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Policy Matters
Doug Clark
California finally sets the same rules for all mattress retailers

Omar Mendoza accepts his obligations under California’s mattress recycling program. Anyone who purchases a mattress from his store, All American Mattress & Recliners in Beaumont, is entitled to ask him to remove a used mattress for recycling at no charge. What gets under Mendoza’s skin is when someone who’s not a customer calls to ask for the same service. Often, he learns the person making the request bought a new mattress from an online dealer. “It happens so often it’s ridiculous,” said Mendoza, a member of the Home Furnishings Association. But a reckoning, of sorts, is coming. Beginning Jan. 1,

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December 7, 2020
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News
Doug Clark
Hall of Fame seeks future industry leaders

The American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation is looking for rising stars in the industry. Recent classes of Future Leaders have included Home Furnishings Association members Matt Schewel of Schewels Home, Kristen Trapp of RC Willey and Cameron Wanek of Ashley Furniture Industries. Nominations may be made until Jan. 15 through the foundation’s website. Nominees should be younger than 40, innovators, leaders among their peers, strong communicators and highly engaged with the industry as a long-term career, a news release said. Past honorees have represented retail, home accents, case goods manufacturing, upholstery manufacturing, finance, furniture design, technology and sales,

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December 3, 2020
Supply chain port
News
Robert Bell
Retailers told to be proactive and nimble in formulating a 2021 inventory strategy

When the coronavirus pandemic subsides, the furniture industry is going to look markedly different. The supply shock that started in China in February and the demand that followed when stores reopened after closing for months exposed vulnerabilities from Asian manufacturers to U.S. ports and railways that are only now being changed on the fly to meet demand. Retailers can prepare for any future changes by being proactive and nimble today, supply chain experts say. Riaz Husein, CEO of Profit Chain, a supply chain consulting firm and a Home Furnishings Association Solution Partner, said every retailer’s supply chain is unique unto their

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December 1, 2020
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Policy Matters
Doug Clark
HFA seeks action to clear costly bottleneck at ports

The Home Furnishings Association and other industry groups have asked the Federal Maritime Commission to suspend unreasonable detention and demurrage charges on containers and chassis at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Worsening delays and inefficiencies at the Southern California ports are knotting an already constricted supply chain and raising costs for many furniture importers, manufacturers and retailers. Demurrage charges apply when an inbound container remains within a terminal beyond the free time allowed. Detention refers to the charge for use of the container outside the terminal or depot beyond a free time period. Industry groups contend these charges

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December 1, 2020
Reverse Logistics: How to Create a Seamless Returns Process
Shop Talk
Riaz Husein
Reverse Logistics: How to Create a Seamless Returns Process

More Sales = More Returns As retailers gear up for peak holiday season sales, it is important not to lose sight of what happens next. Unfortunately, some of the merchandise you sell is going to come back! And increased sales mean increased returns. With more online shopping, the rate of customer returns for goods bought online is swelling to a worrisome level as more consumers switch from physical stores to online. According to David Sobie, co-founder of Happy Returns, which operates a network of physical return locations for items purchased online, e-commerce returns average about 15 percent, with apparel returns

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December 1, 2020
Flat design Illustration: Content is king in digital marketing
News
Robert Bell
Start slowly in digital marketing and build your way up, retailers say

Furniture retailers have spent most of the pandemic working to increase their online presence and generate more business and open new sources of revenue. But how much should a retailer be investing in digital marketing to begin with?  David Enos, vice president of digital marketing for Phelps Digital, an HFA Solution Partner, and two HFA members talked about how much to invest initially along with other digital marketing strategies in last week’s HFA Live webinar, “Create Momentum with Digital Marketing.”  Enos said the dollar amount is not as important as what retailers feel they can sleep peacefully at night with. “I would recommend to

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November 24, 2020

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Congress and the Trump administration are preparing another Covid-19 relief package. The Home Furnishings Association’s Washington representative, Chris Andresen, and government relations liaison Doug Clark

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Everyone is trying to figure out what the “new normal” will look like when your stores reopen. What will recovery look like to you and

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