Furniture Stores Industry Profile

The US furniture retailing industry includes about 20,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $50 billion. Major companies include Ashley Furniture Industries, Bassett Furniture, Haverty Furniture, La-Z-Boy, and Rooms To Go. The industry is fragmented: the 50 largest companies generate about 35 percent of revenue.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Household furniture sales are closely linked to home sales. Office furniture sales are linked to employment growth and new business formations. The profitability of furniture stores depends on merchandising and marketing. Small stores can co-exist with large ones by carrying special goods that appeal to a particular type of customer.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

A typical furniture store sells living room, dining room, kitchen and bedroom furniture, and mattresses. Products are sometimes classified as "case goods" (wood furniture) or upholstered products. 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.

Many 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 ...