In This Issue

Las Vegas Market

IHFRA's Office is located on the 4th floor of Building C!
Kathy Parks will be there from Sunday, January 29 - Tuesday, January 31

Technology/Media Seminars

Sunday, January 29
I-Pad Tips & Tricks Seminar
6-9pm - Building B, 16th floor

Monday, January 30
Furniture Sales Trainers: How to use I-Pads, Smart Phones & Other Mobile Devices Seminar
3:30-4:30pm - Building C, 4th floor (RRC Seminar Room)

For informaiton on Shuttles, Airfare & Hotels 
Click Here

NEW IHFRA MEMBERS!

 In the months of November & December we gained 57 New Members!

New Affiliates

Gavigan's Furniture
Rob Gavigan

Fine Mod Imports
Dick Fierstein

Industry Calendar

 Las Vegas Market 
Jan 30 - Feb 3

KEM - Edison Show
February 5 - 7

Midwest Furniture Club "Benefits Day"
February 10

Tupelo Market
February 16 - 19

High Point Pre-Market
March 19 & 20

IHFRA's Presidential Gala
April 20

High Point Market 
April 21 - 26

City of Hope Dinner
April 22

Furniture Industry Awards Gala (FIAG)
April 23

I-Pad Tips & Tricks for Furniture Reps

Sunday, January 29, 2012 - 6pm to 9pm, Building B - 16th floor

In this age of tablet technology, how can rep get the most out of the iPad for their business? Reps will learn during this seminar, presented by Web4Retail, the latest tips and tricks for the business iPad including inventory management, increasing sales opportunities, reducing production costs … all while shrinking one’s carbon footprint!

With more than a decade of home furnishings industry experience formulating and managing successful internet marketing strategies, Web4Retail will share results of studies with retail clients relative to effective social media techniques, as well as include discussion of new tools available for effective internet marketing. Attendees will also learn how to apply advanced applications and techniques for the iPad such as importing manufacturer catalogs, producing product presentations, writing orders and much more.

Learn basic to advanced tools for any iPad business user in this special seminar just for reps attending Las Vegas Market. Plus, socialize with your peers at a cocktail party immediately following the seminar…enjoy beer and wine, compliments of IMC.

Attendees are urged to RSVP in advance to rsvp@web4retail.com

Questions regarding the webinars or the rep referrals program? Call 877-536-4786 or email Denise Keniston denise@web4retail.com or Sev Ritchie sev@web4retail.com

High Point Pre-Market Hotel Rates

The Spring 2012 Pre-Market will be held on March 19 & 20. If you will be participaing, the High Point Market Authority has negotiated rates with a few local hotels.

CLICK HERE for locations, rates, and contact information.

Mike's Trip to to Showtime

After spending a couple of days the first week of December in High Point at ShowTime fabric show, there were numerous trends starting to work their way into textiles.  Realize that I went to the fabric show with Hughes Furniture so my perspective is from the position of an extremely competitive promotional upholstery resource. We were not looking at product they would show to Henredon (at least I hope not).

The first trend we all commented on was that though there was still a high prevalence of browns, there was a real growth in gray tones as base cloths as well.  Gray is the New Brown

Next we saw an incredible amount of new bonded leathers.  As this has begun to take hold in the industry, the marketers have gotten involved in naming it with great titles like "Recycled Leather”.  The biggest problem we will see as an industry is the average price points of leather offerings are going to fall because of the introductions of living room using bonded instead of real leather.  On the other hand, the overall leather category will probably grow because bonded makes it so much more affordable.  To be somewhat self serving, it will be phenomenal for Hughes Furniture.  From having no leather offerings at all, we have introduced over 20 sets in less than a year.  This gets us into the leather category in a big way without importing or cut and sew kits.  The bonded leather is treated just like fabric sets with production in 2 weeks or less.

For colors we saw a lot of new bright accents. Culp showed gray with saffron yellow or gold.  They called one trend Papaya which brought in the oranges. The other color story was deep dark navies and indigo. As for other trends in accents from base cloths other than colors we saw lots of plaids, big whimsical florals, bold stripes, and lots of texture.

The fabric show is a great place to begin to plan out the upholstered looks that may hit the floors by summer or fall of 2012. The folks at Culp told me in January they went to the Maison show in Paris. They took ideas and trends from that show and then planned out how to make it work for upholstered fabrics.

Besides Culp, the other mill I thought was doing good work was STI.  Just like in furniture, delivery is crucial and both of these companies seem to have grown because they deliver.

This article was provided by "RootNotes", a monthly newsletter produced by Mike Root for his dealers. Mike is on the Executive Committee of IHFRA, as well as serves as the President of Furniture Sales of America - a funriture wholesale and rep company for the Midwest and Rocky Mountian states (www.furnituresales.biz). For more information, please contact Mike Root directly - mike@furnituresales.biz.

The Power of A Positive Attitude

I have been asked to write a column for this newsletter about my area of the furniture industry, yes the side that is the most misunderstood, the high impact promotion division of our industry.  For those of you that know me, you know that I was born with the gift of gab, but I will be the first to admit, I was not blessed with the power of the pen.  So, with that said, thank goodness for the Dragon app on my iPad that will type as I speak.

I thought it was appropriate for the New Year to reinforce what we all know.  We have all heard it before…the term "the power of positive attitude”.  As we enter this New Year, it becomes more evident that all of us in the furniture industry have to abide by that rule.  From my side of the playing field, the promotion side, I see less and less positive attitudes.  Many people are third and forth generation families that have seen what their forefathers built decades ago, gradually get smaller and smaller.

Now, look at what the promotion industry does on a regular basis…we provide positive attitudes.  We give hope.  We are the knights in shining armor that come in to save the day. I was told many years ago by a very wise person, my Father, that you have a choice every morning when your feet hit the floor…you decide what your outlook on the day will be. Start off on the right foot and it can make a difference in your whole day.

Everyday I am faced with people that do not understand the promotional side of the furniture industry.  They look at our business as something that is going to put the retailer out of business.  Which is truely not the case.  Yes, at times, we are asked to do a total liquidation, but that is only a portion of our business. A majority of our business deals with high impact, positive cash raising events.  Think about those words, high impact, and positive cash-raising event.  Now you see how we give the retailer hope and tools for a positive attitude. 

Isn’t that what our industry is all about anyway?  The hope that the product will sell.  The hope that the customers will come in the door.  The hope that the salespeople will sell something when they do come in.  You get the idea.  All of these are what we, in the high impact promotion business, focus on.  And, we provide the tools to get these accomplished.  When the retailer decides to do an event, there is an immediate release of negativity, and the hope begins to emerge. There is nothing more satisfying than talking to a retailer a few days after an event has started and to hear the smile in their voice. 

Now, when you hear about a high impact promotion company talking to one of your retailers, I hope you will think only positive thoughts.  Because that is what we are doing, helping the retailer and providing them with the tools that are so greatly needed these days - A positive outlook on where their business is going and the hope that they will achieve their goal.

Each month I will focus on different areas of my business.  Next month, I will be answering direct questions from you.  If you have any specific questions about the high impact, positive cash raising division of our industry, please send them to me at angelae@wahlqusitmanagement.com.  Thanks for reading this, and remember…attitude is a choice everyday! Make it a positive one!

Furniture Sales Economics 101 for 2012

In discussions with major retailers after the Black Friday weekend the results were generally satisfactory for the furniture part of the stores that carry a complete Home Furnishings package.  Electronics and TV suffered not from units but from dollars and markup dragging down overall volume and profit. There appears to be a pent-up demand for furniture at affordable prices. Even though competition from Christmas buying (which unfortunately our industry has never figured out how to properly exploit) will make large purchases less likely overall, the uptick from improved consumer confidence bodes well for after Christmas sales and 1st quarter promotions.

According to a November 19th article in "The Economist” magazine, American household assets shrank by $13 trillion in 2008 and have regain only a portion of their losses in 2009 and 2010.  With gyrations in the equity market and continued decline in home prices, high gas prices, uncertainty about taxes, the high unemployment numbers, and continued food inflation the consumer will be stretched for some time.  To add to the plight of retail furniture operations are two trends we’ve pointed out in the past:  internet purchases, and the advent of the "off price sector”. According to Accenture low end retailers such as Family Dollar, Dollar General, & Big Lots saw average revenue grow by 19% and have huge returns to their investors.  Dollar General is now the largest retailer in America by store count and is adding 600 storefronts a year.

Retailers catering to the squeezed middle class grew much more slowly.  Margins are challenged in those stores and obviously the same for retail furniture stores who are now facing competition from lumber yards, Big Lots, off price chain stores and even heard that Tempur-Pedic being sold under another label through doctor’s offices at off price!  One final concern going into 2012 is the consumer herself.  Recently the Wall Street Journal had a front page article about the changes in customer behavior that started in the deep recession of 2007/2008/2009 and has continued even into the 3rd quarter of 2011.  With a consumer poll indication that 72% are saying the economy still has a way to go to reach bottom, 2012 will be challenging. 

I did glean a few helpful tips from their research.  In mass merchants the buy 1 get 2nd item at 50% (basically 25% discount) has been more effective than pure % off.  As we’ve discussed, the re-incarnation of layaway is important particularly in areas of undocumented people who have to operate on a cash basis.  Along these same lines merchants are finding business spikes on payday weekends – usually 15th and 30th of the month.  Just ask any Rent to Own dealer of how important this strategy is!  Keeping up with food and gas prices, rent, and health insurance while seeing wages stagnate has severely cramped shopping habits of the $50,000 to $70,000 household. 

These factors have caused several changes in the way consumers buy.  Many customers that never went to the so called "dollar stores” now frequent them almost exclusively which bodes well for clearance centers, warehouse sales and other distressed or "urgent” type promotions.  On the agenda for 44% of the frugal shoppers are house or no name brands and they continue to purchase these products as long as quality holds up.  Lastly, coupons or in house discounts are more appealing than ever.

Even though many of the instances cited are for food or household products we should apply many of the ideas to home furnishings as this large a purchase magnifies the angst to a strapped consumer.  With all research indicating on unwillingness for families to take on mountains of debt making their needs and wants easier to obtain will insure market share and more important profit in this challenging climate.

How does a writer discuss next year’s retail furniture business positively while reading the "tea leaves” of the economic news?  Much of the writings and electronic media musings are rather stark.  The USA’s largest retailer has re-installed layaway as part of a turnaround strategy for its domestic business.  Besides making it easier for people to "pay as you go” with layaway in advance of the holidays, Wal-Mart is returning to "everyday low prices”.  Obviously, the leading mainstream retailer realizes the game has changed and is determined to change with it.

Shortly thereafter the "Joyless Holiday Retail Forecast” headline graced the pages of the Wall Street Journal.  The gist of the article concerned the dour attitude of the American consumer.  What with being bombarded by unemployment, new taxes, stock market gyrations and political gridlock many middle class families are spending less and saving more.  If the prognosticators are correct, yearly sales growth for November and December will barely beat inflation.  What with housing failing to bounce back and wages being stagnant there are not a lot of other engines to drive product sales at this critical portion of the year.  Surveys indicate shoppers to await markdowns or ads featuring the winners they are willing to wait for.  With this in mind the key advertising days need to feature winners at most appealing retails to create traffic.  These sales generate periphery business and maintain market share while making a smaller margin on the advertised item.

In the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states, we seemed to have faired much better than most across the country.  Though it was a challenging year, because of the promotional nature of our products, we had another great year.  It seems like all of our vendors really worked hard to deliver in a timely fashion the values that retailers need in the these economic times.  Based on discussions over the last quarter between my factory owners and very astute Top 50 Furniture Retailers, I believe we will be positioned to help you grow your business in the turbulent 2012.

This article was provided by Emmet Root, a member of the At-Large chapter of IHFRA. Emmet is a part of Furniture Sales of America - a funriture wholesale and rep company for the Midwest and Rocky Mountian states (www.furnituresales.biz).

Nebraska Furniture Mart Meeting 

Earlier this month we sat down with a few guys from Nebraska Furniture Mart to talk about how to get a leg up in the furniture industry.  While we discussed many topics under the broad spectrum of furniture retail, both sides agreed that in order for the furniture industry to continue to grow and prosper, retailers need to work together.

At Wayfair we know that many brick and mortar furniture retailers do not like working with online retailers in any capacity.  Nebraska Furniture Mart was also skeptical, but quickly realized how much business could be gained by partnering with retailers who are already online.

Online retailers, like Wayfair, face challenges that most bricks and mortar don’t have to deal with.  One of the main difficulties is a low rate of conversion for shoppers who visit online.  While they do over $500 million in sales annually, Wayfair only converts on about 5% of their traffic.  That’s why Wayfair is letting local brick and mortars reach their shoppers – an easy sale!

Like any retailer would do, Wayfair has found a way to keep even these customers happy, while also helping out fellow furniture retailers.  Get It Near Me is Wayfair’s way of referring these customers to a local brick and mortar store that can sell them similar categories of furniture.

For questions, comments, or information on the GetItNearMe program please contact Andrew Garcia in Wayfair’s Strategic Initiatives department – agarcia@wayfair.com

Wayfair is the largest online destination for the home (formerly CSN Stores). Wayfair owns and operates sites like bedroomfurniture.com, tvstands.com and many others featuring over 5 million products across 5,000.

CHAPTER'S CORNER!

Virginia/Carolinas HFRA - Piedmont Club Christmas Dinner & Richmond Funriture Club Christmas Dinner 

The Piedmont Club held its annual Christmas Party at the Sedgefield Country Club (Greensboro, NC) on December 13, 2011.

Tom Conley, President of the High Point Market Authority was in attendance as well with his wife. Wahlquist Management made a contribution by sponsoring cocktails for the event.

The club made a donation to "Trees for Troops" and will be making additional donations to High Point's "Leslie House", The Floyd Family - Lexington, NC Tornado victims, and to The Alzheimer's Associaiton of Western Carolina.

The Richmond Club held their annual Christmas dinner on DtHURSDAY, December 8th the the Chez Max restaurant in Richmond, VA. 

The club holds its monthly breakfast meetings at Cracker Barrel. If you are a member in the Richmond area and are interested in attending future events, contact Jerry Lassiter at furnguy1@gmail.com

Tri-State HFA - 2011 Awards Dinner

The event was held at the Crowne Plaza Downtown on November 15, 2011 at 1800 Market Street, PA. Cocktails and very light hors d’oeuvres were served in spacious foyer with seating. Dinner was in half of their grand ballroom with plenty of room for everyone. As far as I know, everyone was satisfied with the seating arrangements, and if they weren’t – they didn’t complain.

Ray Isser served as emcee for the evening and opened the evening with a moment of silence for everyone to do with as they wished. Gary Diamond welcomed everyone and introduced current officers.

Ted Matela (Diamond Furniture & 2009 winner) presented Young Retailer Award to Robert Todd, Jr. of Nehlig’s Furniture in Stratford, NJ. Young Representative Award winner Chris Clarizio received his plaque from Craig Locker, 2010 winner. President Marc Luber presented his award to Fred Kempner, for his service as treasurer which is continuing even after his retirement from Rowe. Senior Service Award was presented to Larry Mastroieni, Sr. (Mastroieni Furniture) by his twin sons, Nick and Larry, Jr. with many of the Mastroieni family watching. Tri-State’s Exec. VP and Activities Chair Tommy Leflein presented Retail Advertising Award to Gary Diamond (Diamond Furniture).

Voted awards are presented for Congeniality (professionalism in dealing with sales representatives); Retailer of the Year and Representative of the Year. Walter Beck (Gamburg Furniture and 2010 winner) presented plaque to Alan Cooper of Diamond Furniture Outlet with the Congeniality award. Andy Eskow of Unclaimed Freight – 2010 Winner presented plaques to Susan Lebow Moran of Lebow Furniture with the Retailer of the Year award. Finally, Past President of TSHFA, IHFRA and 2010 winner Ed Myers presented the award to Rich Fusco, CHR with the Representative of the Year award.

Tri-State’s highest members’ award "Hall of Fame” was presented to Stan Luber, CHR for his service to the association, community and industry. This was presented by Stan’s son, TSHFA President Marc Luber who is the fourth Luber to serve as the association’s president.

Person of the Year and guest speaker Andy Bernstein, founder and CEO of FurnitureDealer.net was introduced by Steve Wisocky (Home Furnishings Insurance Group). Andy gave a brief presentation on social media marketing, and how dealers can use the internet to get customers into their brick and mortar stores. Andy received crystal presentation bowl from President Marc Luber and the evening ended on a great note.

The International Home Furnishings Association

209 S. Main Street
(IHFC-M001 LL)
PO Box 670
High Point, NC 27261