Association Blog

Repeat customers. Everyone tells retailers they need them, but it’s easier said than done. How do you get started? Improve your retail customer experience. When players like Amazon enable people to purchase products with the tap of a button, brick-and-mortar furniture retailers must step up their game and offer experiences that people can’t get online or on their phone. But what exactly is a great retail experience? The answer will vary from one retailer to the next. The “right” customer experience strategy will depend on the type of furniture you sell, your store and your shoppers. It’s essential that you

Ronald G. Wanek, the son of sharecroppers who built one of the world’s leading furniture companies, has been named a winner of a 2020 Horatio Alger Award. Wanek is chairman of the board of Home Furnishings Association member Ashley Furniture Industries, based in Arcadia, Wis. He grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota in a home that lacked electricity and running water for much of his childhood. Following high school, he went to work as a laborer for Winona Industries, where he learned about manufacturing. In 1963, he joined a start-up company in Red Wing, Minn., acquiring on-the-job business

HFA member Bob Mills is partnering with Omnichannel sleep products manufacturer Diamond Mattress at the retailer’s nine stores. The Bob Mills Sleep Spa Signature Series mattresses from Diamond include three models with three choices of firmness. The program gives each retail location in-store training by Diamond trainers and a fully equipped Experience Center for a visual and tactile demonstration to educate and engage customers. Diamond Mattress is also providing marketing support with imagery for online and print promotion and additional marketing materials. Betting on temperature control Bob Mills, president of the Oklahoma-based retail chain, believes today’s temperature-control technology is making