Customer loyalty. Wouldn’t you love to have all of your customers be loyal? Why? Loyal customers come back more often, spend more money, buy more items, refer their friends, and provide valuable feedback. These are your best customers. When I was working the floor and saw a be back walk
In the past few years, the terms Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma have been tossed around as companies look for proven methodologies in improving operations and reducing expense. Both approaches have been widely adopted in many industries with impressive results. There are two challenges for a small business owner: first,
Great sales begin with proper leadership, and one of the best ways to outperform the competition is with the right sales leadership approach. Recently, HFA’s CEO Mark Schumacher spoke with retail sales management expert Karen Barry from The Friedman Group about how building better sales habits can create a repeatable
The financial supply chain bubble is bursting… You’ve been more focused on the lack of physical inventory but probably haven’t realized that you’re teetering on a precarious cliff of losing the buying power you once had and won’t have the credit to continue buying from your existing vendor base. This
When it comes to retail financing, Mariner Finance has a simple motto: “Our business is to grow yours.” Mariner Finance’s retail sales manager, Therese Bernardo, says the motto is not just a slogan. “This credo is truly what we live by,” she says. “Not only do we earn our paycheck
Furniture sales are strong, but retailers have an opportunity to build something more durable, Jeanne Bliss said: emotional bonds with their customers. Bliss spoke with Home Furnishings Association CEO Mark Schumacher in an HFA Live webinar Oct. 8. She is founder of CustomerBliss, consulting with C-Suite executives of major corporations
Not all lease-to-own programs are alike. American First Finance, a Home Furnishings Association Solution Partner, proves this every day to furniture retailers. [See what American First Finance offers to HFA Members] AFF got its start in 2013 after founder Doug Rippel spent six months working in an Ashley store in
Okinus helps retailers close the sale and earn repeat customers In tough economic times, building and maintaining a solid credit score can be tricky for many consumers. Did you know that more than 60 million American consumers possess a credit score of 650 or less and cannot qualify for traditional
Massachusetts had some of the strictest COVID-19 shutdown orders in the country earlier this year. Not only was Home Furnishings Association member Rotmans forced to close its doors in Worcester, Mass., but it also couldn’t sell online because its warehouse was forced to shutter, too. But summer has been a
With Preferred Lease, customers who are turned down for credit no longer need to leave empty handed. “We turn the negative experience of a credit decline into a positive, allowing customers to get the product they selected, with no credit needed,” said Robert Reckinger, senior director of business development for
Furniture retailers have spent most of the pandemic working to increase their online presence and generate more business and open new sources of
Furniture stores should get a second chance if the Paycheck Protection Program is extended, the Home Furnishings Association has told
When the coronavirus pandemic subsides, the furniture industry is going to look markedly different. The supply shock that started in
Home Furnishings Association member Baer’s Furniture will open its newest store Sept. 5 in Jacksonville, Fla. It will be the
Walk into most bars and restaurants and the maskless patrons and workers make it appear our pandemic worries are over.
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
