I’m David Gunn of Knight Furniture, your HFA president for 2021. I’ve never looked more forward to a new year than this one. Yet as painful as 2020 was on many levels, I did learn a few lessons. I was reminded never to take anything, or anyone, for granted. It
David Howell and Grant Sparks are more than just business partners. They’re childhood friends who grew up together and went to school together. So when Sparks was looking for someone to help grow the mattress store he started, he knew just whom to turn to. Howell and Sparks, the Home Furnishings Association’s newest members, own Relaxerie Sleep Shop, a two-store chain just
Like most furniture retailers, Home Furnishings Association member Riley’s Furniture and Mattress has endured a difficult 2020. The coronavirus pandemic forced the store in Monroe, Ohio, to shut down for more than two months following a state mandate from Gov. Mike DeWine. The closing came just eight months after founder Riley Griffiths, 75, died
Home Furnishings Association member Morris Furniture Co. hopes its latest promotion will help get out the vote. Shoppers who buy furniture at Morris or any of its family of brands in Ohio and Kentucky between Oct. 13 and Nov. 2 will get their purchase free if 6.3 million Ohio citizens vote by Election Day. Larry
When you run a furniture store, it’s not always great to hear from government. It wasn’t great last spring when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered most businesses in the state to close as the coronavirus was spreading – mainly in the New York City area. “They shut the doors,
Waiting for furniture may be the rule these days, but the exceptions are lucrative for some Home Furnishings Association members. “We’re preaching we have merchandise in stock ready to take home,” said Jerry Peters, vice president and chief merchandising officer for Charlotte, N.C.-based Kimbrell’s Home Furnishings. Customers are responding so
For Don and Kay Garbel, removing furniture from Garbel’s Furniture & Flooring is a logical first step toward retirement. The Crosby, N.D., business they bought a quarter-century ago is holding a going-out-of-business sale at its two stores – there and in Kenmore. But “just the furniture part,” Kay Garbel said.
When Joe Bright, president of Dunk & Bright Furniture in Syracuse, N.Y., was honored as the Home Furnishings Association’s 2019 Emerging Star, a reporter from The Stand covered the event. The award was presented Jan. 10 by HFA Executive Vice President Mark Schumacher. [Watch: HFA Facebook live at Dunk &
Dianne Ray remembers when the old Southern Home Furnishings Association offered a popular benefit that members could provide for their employees: medical insurance. That was in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s – before health care became more complicated and less affordable. “I have always been keenly interested in getting back
Photo: Last year’s Ashley for the Arts drew 70,000 fans to Arcadia, Wis. Arcadia, Wis., punches above its weight. The small town on the Trempealeau River counts only about 3,000 residents but claims one big company: Home Furnishings Association member Ashley Furniture Industries. It also hosts one huge summer event:
The Washington Fly-in is off, but the Home Furnishings Association will step up its government relations work. The reason for
The coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing shutdown of stores will have a direct impact on every furniture retailer’s bottom line
When California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered most businesses in the state to close, Kevin and Jennifer Large didn’t take that
A law meant to protect the public from unwanted telephone calls could block furniture retailers from reminding customers about a
Orders for residential furniture revved up in June, industry accounting and consulting firm Smith Leonard reports. The High Point, N.C.,
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
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
