Home Furniture & Housewares Stores Industry Profile

Companies in this industry sell new furniture, home furnishings, and floor coverings. Major companies include Bed Bath & Beyond, Haverty Furniture, La-Z-Boy, Pier 1 Imports, Rooms to Go (RTG Furniture), and Williams-Sonoma (all based in the US), as well as HOLA Home Furnishing (Test Rite Retail; Taiwan), Argos (J Sainsbury; UK), and IKEA (Sweden).

Globally, demand for furniture and home furnishings is growing in India, China, and countries in Eastern Europe that are undergoing rapid economic growth. Retailers are adding outlets in emerging markets.

The US home furniture and housewares stores industry includes about 50,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with annual revenue of about $115 billion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by personal income and is tied to home sales. The profitability of stores depends on the right merchandising mix and marketing. Large companies have advantages in volume purchasing and breadth of product line. Small companies may thrive by focusing on a specific market segment and delivering superior service. The US industry is fragmented: the 50 largest companies generate about 45% of revenue.

Competition for operators of home furniture and housewares stores comes from multiple retail channels, including discount department stores, online-only retailers, and sellers of used furniture. Key online players in home furniture and housewares sales include Amazon, Wayfair, and Williams-Sonoma. While online furniture sales are growing quickly, a gap remains between online furniture research and online purchasing, creating ...