HIGH POINT — With inventory still a major bugaboo for some in the home furnishings retail world, retailers are certainly shopping markets differently.
Furniture Today asked retailers who visiting this week’s High Point Market what was higher on their priority list this spring: collections or individual pieces to use for promotions. Regardless of how they were shopping the market, everybody was looking for value.
Here’s how 20 retailers responded when asked while working the market:
Chad Van Hill
Van Hill Furniture, Zeeland, Mich.
Our inventory is manageable. It’s in line with where it should be. We’re looking for whole home collections and for a few pieces. We’re mostly looking for value at price points but not necessarily inexpensive.
Hanny Diab
Darvin Furniture & Mattress, Orland Park, Ill.
Based on our size and square footage, we’re looking at everything. We try to manage our inventory and we’re pretty good at it. We’re always looking for the opportunity to add. We’re looking for holiday slots, permanent items, doorbusters and closeouts.
Amber Riley
Boscovs Department Stores, Reading, Pa.
I’m looking for programs I can run continuously and also pieces such as closeouts and buying from companies that are overstocked. The inventory levels are great for us. So many companies are overstocked, so we’re getting their extra inventory at lower costs.
Shirley Swett
Fine Furniture by Gordon’s, Fort Myers, Fla.
We’re looking for individual pieces. Because it’s a tighter market this year, we’re limiting what’s coming in.
Anita Weeks
Sims Furniture Galleries, Brooksville, Fla.
We’re looking for new, modern, better price points — the whole nine yards. Whatever’s going to attract new customers. I’m trying to get some new demographics. We came here so I could get inspired to reset the floor.
Gina Proctor
Bedfellows, Tallahassee, Fla.
I’m shopping specifically for clients, but we’re also looking for pieces to bring into the store. We’re looking to replenish. It’s nice that things aren’t taking quite so long so we don’t have to stock as heavily.
Vanessa Helmick
Fiore Home, Yarmouth, Maine
It’s all about what’s next. We haven’t seen a design shift in six or seven years, but we’re seeing a shift this time. The vendors are getting focused on collections that are diverse, style-wise.
Michael Turner
Huck & Peck, Chattanooga, Tenn.
I had a couple of lines I wanted to go after so I’m talking to them. I’m also looking for a price uptick. I’m upgrading a little. I think people have held off, so when they get back to buying, they’re going to spend because they want what they want.
Scott Bowman
Zak’s Home, Johnson City, Tenn.
Values! We want to give customers the best bang for their buck. There’s a lot of that right now. It’s not necessarily a collection or a style; it’s strictly value. Mattresses and motion, also accessories. Case goods are a little soft, so manufacturers are giving you better values.
Stephany Richardson
The Furniture Warehouse, Sarasota, Fla.
We’re looking for the best bargains, and we’re looking to convert those bargains. We came here so we could get first dibs on product. We’re a medium to promotional price point store so we’re looking for good value because Florida is very competitive.
Matt Bower
Beiters Home Centers, South Williamsport, Pa.
I think we’re like everybody else. We are watching our inventory levels very carefully going into the fourth quarter. The challenge is you have to balance that with margin as well. We’ve seen that manufacturers are pushing container business. They’re pushing gross margin, and we’re trying to balance that with inventory considerations. That makes the buying more difficult because we have to consider how quickly we can move what we bring in.
Cindy Baker
Furniture Fair, Cincinnati
We are constantly looking for things to promote to draw customers in, but on the other side of the coin, we’re always looking for things to refresh the floor and give it more life. It’s hard to make a living on doorbusters.
Andrew Steinhafel
Steinhafels, Waukesha, Wis.
The biggest thing for us is product is getting back to certain price points. We’ve seen price decreases in a couple of showrooms, and that’s been positive for us. The other thing, and I’ve also heard it consistently from other retailers, is people are showing a lot of new product, and that’s also positive for us.
John Caine
Eldon Furniture, Eldon, Mo.
I think you have to look at all of that. Ultimately, it comes down to value. It’s a two-way street: It has to have value for the retailer, and it has to have value for the customer so they will buy the product you’re trying to sell. You can’t really get locked into one way or the other.
Rob Sanders
Pierce Furniture Gallery, Abilene, Texas
We have plenty of inventory, so we’re not looking to change things right now. Thinking forward, we’re here to look at trends and see what might come in the future. We’re not looking to buy a lot this market.
Mark Mueller
Mueller Furniture, Belleville, Ill.
We’re trying to acquire categories that can make a difference. It’s not just an item here or there. If we get a 10% chance to get a 100x return, we’re going to take that chance. We’re also trying to acquire pieces that will be appealing to the third-party designers who buy things from the store.
Jake Jabs
American Furniture Warehouse, Englewood, Colo.
One thing, prices are going down. That’s good for the customer. When (vendors) lower their prices, I can lower my prices and give the customer a better price. Right now, customers are hard up for money. Right now, we’re up a little bit.
Aaron Frazier
Colony House, St. Joseph, Mo.
Because our store is a mid- to high-end store, it’s not so much about collections. It’s about different styles to drive more traffic into the store.
Cris McCall
DT McCall & Sons, Carthage, Tenn.
Individual pieces. Consumers are a little more eclectic today. The great thing about market is it feels like it did when we were coming out of 2008 and 2009 and manufacturers are trying to create want. We’ve seen a lot of exciting things over the past two days.
Kimberly Chord
Naturwood Home Furnishings, Rancho Cordova, Calif.
We’re maybe replacing looks we don’t have covered on the floor as well as some new looks. Price points are very important right now. We’re finding value here, and we’re going to give that to our customers.