Re: Retirement Notice
Thanks Brian. As my sell-off of stock continues I have had several customers come in just yesterday and say "I came back with my husband to show him that furniture I wanted to get and its gone!" Yes....that happens when its all on markdown and clearance-priced! I had SO MUCH product in the store early in the Fall. About half of it is sold off, and now the store looks "normal", not overly-packed when it was really full. You can actually walk around the showroom now without bumping into things.
I think we are at a transition phase for the Furniture Industry, I've been on the phone with a lot of the owners of companies and they all realize the Internet has forever changed the business models they have long resisted. There are no new high quality furniture stores opening other than direct-to-consumer chain stores like Restoration Hardware, Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, C2C, and so on. Brilliant operators that rely on Marketing to sell their products rather than quality in the pieces. And it works, I don't take anything away from them on it. They spend a lot of money to make walking into their stores feel rich and expensive, a shopping adventure that transcends them product itself. Like fancy packaging which has become the rage the past couple of years since Apple started doing it, impressively wrapped up!
I forsee in the not too distant future the manufacturer's opening their own stores and selling direct to consumer. They almost have to - there are no new independent dealers opening retail locations these days to sell and market the premium brands. I look at the Washington DC Market, one of the wealthiest in the Country and while there are plenty of Costcos and stores selling cheap furniture that comes in containers by the hundreds of identical pieces, there are no stores to buy quality product. After my store closes up, there will be only one store in the region to see better brands and its in a warehouse near Manassas Airport with the furniture just piled onto a concrete floor. The customer service there is dismal as well Not hardly a shopping experience people want. I can see manufacturers having to open their own stores to keep their brands alive and in front of the consumer. One of their biggest concerns is keeping it staffed with good people though - that's a pretty big deal.
So yes, my suppliers all want me to keep doing what I am doing without a (previously required) showroom so far. That can always change and of course there are certain people that have already stated they would never place an order with a business that doesn't have a storefront - so I guess they are going to have to drive to that airport warehouse!
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
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