Home Furniture & Housewares Stores
Description
Companies in this industry sell new furniture, home furnishings, and floor coverings. Major companies include Bed Bath & Beyond, Havertys, La-Z-Boy, Pier 1 Imports, Rooms to Go, and Williams-Sonoma (all based in the US), as well as Argos (UK), HOLA Home Furnishing (Taiwan), and IKEA (Netherlands).
Leading countries for furniture and home furnishings by revenue include the US, China, Germany, France, and the UK, according to Statista. Demand is driven by the rising residential and commercial construction, as well as the increasing expenditure for home décor-especially for millennials. Retailers are adding outlets in emerging markets as they see foreseeable growth.
The US home furniture and housewares stores industry includes about 51,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with annual revenue of about $113 billion.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Demand is driven by personal income and is tied to home sales. The profitability of stores depends on the right merchandising mix and marketing. Large companies have advantages in volume purchasing and breadth of product line. Small companies may thrive by focusing on a specific market segment and delivering superior service. The US industry is fragmented: the 50 largest companies generate less than 50% of revenue.
Competition for operators of home furniture and housewares stores comes from multiple retail channels, including discount department stores, online-only retailers, and sellers of used furniture. Key online players in home furniture and housewares sales include Amazon, Wayfair, and Williams-Sonoma. While online furniture sales are growing quickly, a gap remains between online furniture research and online purchasing, creating opportunities for brick-and-mortar chains with a solid web presence.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Major product categories are indoor home furniture (roughly 40%); flooring and floor coverings (20%); other home furnishings and accessories (15%); and tableware, kitchenware, cookware, and glassware (about 10%). Most retail furniture stores sell a broad range of products, but some concentrate on one furniture type, such as mattresses, sofas, or office or children's furniture. Store operations involve sales management, merchandising (deciding which products to sell), inventory management, and (sometimes) credit financing. Some floor covering companies also offer installation or repair services.
Home furnishing chains usually have their own distribution facilities with centralized purchasing and inventory management. Goods may be purchased from distributors, importers, or directly from manufacturers. Independent retailers typically buy from several hundred suppliers, while large chains have several thousand suppliers. Most chains use third-party logistics companies for shipping goods to stores. To reduce inventory costs and respond quickly to demand shifts, some retailers are replenishing store inventories daily.
Many furniture retailers have multiple stores fed by one or several regional warehouses, which in turn receive goods directly from multiple manufacturers. Typically, smaller stores are showroom galleries with little inventory of their own; customers receive the product from a central warehouse. Larger stores with an attached warehouse are more popular in suburban locations. While some furniture, like beds and mattresses, can be directly supplied from inventory, upholstered and wood furniture are often made-to-order by the manufacturer, with delivery times that can stretch to several months. Most purchases are delivered from a warehouse to the customer's home or office. Large-volume retailers may operate a fleet of delivery trucks.
Furniture retailers buy much of their product at trade shows, which are numerous. The most important US trade show is the High Point Market in High Point, North Carolina, in the spring and fall. Retailers typically buy product from dozens of manufacturers, and may have special sections in their store dedicated to a particular manufacturer brand. Some retailers like Ethan Allen have their own manufacturing operations and sell only their own products. Large retailers generally buy directly from manufacturers, without wholesaler intervention. Smaller companies can buy from groups such as Associated Volume Buyers (AVB) at volume prices.
US exports of factory-finished furniture have increased rapidly in recent years, with Canada representing more than half of all US furniture exports. Other top export markets include Mexico, Canada, the UK, the Bahamas, and Netherlands, according to Trend Economy.
Leading countries for furniture and home furnishings by revenue include the US, China, Germany, France, and the UK, according to Statista. Demand is driven by the rising residential and commercial construction, as well as the increasing expenditure for home décor-especially for millennials. Retailers are adding outlets in emerging markets as they see foreseeable growth.
The US home furniture and housewares stores industry includes about 51,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with annual revenue of about $113 billion.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Demand is driven by personal income and is tied to home sales. The profitability of stores depends on the right merchandising mix and marketing. Large companies have advantages in volume purchasing and breadth of product line. Small companies may thrive by focusing on a specific market segment and delivering superior service. The US industry is fragmented: the 50 largest companies generate less than 50% of revenue.
Competition for operators of home furniture and housewares stores comes from multiple retail channels, including discount department stores, online-only retailers, and sellers of used furniture. Key online players in home furniture and housewares sales include Amazon, Wayfair, and Williams-Sonoma. While online furniture sales are growing quickly, a gap remains between online furniture research and online purchasing, creating opportunities for brick-and-mortar chains with a solid web presence.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Major product categories are indoor home furniture (roughly 40%); flooring and floor coverings (20%); other home furnishings and accessories (15%); and tableware, kitchenware, cookware, and glassware (about 10%). Most retail furniture stores sell a broad range of products, but some concentrate on one furniture type, such as mattresses, sofas, or office or children's furniture. Store operations involve sales management, merchandising (deciding which products to sell), inventory management, and (sometimes) credit financing. Some floor covering companies also offer installation or repair services.
Home furnishing chains usually have their own distribution facilities with centralized purchasing and inventory management. Goods may be purchased from distributors, importers, or directly from manufacturers. Independent retailers typically buy from several hundred suppliers, while large chains have several thousand suppliers. Most chains use third-party logistics companies for shipping goods to stores. To reduce inventory costs and respond quickly to demand shifts, some retailers are replenishing store inventories daily.
Many furniture retailers have multiple stores fed by one or several regional warehouses, which in turn receive goods directly from multiple manufacturers. Typically, smaller stores are showroom galleries with little inventory of their own; customers receive the product from a central warehouse. Larger stores with an attached warehouse are more popular in suburban locations. While some furniture, like beds and mattresses, can be directly supplied from inventory, upholstered and wood furniture are often made-to-order by the manufacturer, with delivery times that can stretch to several months. Most purchases are delivered from a warehouse to the customer's home or office. Large-volume retailers may operate a fleet of delivery trucks.
Furniture retailers buy much of their product at trade shows, which are numerous. The most important US trade show is the High Point Market in High Point, North Carolina, in the spring and fall. Retailers typically buy product from dozens of manufacturers, and may have special sections in their store dedicated to a particular manufacturer brand. Some retailers like Ethan Allen have their own manufacturing operations and sell only their own products. Large retailers generally buy directly from manufacturers, without wholesaler intervention. Smaller companies can buy from groups such as Associated Volume Buyers (AVB) at volume prices.
US exports of factory-finished furniture have increased rapidly in recent years, with Canada representing more than half of all US furniture exports. Other top export markets include Mexico, Canada, the UK, the Bahamas, and Netherlands, according to Trend Economy.
Table of Contents
- Industry Overview
- Quarterly Industry Update
- Business Challenges
- Business Trends
- Industry Opportunities
- Call Preparation Questions
- Financial Information
- Industry Forecast
- Web Links and Acronyms
Pricing
Currency Rates
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