Morris Furniture is celebrating its 72nd anniversary this year by asking customers to test a mattress in November. The Dayton, Ohio, store will make a donation to a local charity for every customer who tests a mattress this month. Even if customers don’t buy a mattress after a test at
Shoppers like to complain that holiday decorations appear earlier and earlier. Retailers have their own seasonal lament: There’s no one to hire for the oncoming rush of those shoppers. With unemployment at near-record lows, retailers are pulling out all the stops to ensure they have enough workers come December. Companies are
Home Furnishings Association retailers in Canada are lamenting the loss of the Canadian Furniture Show, their country’s only furniture market, but they’re not surprised. After 47 years, organizers of the Canadian Furniture Show canceled the 2020 event. The show, annually held in May in the International Centre just outside Toronto,
The face of the retail furniture consumer is changing. That’s because America is changing, too. There are 131 million multicultural Americans in the United States today, according to a Claritas report earlier this year. Those Americans make up 37.5 percent of the U.S. population with Hispanics accounting for the largest
Marathons are a lot like running a furniture store. It’s important to finish strong. In the HFA’s Fall Insights magazine, David McMahon offers furniture retailers advice on the final push. But that’s just the start, says McMahon. Here he offers some tips on forecasting for the next year. Retailers can
By Doug Clark Brian Gaines has survived a business failure and a medical crisis that put him in a coma for several days. He learned that “fear has four letters, faith has five. Faith is greater than fear.” But now the owner of Home Furnishings Association member Wall 2 Wall
Home Furnishings Association member Serrano’s Furniture is growing again. Only this time the company with eight stores in California’s San Joaquin Valley isn’t adding a store – it’s moving one to a larger location. The company’s Hanford store has outgrown its 12,500-square-foot downtown building and will move to the Hanford Mall where it will take over a portion of
Putting its decades-long green leadership to the ultimate test, Home Furnishings Association member City Furniture this week announced an ambitious goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2040. City Furniture’s 2040 Green Promise encompasses the company’s showrooms, warehouses, and offices. It also includes its statewide delivery fleet and massive recycling initiatives, according
It’s hard enough letting someone go. Here’s how to make the situation better for both parties. “You’re fired!” In another life, our 45th president made quite a name for himself with those two words. Of course, it’s never that easy to let an employee go, so if you find you
There’s nothing more amazing than the endless incidents of mind-bending screw-ups by otherwise successful businesses. Every employee has stories, ranging from miscalculations and costly errors of judgment to downright avoidable mistakes [Smith Village employees are rewarded with keys to store] It doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Years ago,
The furniture industry has had a brutal few years. COVID-19 froze factories, snarled ports, and exposed the fragility of single-source
The home furnishings industry faces significant challenges rooted in the global trade landscape. As American retailers and importers honor stringent
“Every business owner has an exit strategy—even if they haven’t planned one.” For many private and family-owned businesses, daily operations
Successful retail businesses understand a powerful, enduring truth: people are the heart of long-term growth. Preparing tomorrow’s leaders isn’t just
Customer expectations in the furniture industry continue to evolve. These days, they compare every brand to big players like Amazon,
Succession planning is critical to protecting the future of a home furnishings retail business, yet many owners wait too long to start. Whether the transition
Leveling the Playing Field: Tariff Enforcement and the Fight for Fair Competition Join Home Furnishings Association CEO Peter Theran for a discussion with Keith Koenig,
MEMBER-ONLY DISCUSSION: Driving Traffic Connect with fellow HFA member retailers to exchange insights, challenges, and successes in using technology and
