Furniture & Home Furnishings Wholesalers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 10,200 furniture and home furnishings wholesalers in the US resell furniture and home furnishings to retailers, builders, and other commercial customers. Major product categories include flooring and floor coverings; office and business furniture; household and lawn furniture; and linens, domestics, curtains, and draperies. Most companies are small, independent operators that serve a local market.
Dependence On Housing And Construction
The furniture and home furnishings wholesale industry is highly dependent on downstream demand from the housing and construction markets, which is influenced by economic factors.
Competition From Alternative Sources
Furniture and home furnishings wholesalers face competition from a variety of alternative sources, including manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors, and other channels which allow customers to buy direct.
Industry size & Structure
The average furniture and home furnishings wholesaler operates out of a single location, employs about 11 workers, and generates $10-11 million in annual revenue.
- The furniture and home furnishings wholesale industry consists of about 10,200 companies that employ 114,000 workers and generate about $107.5 billion annually.
- The industry is fragmented; the top 50 companies account for 31% of industry revenue.
- Most companies are small, independent operators that serve a local market. Large companies include Arc International North America (US subsidiary of ARC International SA - glassware and tableware distributor), Creative Office Interiors, and Building Plastics, Inc. (floor coverings).
- Some large furniture and home furnishings manufacturers are vertically-integrated and operate wholesale distribution warehouses that sell direct to commercial customers.
Industry Forecast
Furniture & Home Furnishings Wholesalers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
May 23, 2024 - Sales, Inventories Down
- Sales for furniture and home furnishings wholesalers fell in spring 2024, following three months of increases year over year, according to the Census Bureau. Sales declined nearly 13% in March 2024 compared to a year ago and were down almost 4% from the previous month. Inventories for furniture and home furnishings wholesalers were down 8.2% in March 2024 compared to a year ago and were flat from the previous month. The inventories/sales ratio for furniture and home furnishings wholesalers increased 5.3% year over year to 1.98 in March 2024.
- The US furniture market registered a 4% decrease in exports in 2023 compared to 2022, according to a report in Furniture Today. Exports totaled $2.2 billion in 2023 compared to $2.3 billion in 2022. Exports to Canada, accounting for 63% of US exports, fell 4% in 2023, and exports to Mexico, which makes up 8% of US exports, fell by 2%. The US increased its exports to several countries in 2023. For example, exports to Saudi Arabia, the fifth largest importer of US-made furnishings, grew by 61% in 2023, and exports to China posted a 20% increase.
- Disruptions in the Red Sea are expected for the rest of 2024 due to continuing attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, with diversions causing higher container freight rates, according to the Wall Street Journal. Container freight rates have increased about 30% in recent weeks, with most ship owners and brokers diverting large container ships from the Red Sea. The Red Sea serves as the entry point for ships to the Suez Canal on trips from Asia to Europe. According to the article, most of the diverted ships go around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, which adds about 2.5 weeks to the trip. Import volume is expected to increase in Q3, when retailers typically stock up for the holiday season.
- Home remodeling spending, which fuels demand for the furniture industry, is expected to decline in 2024 for the first time since 2010, according to a recent Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) report released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. Homeowner improvement and repair spending is expected to fall from $481 billion in 2023 to $450 billion in 2024. Looking ahead, the report projects that spending will worsen through the third quarter of 2024 before moderating slightly to 6.5% lower by the end of the year. According to Abbe Will, Associate Project Director of the Remodeling Futures Program, “Even with the anticipated downturn, spending for improvements and repairs to owner-occupied homes this year is expected to easily surpass the robust levels seen early in the pandemic. Recent improvements in homebuilding and mortgage rates also support the prospect of turning a corner on the rate of remodeling spending losses by the end of the year.”
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