Home Furnishings Stores

Home Furnishings Stores

Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter:

Companies in this industry sell new home furnishings, such as decorative items, kitchen and bath products, linens, and window treatments, from physical retail locations. Major US companies include Bed Bath & Beyond, Garden Ridge, Pier 1 Imports, Restoration Hardware, Sur La Table, and Williams-Sonoma.

The US home furnishings store industry includes about 20,000 stores with combined annual revenue of about $26 billion. High growth is forecast for the next two years. Key growth drivers include consumer income and improved conditions in many regional housing markets.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by consumer income. Large companies compete through volume purchasing, breadth of products, and effective merchandising and marketing. Small companies focus on a market segment and compete through depth of products and superior customer service. The industry is concentrated: the 50 largest companies account for about 75 percent of industry revenue.

Competition for home furnishing stores includes department stores, mass merchandisers, home improvement stores, and online and mail order retailers.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major product categories are domestics (17 percent of sales), decorative accessories (15 percent), and cookware (10 percent). Domestics are towels, sheets, blankets, and table linens. Decorative accessories include lamps, mirrors, pictures, clocks, and desk sets. Other products include window treatments, dinnerware, glassware, and small appliances.

Home furnishings retailers include national chains and independent stores. Major chains, such as Bed Bath & Beyond, offer “superstores” that vary from 20,000 to 50,000 square feet and are located in suburban strip malls....