Bimonthly trade magazine features news and information for retail store owners and managers, with editorial feature topics addressed in various issues of the publication including retail marketing, sales management, operations management, finance, and retail sales education. Selected feature articles categorized by editorial content section and digital editions of the magazine are available free online.
FurnitureToday Magazine
http://www.furnituretoday.com/
Weekly trade publication features news, information, and analysis for the household furniture industry,
with reports and surveys featured in various issues including the annual economic forecast (January),
top 100 stores report (May), leading e-retailers report (August),
fall economic roundup (October), and store performance report (November). Selected articles from this
publication are available free online.
Economic Forecast
http://www.furnishingsresearchstore.com/
Annual economic forecast provides historical and
forecast retail store sales
and consumer spending data for furniture and bedding products, and
also includes forecasts for key economic indicators (e.g., real domestic
gross product, consumer price index, unemployment rate, real
disposable income, and prime interest rate) based on projections
from professional economists and other economic sources.
Store Performance Report
http://www.furnishingsresearchstore.com/
Annual benchmarking study provides median performance measures for a variety of store types (e.g., full-line,
product and style specialty, and manufacturer-branded stores),
with performance measures provided including sale/visits customer close
ratio, sales per sales employee,
sales per square foot of selling space, customers per salesperson,
gross margin percentage, stock turns, and return on sales.
Top 100 Stores
http://www.furnishingsresearchstore.com/
Annual report ranks the top retailers that specialize in home furnishings by sales of furniture, bedding,
and decorative accessories, with information provided for each retailer including annual sales for the
current and prior year, percentage change in sales, number of stores, square feet of selling space at
all stores, and home furnishings as a percentage of selling
space and average sales per square foot.
Leading E-Tailers
http://www.furnishingsresearchstore.com/
Annual report lists thirty leading online home furnishings retailers that are strong players in the
home furnishings industry and derive at least eighty percent of company revenue from online sources,
and also provides data on the share of retail home furnishings sales accounted for by e-tailers. Retailers
with both physical and online stores that do not meet the online revenues threshold are not included.
Consumer research report provides in-depth analysis of the U.S. market for this product sector, with topics covered in the report including market size and forecast, consumer demographics, consumer style preferences, most recent purchase, types of products purchased, reasons for buying, retailers shopped, reasons for choosing a retailer, method of purchasing, and attitudes toward buying online.
Market analysis report provides industry statistics for a user-defined area on a national, state, county, metro area, or zip code level, with data provided including number of companies, market volume and sales trends, average company sales, sales per employee, staffing and employment trends, average employee wage, and business start up activity and failure rates. Sample report can be viewed online.
HFA member survey provides financial and operational performance measures for furniture retailers, with various measures addressed in the report including sales performance, gross margin return on inventory investment, inventory turns, operating costs as a percentage of sales, salaries and wages by department, and personnel and floor space productivity. Contact association for more information.
Free online service provides salary, bonus, and hourly wage data for job positions in this retail sector such as general manager, retail store manager, sales manager, assistant manager, sales associate, and delivery driver, with employers for which this data is provided including Ashley HomeStores, Ltd., Rooms To Go.com, Inc., IKEA Holding U.S., Inc., Restoration Hardware, Inc., and Pier 1 Imports, Inc.
Annual wage survey provides hourly and annual wage data on a national, state, and metro area level for personnel employed by retailers that sell household products (e.g., chairs, tables, sofas, consoles, bookshelves, beds, headboards, mattresses, dressers, nightstands, and dining room sets) and office products (e.g., desks, chairs, tables, file cabinets, and bookcases). Wage data is available free online.