Successful retail businesses understand a powerful, enduring truth: people are the heart of long-term growth. Preparing tomorrow’s leaders isn’t just about filling open positions; it’s an investment in adaptability, innovation, and sustainable progress. Industry experts agree that strong leadership development and effective succession planning give retailers a crucial edge in
Most furniture store owners spend decades building their businesses, cultivating vendor relationships, earning lenders’ trust, and developing a loyal customer base. Yet when it comes to planning for what happens next, far too many leave that work undone. Here’s the hard truth: without a clear succession plan, everything you’ve built
Strengthen Your Business While Preserving Family Harmony Compensation planning in a retail furniture business often feels more like an art than a science. You’re balancing the need to motivate and retain top talent—family and non-family—while ensuring the business remains profitable. For family-owned furniture retailers, the conversation becomes even more layered.
Family businesses form the backbone of the home furnishings industry. Stepping into a leadership role within such an enterprise brings a unique blend of privilege, responsibility, legacy, and complexity. Insights from several seasoned leaders offer valuable guidance for anyone taking on or preparing for such a role. Their experiences shed
Walk into most furniture or mattress stores, and you’ll see beautiful merchandising, strong sales teams, and aggressive promotional signage. But in many cases, financing is still treated like a closing tool. That’s the mistake. The highest-performing retailers in today’s environment don’t use financing to “save” a sale. They use financing
For business owners, change isn’t a seasonal disruption, it’s the daily reality. Customer traffic fluctuates, employee availability shifts, and unexpected challenges can turn even the most carefully crafted schedule upside down. In today’s fast-moving environment, staying competitive means staying flexible. That’s why more organizations are rethinking traditional scheduling models and
More important, what should they do? At a peer group meeting of eight successful construction industry CEOs years ago, the members began discussing how to get the most out of an industry standard software package. One CEO asked another a question about how to key in data to produce a
For many independent furniture retailers, succession planning is more complex than expected. The next generation often chooses different careers; employees rarely have the vendor credit support to carry on, and outside buyers may not value the business the way the owner does. Understanding the realities of exit strategies — and
Longevity is one of the most defining shifts of our time. Americans are living longer, healthier lives than ever before, and that reality is reshaping how family-owned and closely held businesses must approach succession planning, leadership, and financial planning for home furnishings retailers, in particular, where family involvement runs deep
Defining Roles, Purpose, and a Path to Leadership Bringing a son, daughter, or younger family member into your retail furniture business can be rewarding and challenging. There’s pride in continuing the family legacy and hope in watching a new generation step forward. But without the right structure, what starts with
In furniture retail, delivery damage isn’t just a logistical hiccup—it’s a broken promise. The customer’s excitement turns to disappointment, the
As of July 22, 2026, furniture retailers face a rapidly changing trade environment with potential implications for product costs, sourcing,
Furniture is more than just an accessory; it is a fundamental aspect of interior design and functionality in residential and
The Home Furnishings Association’s Government Relations Action Team recently convened in Washington, DC, for its 2026 DC Fly-In, bringing the
Gross Margin Return on Inventory (GMROI) is one of the most important metrics for furniture retailers. Here’s what it means,
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,
Inventory Management Transformation: The New Retail Back End Behind every great customer experience is an operation that runs smoothly. Join Peter Theran, HFA CEO, for
MEMBER-ONLY DISCUSSION: Driving Traffic Connect with fellow HFA member retailers to exchange insights, challenges, and successes in using technology and
MEMBER-ONLY DISCUSSION: Family Business Connect with fellow HFA member retailers to exchange insights, challenges, and successes in using technology and
