The supply chain crisis is nothing new for furniture retailers – it’s been an unfortunate reality for our industry over the last several years, with many inefficiencies exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19. In several instances this year, President Biden has focused on the supply chain, either by Executive Order
For most of the summer, President Biden and congressional leaders have been working on the two main components of the President’s legislative agenda – implementing the American Jobs and Families Plans. Early on, a bipartisan working group in the Senate carved out physical transportation/infrastructure assets to develop the Infrastructure Investment
August is not a typically busy month for federal policymakers. However, this August has laid the groundwork for potentially significant and generational legislative victories for President Biden and congressional Democrats. Just this week, the Senate passed a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure investment package in a strong vote of 69-30. Following
The Home Furnishings Association invited High Point Representatives Kathy Manning (D) and Ted Budd (R) to visit High Point Market. HFA CEO Mark Schumacher discussed with them the furniture industry and the issues that retailers face such as supply chain, tariffs, and more.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at the Department of Labor recently released its long-anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on ‘Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace.’ Labor Secretary Marty Walsh led this effort while President Biden’s nominee for OSHA Administrator, Doug Parker, is still working
Our conditioning is for four major furniture markets each year—one every quarter. The pandemic messed that all up. Each furniture market we have had are not in their typical time slots. You have been tempted with First Tuesdays and more robust Pre-Markets as everyone is dying to see new products.
Today’s hiring challenges What would you say is your biggest challenge in 2021? Up until recently, I think most of us would have said it was the broken supply chain. But for many of us, that has changed to the hiring challenges of finding and keeping quality employees. No, scratch
Like everyone else, I can’t wait for the end of this restricted pandemic life of ours. Indeed, there are going to be work-at-home aspects of this current situation that will stay with us. We are working with that reality at HFA right now. There are customer buying habits that
Sales and optimism are running high for our industry right now, and the latest HFA/Piper Sandler Furniture Retailer Survey bears this out. When 2021 started, most retailers expected this year to end up right around 8%. After the first quarter of this year, those estimates now sit between 10 and
The economy. If ever we needed someone with a crystal ball to tell us where this economy is going, now would be the time to find that person. We’ve been dealing with such confounding elements. Demand for home furnishings is still up even though supply is still down. While that
As I write this, people throughout the country are dealing with crippling winter storms and need a helping hand. My
These are unprecedented times for everyone, and specifically our industry. The customer journey is a bumpy one, thanks to COVID,
Amy Llewelyn from Trekstone Financial shares tips on how to avoid costly chargebacks. Leave your comments below!
Omar Mendoza accepts his obligations under California’s mattress recycling program. Anyone who purchases a mattress from his store, All American
It’s no secret that people love to text. In fact, according to a Gallup poll, 68 percent of Americans under
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
