Furniture World Articles

Bold Retail Predictions for 2016  - 11/27/2015

Gordon Hecht stakes his reputation on these predictions for what you are certain to see in terms of retail traffic, sales, government regulations and even major weather disruptions in 2016.

Best Practices for Employee Retention  - 11/27/2015

You pay your employees, but do you need to show them that you appreciate them as well? René Johnston-Gingrich cites current research that will help you to maintain a healthy organizational culture.

Rewarding Customer Loyalty  - 11/27/2015

You need to engage and reward your consumers in 2016 or lose business to those retailers that do.

Retail Success: Fecera’s Furniture  - 11/27/2015

Family run business with a reputation of putting customers first.

Lean Techniques Part 3: Marketing  - 11/27/2015

Every furniture store needs a strategy for implementing LEAN and applying it to the marketing. Here’s how.

Good RSA, Bad RSA  - 11/27/2015

What are the most common mistakes you can stop your salespeople from making in 2016?

New Mover Marketing  - 11/27/2015

Home furnishings retailers have an opportunity to make lasting impressions on potential customers when they move into a new home.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T  - 11/27/2015

You can’t get to nearly 100% first time delivery success in 2016 without it.

EDITOR'S CORNER: Turn your banana upside down in 2016.  - 11/27/2015

Is peeling a banana an apt metaphor for your retail business?

Welcome Mat Marketing  - 9/28/2015

Use “welcome mat marketing” to help new customers realize you’re different, and to make them feel special.

Lean Techniques Part 2: Lean Sales force  - 9/28/2015

Every furniture store needs a strategy for implementing LEAN and applying it to sales force management.

Retail Enterprise Thinking  - 9/28/2015

Enterprise thinking is your key to superlative leadership many retail home furnishings stores lack

Better Bedding & Mattress Sales: Selection & Presentation Qualifying Questions  - 9/28/2015

Part 6 of our Steps-Of-The-Sale series. Qualifying questions RSAs need to know to complete more mattress sales.

Retail Success: Furniture Mall of Kansas  - 9/28/2015

New 150,000 square foot store has four separate store brands, and innovative design without a big box feel.

Furniture Trends: Design & Designer - Part 1  - 9/28/2015

Three generations of furniture designers at Otto & Moore reflect on furniture design’s past and future.

The Decision To Buy New Furniture  - 9/28/2015

This article is for those of you in traditional relationships who are running things in the retail furniture business.

The Other 98%  - 9/28/2015

Chase potential customers your competition neglects, and watch sales climb!

EDITOR'S CORNER: You want a tiny... what?  - 9/28/2015

For those of you who haven’t heard, there’s a (big) tiny home movement brewing.

Retail Technology: Human2  - 9/27/2015

Use mobile marketing and post-click engagement so shoppers use phones for something other than showrooming.

Anticipation: It’s Making You Money!  - 9/27/2015

Anticipate these common but often ignored needs that can hinder the pathway to completing a sale.

Seven Deadly Sins of Retail  - 7/17/2015

Avoid them and your business can flourish. Ignore them, and you may lose your retail soul!

Trending Accessories  - 7/17/2015

Best practices for buying, merchandising and profiting from the category - Part 2.

Trending Color  - 7/17/2015

The right colors make a huge difference in the selling power of retail displays.

Better Bedding & Mattress Series: Qualifying Questions Methodology  - 7/17/2015

Part 5 of our Steps-Of-The-Sale series. Do your RSAs fail to ask even the most fundamental qualifying questions?

Lean Business Practices: An Introduction  - 7/17/2015

LEAN practices allow businesses to realize their potential. First of a multi-part series.

Retail Profile: Up Market Down South  - 7/17/2015

Solid merchandising and advertising pay off for Leather by Design.

First Exchange At RetaiL  - 7/17/2015

Prospects may be the most overlooked people in your furniture business. Here’s what to do about it.

EDITOR'S CORNER: Elevator speeches for rvery sales associate.  - 7/17/2015

An ES explains what your company does, why it’s unique and interesting. It needs to be short enough to deliver to a prospect during a brief ride from the first to the fourth floor.

Maximize Return On Your Training Investment  - 7/17/2015

How to best select, design and deliver education programming that will have a significant and lasting impact.

Trending Accessories  - 6/9/2015

Best practices for buying, merchandising and profiting from the category.

Killer Casualness at Retail  - 6/9/2015

Casualness can creep in anywhere. It’s your job to cut it out and replace it with intention.

Brown Squirrel Furniture: "King Of The Wild Frontier"  - 6/9/2015

Knoxville Tennessee retailer with a storied history creates a showplace with the help of store designer Connie Post.

Rebuying and New Buying: Two Different Mindsets  - 6/9/2015

Executing these activities properly and coordinating them improves sales and profitability.

Use Your Data To Sell More Furniture  - 6/9/2015

Case Study: How a regional furniture chain pulled its data together to sell more furniture.

Top Ten Bad Sales Habits & How To Break Them  - 6/9/2015

Bad habits are easy to form but hard to break. They equal lower sales and declining revenue.

​Better Bedding & Mattress Sales: The Approach & Greet  - 6/9/2015

Part 3 of our Steps-Of-The-Sale series. The ‘Meet and Greet,’ is where the R.S.A. makes a first impression.

Hall of Fame  - 6/9/2015

For those of you who haven’t given much thought to the American Furniture Hall of Fame lately, it’s time to take another look.

Millennials: Congratulations Mom & Dad, It’s a Customer!  - 6/3/2015

Millennials think and shop differently than Baby Boomers and Generation X. Here’s what you need to know.

A Tale of Two Talents  - 3/26/2015

A Tale of Two Talents: How we, as an industry, need to support design creativity.

Retail Success Story: Rebranding For Fun & Profit  - 3/24/2015

Edward and Michael Massood rebrand Thomasville of New Jersey as HOME INSPIRATIONS Thomasville, with a little help from their friends.

Six Rules For Planning Your Next Big Event  - 3/24/2015

Planning a BIG EVENT is a lot like planning a wedding. It takes time, thought, and budgeting. Here are ideas to consider if you want to maximize the return on your next big event.

REV up Your Business - Switch To Evidence Based Advertising  - 3/24/2015

There are fortunes to be made in retail home furnishings by the entrepreneurs who understand how to leverage their offers to dramatically increase market share.

Service, An Opportunity To Keep Your Word  - 3/24/2015

When can a customer service call be a good thing?

Marketing Made In America  - 3/24/2015

Tips from retailers and marketing experts on how to position your company for success if you choose to promote domestically sourced furniture.

Better Bedding & Mattress Sales: Everything RSA's Need to Know About Bedding  - 3/24/2015

This installment provides a checklist of everything your R.S.A.’s need to know, inside and out, about the background knowledge that supports and sustains the sales process.

Improve Performance With Professional Financial Planning  - 3/24/2015

It’s a fact that the FP&A process increases the odds of retail success, producing better profits and cash flow than if you ignored FP&A. Here’s how it works.

Going Where The Money is!  - 3/24/2015

Study shows that the 20% of affluent households, that account for more than 40% of home furnishings sales, are increasingly shopping at specialty retailers.

Helping Before Selling  - 3/24/2015

Part 1: Free yourself from a “churn and burn” attitude that ignores the true value of your customers.

NAHFA DataLink: What’s In It For You?  - 3/24/2015

New program seeks to unlock the online competitiveness of local brick & mortar furniture retailers.

Give The Lady What She Wants!  - 3/24/2015

Hint: It’s not furniture!