Scramble for space looms for Wal-Mart hopefuls
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, November 4, 2002
High Point — While traffic at this fall's High Point market was obviously sparse, most exhibitors, especially from the flat-pack universe, made a point of saying that they had seen all the majors — with one major exception.
Wal-Mart did not attend High Point, which means that quite a few RTA furniture executives soon will be making pilgrimages to the retail giant's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark.
November–December is the key planning period for Wal-Mart's spring reset, and the stakes in this contest are huge. Wal-Mart is, after all, the second-largest furniture merchant in North America, having sold more than $1 billion worth of furniture and bedding last year from 2,744 stores, according to Furniture/Today market research. And that doesn't include the furniture sales generated by Sam's Club, the membership-warehouse subsidiary that was No. 7 on Furniture/Today's list of the Top 25 U.S. furniture retailers for 2001.
Negotiations for floor space at Wal-Mart are always tough, requiring a sharp pencil and tight margins on promotional merchandise. Key vendors in past seasons have included Sauder Woodworking and Dorel's Ameriwood division.
While the discount powerhouse has been experimenting more with imports and special buys, the vast majority of its merchandising still leans toward flat-pack furniture from U.S. factories.
