Furniture brings dreams to life
Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief -- Furniture Today, January 1, 2006
Based on a very informal survey of friends, family and acquaintances, Christmas came late this year for retailers. I also base that conclusion on what I saw every time I was in a mall this holiday season. While the malls were busy, my sense was that shoppers were far more intent on looking than on purchasing.
And who can blame them? We all know that the longer we wait, the better the deal. He who blinks last, wins.
Now that the bows and wrapping paper are gone, it appears that holiday spending was up nearly 9% from last year, according to a report from SpendingPulse, a unit of MasterCard.
The good news for our industry is that home furnishings fueled part of that increase in holiday spending. To be sure, high-demand, high-ticket items such as flat-panel TVs and digital cameras also made the list, but the fact that home furnishings scored prominently should cause us to look for ways to continue that growth.
Granted, flat-panel TVs, digital cameras and the like have an immediate "wow" factor. But so does a beautiful room. And I would go so far as to say that, after a time, TVs or cameras will lose the allure of being the cool new toy. That well-coordinated room, by comparison, will continue to provide the consumer with things far more lasting.
Perhaps a good resolution for 2006 is to spend time thinking about what it is we really offer the consumer. For openers, we offer her an opportunity to identify, define and express herself through our products and services. We give her incredible values, tremendous selection and literally unlimited decorating possibilities. Perhaps best of all, we give her the tools to transform a house into a home.
As we head into 2006, let's remember that we do more than simply make and sell furniture: We facilitate dreams.
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Furniture brings dreams to life
Jan 6, 2006
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