Furniture World Articles

The Repair, Replace or Refund Decision  - 11/20/2020

How to improve your service call decision-making in 2021 so that the resolution you suggest is also best for your profitability.

Mattress Recycling Law Levels the Playing Field  - 11/20/2020

California mandatory mattress rule change expands the burden beyond brick and mortar to include online retailers.

Riley's Experiments With Time  - 11/20/2020

Riley's Furniture & Mattress has reduced store hours. Business is booming, customers don't mind and sales associates love the idea.

HFA Reports: Supply Chain Woes  - 11/20/2020

Contemporary Furniture retailer PerLora and Becks Furniture share proactive strategies for managing customer delivery time expectations.

HFA Updates  - 11/20/2020

In this year of change, HFA remains a source for retailers looking to grow

Train the Trainee  - 11/20/2020

Eight simple steps to improve the effectiveness of your sales meetings.

Editor's Corner: Potential to get ugly out there.  - 11/20/2020

Supply chain issues are unavoidable, but it is useful to mitigate damage to your brand.

Customer Journey Lead Management  - 11/19/2020

Guide non-physical leads into a funnel of care that will deliver the highest level of service you are capable of providing.

Advertising Strategies for 2021  - 11/19/2020

Tips and advertising strategies for furniture and bedding retailers who want to grow market share in 2021 and beyond.

Her Name is HENRY!  - 11/19/2020

Home furnishings retailers really need to lean in on their most valuable prospect. Her name is HENRY.

Better Bedding & Mattress Sales: Prepare for Meteors!  - 9/24/2020

We don’t know how this mess is going to turn out, but If you are prospering, keep focused. Do what you do well and prepare for everything!

Retail Success: Arizona Leather  - 9/24/2020

Here's how Arizona Leather outsells the competition with lower advertising expenditures and fewer major suppliers.

A Mattress Detective Story  - 9/24/2020

A true detective story about finding the right questions to ask to make that all-important mattress sale.

Hold That Toast!  - 9/24/2020

What a lousy year to celebrate HFA's 100th anniversary...or is it?

In a bleak economy, there is still room for high-end sales.  - 9/24/2020

There remains a slice of the workforce that has not felt the recession’s pain—yet.

Paid Leave Laws Put a Burden On Small Furniture Businesses  - 9/24/2020

A new law in Colorado is worrying some Furniture retailers.

Editor's Corner: The Good, bad and ugly.  - 9/24/2020

I count three goods, three bads and two uglies.

How Retailers Can Do More With Less  - 9/23/2020

In the coming months, retailers will need to do more with less. Here are 16 strategies to help you cope.

Design & Designer: Erika Ward Interiors  - 9/23/2020

Interior designer, blogger, brand ambassador and style spotter Erika Ward provides insight into what furniture consumers and families want and need right now.

Retail Success: Great American Home Store  - 9/23/2020

After a rocky start with its online sales platform, GAHS achieved growth in eCommerce sales of 1,200 percent during the pandemic.

In a Down Economy, These Three Furniture Retailers Are Growing  - 8/7/2020

Content about HFA member-retailers contributed by HFA.

No masks, no entry some retailers say. Others have a different view.  - 8/7/2020

Content about HFA member-retailers contributed by HFA.

HFA Member Sells Furniture, Offers Wisdom On the Side  - 8/7/2020

Content about HFA member-retailers contributed by HFA.

Editor's Corner: When Fortune Knocks  - 8/7/2020

'When Fortune knocks, open the door,' they say. But why should one make fortune knock by keeping the door shut?

Advertising: What's Working at Retail  - 8/5/2020

Advertising specialists weigh in on what's working right now to make customers comfortable, generate inquiries and increase store traffic.

Better Bedding & Mattress Sales: Motivate Your Retail Sales Associates  - 8/5/2020

Ways to keep your sales staff motivated and focused even during those slow and boring times, especially in retail bedding departments.

Diversity: The Golden Rule of Retail  - 8/5/2020

Now is the time for retail brands to consider what messages they are sending to a diverse cross section of their customers.

The Price Match Game  - 8/5/2020

Grabbing back the sale from an online or down the street retail competitor can be fun.

Sales Increase at Brakenridge With Appointment-Only Strategy  - 8/5/2020

Content about HFA member-retailers contributed by HFA.

New Front Doors: Customer Journey Management  - 8/4/2020

The new front door was not invented during the pandemic; however, it has become critically important for furniture retailers over the past few months.

Design & Designer: What Shoppers Want  - 8/4/2020

Fashion Snoops' Jaye Anna Mize explains how a shift in consumer values is likely to affect how and what they buy for the fall selling season and into 2021.

Darvin Furniture & Mattress Celebrates 100 Years  - 8/4/2020

Three generations have built this top-100 single-store operation into Chicagoland’s largest furniture & mattress store.

Employee/Customer COVID Safety Checklist For Furniture Retailers  - 6/29/2020

Frequent Furniture World contributing author David McMahon provides readers with a short checklist for mitigating COVID risks right now in your stores.

New Front Doors to Home Furnishings Retail  - 6/6/2020

The source and the management of every door to your operation are critical elements for retail business success.

Delivery: Hold the Pickle!  - 6/6/2020

More delivery options helps your customers feel in control.

Sales Management: Grim Retail Personalities  - 6/6/2020

A post COVID-19 fairy tale from the pages of the Brothers Grim starring your very own sales team.

Point/Counterpoint: The New Normal?  - 6/6/2020

Ed says our industry will begin to recover from the Covid pandemic and there will be a new normal. Bill says NOPE!

Coronavirus-Related Furniture Legislation  - 6/6/2020

HFA member retailers push Congress for added PPP flexibility and other coronavirus related legislation.

Sales Boost For Reopening Retailers  - 6/6/2020

Coconis Furniture & Mattress and Sheely's furniture find pent-up demand and strong sales as states reopen.

Retailers Prepare For Supply Chain Disruptions  - 6/6/2020

Jerry Epperson says retailers need to plan now for supply chain issues as the economy rebounds.

Editor's Corner: Should You Get On An Elevator With Me?  - 6/6/2020

At Market, if you see me getting on an elevator, will you follow me through the doors or take the stairs instead?

Editor's Corner: Patience and a Bit of Luck  - 4/7/2020

Conditions change, but human nature stays more or less the same. That is a cause for optimism.

Roby's Presents: A model for Community Service  - 4/5/2020

This retail chain has an emphasis on serving local communities while being extra nice.

Retail's Weak Link  - 4/5/2020

It's been said that retail sales-people are the weakest link in the buying chain for furniture and mattresses.

HFA Reports  - 4/5/2020

Special section from the Home Furnishings Association featuring news on retailing, programs, legislation and more.

How to Create Engaged & Functional Teams  - 4/5/2020

One of the defining qualities of a good leader is an ability to actively and consistently work to understand who your retail team members really are.

What Do We Do Now?  - 4/4/2020

Five positive steps your business can take to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

Lots To Keep You Up at Night  - 4/4/2020

Things you can do to respond when a large competitor goes out with a bang instead of a whimper.

Drive-Thru Furniture?  - 4/4/2020

Furniture retailers are now looking for ways to sell their products while minimizing face-to-face selling time.

Design & Designer: Corey Damen Jenkins  - 4/3/2020

Designer Corey Damen Jenkins shares his experience about persistence and emerging design trends.

The Power of Family Product Reporting  - 4/2/2020

Here's how one retailer adopted product family reporting to seize control of its inventory and increase GMROI.

The COVID-19 Business Checklist  - 3/14/2020

Here's a quick checklist of things you can do to minimize the damage due to recessionary pressures on your business.

Editor's Corner: A Delightful Sense of Mischief  - 1/6/2020

With the passing of 2019 Furniture World lost its good friend and retail editor Janet Holt-Johnstone.

Better Bedding & Mattress Sales: Up-Selling  - 1/4/2020

Get your customers to spend more money than they intended on a mattress, and leave your store happy for spending it!

The Employee Application Challenge  - 1/4/2020

What can you do to make sure your retail operation attracts top talent?

Point/Counterpoint: Gross Margin Rescue  - 1/4/2020

Direct and indirect retail strategies for rescuing gross margins in 2020.

Coaching And Mentoring  - 1/4/2020

How one retailer used the GROW and Cascade of Change models to improve sales performance.

HFA Reports  - 1/4/2020

Members optimistic about retail business heading into 2020.

Need To Know Guide to Consumer Financing  - 1/3/2020

A close-up look at the various types, features & advantages of consumer financing plans.

Welcome to WHY2K20  - 1/3/2020

You only need to look at the innovators and disruptors in our world to see the value in asking WHY.

Multi-Sensory Retailing  - 1/2/2020

How to make an analog connection with shoppers in an increasingly digital world.

Design & Designer: It's Madcap!  - 1/2/2020

Madcap Cottage's John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon explain how to take retail customers on a journey.