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
Jul 22, 2024 - Inflation Up, Sales Down
- According to the National Retail Federation, sales for furniture and home furnishings stores fell 3.2% year over year seasonally adjusted and 0.6% month over month unadjusted in June 2024. Producer inflation for furniture stores increased during the first five months of 2024, according to producer price data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employment at furniture stores fell year to date through May 2024 and remains below pre-pandemic levels. Industry wages for nonsupervisory employees in the industry were fairly stable during the first five months of the year through May 2024, when wages per hour reached $25.54, per the BLS.
- A $4 billion acquisition by mattress manufacturer Tempur Sealy of retailer Mattress Firm has been blocked by the Federal Trade Commission, due to competition and pricing concerns, according to the Wall Street Journal. In July, the FTC issued an administrative complaint and authorized a lawsuit in federal court to stop the deal. According to the FTC, “The proposed vertical acquisition would merge Tempur Sealy’s manufacturing and supply operations with Mattress Firm’s vast retail footprint, giving the combined company enormous power at multiple parts of the mattress supply chain.” Tempur Sealy expressed confidence in the deal and noted that Mattress Firm holds only a small percentage of US storefronts selling bedding products. In addition, the company said in a statement that it is open to divesting stores to complete the deal if necessary. Tempur Sealy expects it could still complete the deal by the end of the year or early 2025 if it pursues a successful litigation process, per the report.
- The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) monthly jobs report shows that unfilled job openings fell in June 2024, with a seasonally adjusted 37% of small business owners reporting jobs they could not fill. The reading is down five points from May 2024. A seasonally adjusted net 15% of small business owners plan to create new jobs over the next three months, unchanged from May. About 19% of owners reported labor quality as the most important problem facing the business. According to NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg, “This summer, small business owners continue to try to hire and find qualified employees for their open positions. The number of small businesses with one or more job openings they can’t fill remains at exceptionally high levels. However, owners are raising compensation at historically high levels to attract and retain employees.”
- Consumer confidence levels fell in June 2024, after an uptick in May, according to data from The Conference Board. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index was 100.4 in June 2024 from 101.3 in May 2024. Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, noted that confidence was the highest among those under age 35 and those in the income category of over $100,000. Plans for large appliance and smart phone purchases rose on a six-month basis, while plans for car purchases stalled.
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