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Furniture World Articles

All of the Furniture World Magazine Articles that have also been published online can be found here. Select a year to begin browsing the articles.

Articles published in 2011

Retailer's Stories - Part 10 Belfort & Arrow Furniture  - 12/6/2011

Retailers share interesting stories of growth, hardship and their strategies for success.

Furniture Tales  - 12/6/2011

It’s the stories of our industry that this installment from Grandpa Mike-e-e! at 90 is all about. Every furniture rep, manufacturer and retailer has a few really good ones.

Media Mix Magic Part 2: Total Store Makeover  - 12/5/2011

Part 2: Consider a Total Makeover. Start with zero assumptions about media and about your store.

90 seconds to $uccess Series: The Impact Of One More Sale Out Of 20.  - 12/2/2011

Making perseverance and constant improvement our daily motto, achieving one more sale out of 20 can improve a bottom line as much as 44%. Few investments in your time, interest and energy will provide you a greater return.

Retail Resolutions For 2012  - 12/2/2011

The top 7 New Year’s resolutions for 2012 that can help to build your business.

The Sales Management Game: Your Next Buyer  - 12/2/2011

The one more customer out of ten you need to improve your sales revenue by 50%, is NOT among the next new first-visit shoppers you bring in.

Don't Sell Mattresses... Sell ”Quality of Life” Through the Science of Sleep.  - 12/2/2011

Part four of our selling better bedding series looks at creating demand by using the “Science of Sleep” approach.

Media Mix Magic -Part 1  - 10/5/2011

Create a killer mix of media that will leverage maximum sales and profits.

Quick & Easy Furniture Repair  - 10/5/2011

Do you have a backlog of damaged stock? Are your quick and easy finish repair solutions turning out to be neither quick nor easy?

Prevent Warehouse Bed Bug Infestations  - 10/5/2011

Practical steps to minimize risks of warehouse infestation, negative media attention and frivolous consumer lawsuits.

Garage Sale Lessons For Furniture Retailers  - 10/5/2011

Lessons a veteran furniture guy learned watching people browse, decide and negotiate at a garage sale.

Opened And Read - 3D Mail  - 10/5/2011

A great way to get your direct mail opened & read -- 3D Mail.

Tools of The FurnitureTrade  - 10/5/2011

Retail strategies a successful second generation furniture retailer learned from her Mom and Dad.

The Big Furniture Store Hand -Off  - 10/5/2011

Don’t get “tackled” by the IRS when handing off your business to the next generation.

We're All Selling The Same Stuff!  - 10/4/2011

Ever notice that furniture retailers seem to all be selling the same stuff? Here are five ways to make this reality less important to your bottom line.

Flexible Budgeting For Furniture Retailers  - 10/4/2011

Flexible Budgeting lets you ‘Flex’ your top line and observe the resulting operational effects on your P&L and operating income.

Dreaming Of Better Bedding Sales - Part 3  - 10/4/2011

Some best and worst bedding sales practices in furniture and bedding stores.

Dreaming Of Better Bedding Sales - Part 2  - 7/12/2011

This month, our series on how to sell more higher-end bedding continues with additional ideas to help you and your salespeople create a focused and consistent marketing approach. See what the experts say about shifting the emphasis away from price by creating a plan for advertising, approaching customers, greeting them and asking appropriate questions to advance the sale.

How to Escape From The Entitlement Trap  - 7/12/2011

Sometimes thoughts of entitlement grow so entrenched that family members believe they have the right to use company resources without permission or to direct company employees even though they have no direct management responsibility in the organization.

Furniture Retailers Share Their Stories - Part 8  - 7/12/2011

FURNITURE WORLD’s retail readers share their stories of survival, growth and service. This series that commemorates Furniture World’s 140 year of publishing, continues with interesting stories from retailers Longs Bedding & Interiors, Verbargs Furniture and Design and Home Furniture.

Should Your Furniture Store Offer Private Label Credit ?  - 7/12/2011

A private label credit card may not be a viable choice for every furniture dealer. However, the advantages of these programs make them well worth considering.

Bring In Customers With New Facebook Strategies  - 7/11/2011

Congratulations if you already have a Facebook page, but last year’s Facebook page just won’t get you the results you need. Here are Step by step instructions on how to turn your Facebook presence into more business.

Setting Minimum Standards for Sales Performance  - 5/30/2011

Why is everything you ever thought about commissions, and the things that motivate salespeople to perform, probably wrong? Poor performing salespeople don’t need disciplinary actions or warnings, they need help, and they need coaching. To coach you have to have a game plan, a strategy, a plan, just like sports teams have.

New Media Marketing: Host Your Own Web TV Show  - 5/30/2011

A regularly scheduled Web TV show will make it easy for you to communicate decorating tips, introductions, new service offerings, and best sellers. Mike Root provides step-by-step instructions on how to get started.

Private Label Credit For Furniture Retailers  - 5/30/2011

Private label credit card programs can be custom-designed to fit the needs of large and small furniture retailers alike.

Think Like A Retailer... Not Like A Furniture Guy!  - 5/30/2011

Retail furniture stores are different than other retail formats, but we can and should learn from the best practices of good retailers in other industries. Gordon Hecht identifies mindsets about credit, consumer buying behavior, inventory management and recruiting that furniture retailers should be thinking about.

Furniture Retailers Share Their Stories - Part 7  - 5/30/2011

FURNITURE WORLD’s retail home furnishings store readers share their stories of survival, growth and service. This series that commemorates Furniture World’s 140 year of publishing, continues with interesting stories from retailers Arte de Mexico, Conway Furniture and Mattress Giant.

Recursive Nature Of Furniture Sales  - 5/30/2011

Although some furniture salespeople insist on going sequentially through the five steps of the sales process mechanically, the most effective salespeople know when to retreat to an earlier stage in the process.

Manual Techniques For Moving furniture  - 3/16/2011

In our current era of robotics and other high-tech solutions, it is easy to overlook the necessity and importance of smart manual handling.

Mattress Advertising Wars  - 3/15/2011

Some say that the major “S” mattress brands have lost the high ground in branding and advertising to Tempur-Pedic. Should they be concerned? Larry Mullins thinks so.

Successful Retail Furniture Store New Media Marketing  - 3/15/2011

This series of articles will share with you direct response strategies utilizing “New Media” marketing to nurture prospects and turn them into long time customers.

Retail Break Even Analysis  - 3/15/2011

This article will demonstrate how to calculate your break-even point of sales. It also provides real world examples of ways smart retailers can reduce their break-even points and level of risk.

Dreaming Of Better Bedding Sales?  - 3/15/2011

This is the first part in a series that looks at how retailers can sell more higher-end bedding. In this issue, we define the luxury bedding category, present information on customer demographics and start to look at what experts say about best sales practices.

Case Study: Cost Of Not Managing Sales Performance  - 3/15/2011

If you title your sales manager a “Store Manager” you’re making a mistake. The store doesn’t need a manager. The salespeople need a leader. They need a coach. They need a teacher, a guide, a caring mentor, a person who knows stuff and can help them. Look at this real-life example to understand why.

Sales Opportunity: Gender Awareness - Part 3  - 3/15/2011

This installment continues our discussion about how women buy, and presents tips furniture retailers can use to sell more by creating sales initiatives.

Five Smart Steps To e-Tail Inventory Management  - 1/5/2011

Today, consumers initiate their shopping experience. If they find you through Google, you have a chance to get their business. Here’s how to manage your e-tail inventory to make the most of an initial website contact. Included is a 12-step process that will help to make their buying decision easier.

Nine Lessons On The Proper Use Of Retail Authority  - 1/5/2011

Retail furniture leaders wield authority and must submit to it as well. Here’s how to do both in a way that accomplishes key goals.

“Herd Mentality” & Reversing Sales Sabotage  - 1/5/2011

Systems most furniture stores put in place to implement a customer focused sales strategy are being subverted and hijacked by salespeople. When this scenario plays out in your store, your selling strategy and training programs that aim at having salespeople establish strong relationships with customers are sabotaged.

Gender Awareness - Part 2  - 1/5/2011

Your business will vault 10 steps ahead if you take gender differences seriously and adjust your sales and customer service approaches accordingly. This installment continues our discussion about how women buy, and presents tips furniture retailers can use to sell more by creating sales initiatives.

Furniture Retailers Share Their Stories - Part 5  - 1/5/2011

FURNITURE WORLD’s retail readers share their stories of survival, growth and service. Due to overwhelming response, this series that began in the March/April 140th year anniversary issue, will be continued into 2011. This time Art Van, Decorium, Stickley and Gorman’s are featured.

Outlook For Furniture Industry Transportation 2011  - 1/5/2011

There will be significant challenges for furniture transportation in 2011 and beyond.

Multiply Ad Effectiveness With The “Why” Factor  - 1/5/2011

The final article of the “Sell Lots More" series will divulge the game-changing link that ties everything together, the Why? Factor.