Furniture Stores
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 12,800 furniture retailers in the US sell new furniture and furniture-related goods, such as appliances, home electronics, home furnishings, and floor coverings. Major product categories include living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture; upholstered furniture; sleep equipment (mattresses, waterbeds); kitchen/dinette furniture; office furniture; and sleeper sofas, daybeds, and futons. Companies may specialize in a particular type of product (sofas, beds), style (contemporary, traditional), or price tier.
Dependence On Credit
Furniture is a large ticket purchase and many consumers depend on credit for funding.
Competition From Alternative Retailers
Furniture stores compete with a variety of alternative retailers, including department stores, retail arms of furniture manufacturers, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, home furnishings stores, and Internet and catalog retailers.
Industry size & Structure
The average furniture store operates out of a single location, employs 16 workers, and generates about $5.8 million annually.
- The furniture store industry consists of about 12,800 companies that employ about 212,000 workers and generate about $75 billion annually.
- Some companies are vertically-integrated - large retailers, such as Ethan Allen, may produce proprietary lines of furnishings.
- The industry is fragmented; the top 50 firms account for 51% of industry sales.
- Large companies include Ashley Furniture, Rooms to Go, Mattress Firm, and Haverty's.
Industry Forecast
Furniture Stores Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jan 23, 2025 - Sales Up, Inflation Down
- Sales for furniture stores were up nearly 3% in November 2024 year over year and were 11.6% higher than the previous month, according to the latest data from the US Census Bureau. Producer inflation for furniture stores fell 10.8% in November 2024 compared to a year ago, according to producer price data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employment at furniture stores fell 6.1% in October 2024 year over year and remains below pre-pandemic levels. Average wages for nonsupervisory employees in the industry were up 3.6% in October 2024 compared to a year ago, reaching $26.69, per the BLS.
- Mattress manufacturers are poised for a recovery in 2025 following a 4.5% sales decrease in 2024, according to Furniture Today. The International Sleep Products Association expects 2025 mattress sales to rise by about 3% in value and 1.5% in unit sales. In dollars, mattress sales are forecast to grow to $9.7 billion in 2025 from $9.4 billion in 2024. Sales are projected to remain under 2023’s sales of $9.8 billion. As bedding executives look to 2025, their top concerns include inflation, elevated interest rates, a stagnant housing market, and possible tariffs. However, bedding executives think consumer confidence will improve, and conditions will stabilize in 2024, leading to a modest recovery.
- Consumer confidence levels declined in December 2024, falling by 8.1 points from the previous month, according to The Conference Board. The Consumer Confidence Index was 104.7 in December 2024 from 112.8 in November 2024. Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, noted that those remaining most confident on a six-month moving average basis confidence were those aged under 35 and those in the income category of over $100,000. Per Peterson, “The recent rebound in consumer confidence was not sustained in December as the Index dropped back to the middle of the range that has prevailed over the past two years.” Purchasing plans for homes decreased while plans to buy new cars and big-ticket items rose in December 2024 on a six-month average basis.
- Furniture costs are expected to increase according to a new study by the National Retail Federation (NRF) of the estimated impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals. The study looked at the effect of tariffs on prices of major consumer product categories including apparel, toys, furniture, household appliances, footwear and travel goods. Trump has proposed a universal 10-20% tariff on imports from all countries and an additional tax on imports from China. Per the NRF study, consumers would pay $13.9 billion to $24 billion more for apparel, $8.8 billion to $14.2 billion more for toys, $8.5 billion to $13.1 more for furniture, and $6.4 billion to $10.9 billion more for household appliances with the proposed tariffs in place. The study showed the tariffs would have a “significant and detrimental impact” on the costs of a wide range of consumer products, in particular those products supplied primarily by China. US retailers would be unable to absorb the increased costs and would need to raise prices “higher than many consumers would be willing or able to pay.” According to Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president of supply chain and customs policy, “Retailers rely heavily on imported products and manufacturing components so that they can offer their customers a variety of products at affordable prices. A tariff is a tax paid by the U.S. importer, not a foreign country or the exporter. This tax ultimately comes out of consumers’ pockets through higher prices.”
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