From A Rep's Perspective
Hi, I'm Mike Root, President of Furniture Sales of Mid-America, (www.furnituresales.biz) a furniture wholesale company in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states. We have been recognized by numerous national furniture factories for sales excellence including multiple Salesman of the Year awards. I currently serve on the Executive Committee of the International Home Furnishings Representative's Association (IHFRA) as well as the CQRID Advisory Board of the Interior Design Society.
I see incredible opportunities for our industry to make a difference in people's lives. It is my intention to share with you positive stories and observations from around the country as they relate to the home furnishings industry. True, this is a blog for furniture representatives. But the reality is that we are all representing the home furnishings industry. Therefore I will write to and for reps, but hopefully the message will resonate with all throughout the industry. My perspective is one of a third generation furniture guy with past experience in retail, rental, and wholesale. I also have the good fortune of working with my father, Emmet Root, who is still active as a rep after almost 60 years.
We also operate a consulting business to help retailers and factories use innovative marketing to capture the attention of the end consumer through the use of direct response marketing and social media (www.GetCustomersRigthNow.com). More information about me can be found on my blog at www.MikeRoot.com. To contact me by email meroot@mikeroot.com.
Market Seminars Are a Great Way to Learn How to Improve Your Business - Both for Retailers and For Reps
With market coming up this week hopefully you have your appointments organized and your IHFRA rep pin* packed for easy access at all market buildings. I know there are always down times during market because many dealers do not come in according to plan. So I have a suggestion for this market...Take a look at the market seminar schedule published in Furniture Today (http://www.furnituretoday.com... Read More
Comments (2)I Vote for Herman
I rarely, if ever, like to talk politics. But frankly, the next election will be important as our country tries to shake off a lethargic economic environment. I am not going to discuss whether the Buffet Rule is good or bad or if the amount of regulation strangling business is the cause of the malaise.I have watched two out of the three Republican debates to try and figure out if there will be a... Read More
Comments (9)Wal-Mart Revives Layaway
Reading the Wall Street Journal this morning, Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the country, has had customer requests to revive their layaway plan that was cancelled five years ago. A layaway plan of course is where a customer makes payment on merchandise and picks it up after it is paid for. In Wal-Mart's case, the customers will have to have it all paid for by December 16 in order to get the... Read More
Comments (2)Is the End Of Summer A Great Time For Your Furniture Business?
With Labor Day holiday this weekend, mindsets of business people and consumers begin to shift away from summer vacations and back to work. Traditionally this spells a better selling season for the furniture industry than the summer season. But we are fighting some headwinds:• Kids head back to school and parents realize they have extra expenses due to books, tuitions, or clothes and less discret... Read More
Comments (5)Money Is Moving Around: Now If It Would Only Move My Way
Yesterday the stock market tumbled over 600 points. The national news media has their big story and getting everyone all excited about how much value was lost. But if you think about it, there were some very smart or lucky people who were on the other side of the trade that made 600 points, because for every seller there had to be a buyer. So you could look at this stock market as an awful hit... Read More
Comments (6)"Change Before You Have To"
Jack Welch, former General Electric boss, was attributed the above quote. Mr. Welch presided over this international industrial powerhouse in their period of growth and domination. In the period of time that he was at the helm of GE, they were the biggest players in their markets, and if they were not, they would change or get out.As we enter the summer doldrums, I've been thinking about change qu... Read More
Comments (8)Kathy Ireland: A true American entrepreneurial success story
Recently the Anti-Defamation League honored Kathy Ireland of Kathy Ireland Worldwide at its annual awards dinner in New York. I have gone to that dinner a couple of times and it is quite an event and very definitely an honor for the recipients. Kathy Ireland was honored with the American Heritage Award. She is CEO and chief designer of Kathy Ireland Worldwide, a marketing and design firm she fo... Read More
Comments (2)Tornados, Floods and Fires ---- What's Going On?
Recently good friends of mine, Jim and Judy Cooke, lost their entire furniture store to the devastating tornado in Joplin, MO. I have other good accounts in Bismarck and Minot, North Dakota whose towns are literally underwater. My home town of Omaha is surrounded by water reaching record levels. In all this devastation it is tough to find a silver lining.But when I talked with Jim and Judy rece... Read More
Comments (7)Midwest Furniture Show might be just your ticket
If you live in the Midwest like I do, you are probably familiar with the Midwest Furniture Show. This is a fast growing furniture event that is sponsored entirely by a rep organization. The event is later in June and I thought it would be great to showcase this furniture show, not only because it shows the creativity and hard work of a group of furniture sales reps, but also because it provides... Read More
Comments (7)What You Can Learn From the History of the Furniture Industry
You can learn a lot by paying attention to how the most successful people in our industry have gotten there. In some cases you have to do real research or talk to others and listen to their stories. For example Bill Wittenberg of Klaussner told me the story of how Morrie Futorian revolutionized the promotional upholstery business when he used the new invention of an "air gun" to nail up... Read More
Comments (11)Technology is a Wonderful Thing ... When It Works
Yesterday I hosted with Sev Ritchie a webinar about how retailers can use online personalization and social media to build their business with today's consumers. For a guy who is talking about Internet marketing, it is very humbling when the latest and greatest technology does not quite live up to what I thought it would do.You see, we tried out a new webinar system on this call and it worked gre... Read More
Comments (1)The Hot New Marketing Idea Furniture Retailers Are Chasing
The Hot New Marketing Idea Furniture Retailers Are ChasingAfter my last post, Sev Ritchie from Web4Retail called me up to discuss the opportunities he saw social media was presenting to retailers as marketing tool. He told me about some of the things he and his company were doing with Facebook, Twitter and other online media venues.This form of media advertising may not be right for reps, but it... Read More
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