NHFA poised for growth
Next on the agenda: Closer partnership with AFMA
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, March 17, 2002
ORLANDO, Fla. — In the glow of a convention deemed a success by both sponsors and attendees, leaders of the National Home Furnishings Assn. say the trade group is strong and headed in the right direction.
The association's leadership cited growing membership, healthy financial reserves and, most importantly, increased participation in a growing menu of programs and services.
The big initiative on the NHFA's horizon is a tighter and more formal partnership with the American Furniture Manufacturers Assn.
Currently, membership stands just over 2,600 retail companies, or about 10,000 stores. That figure represents steady, gradual growth since 1997, said Howard Haimsohn, this year's NHFA president.
"That's encouraging, and the really good thing is that it's coming from several regions," Haimsohn said. He estimates that NHFA members currently represent about 50% of U.S. furniture store sales.
As a not-for-profit trade association, the NHFA must measure success by its ability to help members, whether through education or services.
"The usage of some of our services is much greater now than it was a couple of years ago," said Haimsohn, whose family owns and operates Lawrance Contemporary in San Diego. "That's a critical measurement of how we are doing. We want to be valued and valuable to our members."
"Our goal is to help educate people in the industry to help make their companies more profitable," said Steve DeHaan, the group's executive director.
In the past several years, the NHFA has expanded its lineup of educational programs. In addition to the annual Sales Trainer Institute, which was sold out in Las Vegas this year, the association has a two-day management development program planned for May in High Point. A conference focusing on human resources is in the early planning stages for this fall, DeHaan said.
Other encouraging developments include:
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Revenues from the NHFA's sales-training program, the Professional Selling Process, recently surpassed the cost of developing the video-training series.
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Participation in the Citi Financial in-store consumer financing program now exceeds 1,800 companies. "Three years ago, it was zero," DeHaan said. "We're very pleased with that program. Our members tell us it returns three times the cost of their membership."
Total attendance at the NHFA's All-Industry Convention here approached 400, down some from the figure at the last of these gatherings, held in 1999 in Boston. The next will be held in 2004, although a date and a place haven't been nailed down.
While they said it would have been nice to have more industry folk in attendance, NHFA leaders said they were extremely pleased with the feedback they received on the quality of the program, which put a premium on participation rather than just listening.
Looking ahead, Haimsohn and Pedro Capo, who will be NHFA president next year, said they are eager to build a stronger partnership with AFMA, the big furniture manufacturers trade group. "That is going to be my theme," said Capo, of the family-owned and operated El Dorado Furniture in South Florida.
Building on an idea advanced by Hershel Alpert, who was NHFA president in 1999, Capo is eager to see a furniture industry association that blends manufacturing and retailing.
"Will that ever be accomplished? I don't know," he said, "but it could happen if we all want to work on the same goal of improving our industry."
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| Mike Spiller, left, and Shane Spiller of Spiller Furniture in Tuscaloosa, Ala., kick up their heels at the NHFA convention. |
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