with.” Neil MacKenzie, director of marketing at Universal, said that Universal and Smart stuff brands have common approaches to supporting retail partners. “We’ve continued to enhance the quality of our photography to ensure it can support local advertising efforts online and through social as well as more traditional forms of media,” MacKene said.

“We’ve also increased our investment in our website and social media to better support dealers and provide them with content to leverage at the local level. And we are looking to provide enhanced technology tools to retailers to better support conversations in-store with the retailer and consumer, ultimately helping aid the sale.”

Craftrnaster will also continue to upgrade its website in 2017, Calcagne said. The upgrade is part of an effort to help consumers pre-shop the line before being directed to the company’s retail partners through the dealer locator. Guangzhou big executive chair factory Additionally, the company plans to increase production to support its Quick Ship program. “The dealers have asked for new styles, so we have added six new groups this past market,” Calcagne said. “These 16 groups are the go-to frames for high volume and quick turnaround and typically ship within 48 hours. We will be expanding production once again as we continue to grow to maintain our two-to-four week turnaround on all custom orders.”