Time for change in furnitureland
Carole Sloan, Senior contributing editor -- Furniture Today, January 11, 2009
Now that the dismal 2008 retail year is over, and we're into the new year with a brief respite before the marathon of first-quarter markets, it's time to pause and assess what steps take advantage of the recent challenges to furnitureland.
One thing seems clear: Consumers in this environment are abandoning what had been considered norms over the last decade or two. And lowball pricing is not drawing in the crowds it once did.
Not only that, but the credit crunch has hog-tied many consumers who no longer can qualify for the proliferation of no-no-no offers — and those who can still qualify aren't showing up in the stores.
Recognizing this is essential for everyone in the furniture business. And it will play out this year — big time — benefiting the suppliers and retailers who don't cling to the same old, same old product direction.
Looking at the plethora of recent furniture promotional activities — just a drop in the bucket compared with what we saw from apparel retailers in the holiday season — same old, same old was truly the mantra.
We've been living with this approach for more than a decade, adding more pieces per room group, reducing quality and knocking prices so down-market that it is hard to believe they are real.
This is indeed a perfect time to let loose the creativity of the suppliers and retailers in this business. There are a host of young design hopefuls at schools across the country that are eager to present 21st-century ideas to the furniture marketplace, as well as a great number of design mavens in this business who haven't got gray hair.
When one studies the results of last year's election and the demographics of the voting breakout, anyone in this business should pay heed and look to new ways to design and market our products.
There's a whole new marketplace out there. It's time to learn — and build business in that venue.
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