Furniture stores are taking big hits in business these days, along with a lot of other durable goods. Many are closing up entirely, or are letting stocks deplete as inventory is sold down. I hear a lot of my fellow store owners in the Wash DC area comment how bad business is, then the reps come in and reiterate that as well with long, sad faces. The trade magazines all are doom and gloom as well. They all say they are hunkering down, circling the wagons and going to try to ride out the economic storm by making cuts-cuts-cuts. Sales are off 25%! Floor traffic is down 30%! What to do?! Like Chicken Little, they look up and say 'The Sky is Falling!"
Well, I'm running the opposite direction to all that. I'm keeping my store full, adding adding new, high-quality accessories and furniture daily, and when I'm not working, I'm thinking how to better my business. If sales indeed are off 25% in the industry, as I've no doubt they are, then the pessimist says he's lost one quarter of his business. But I look at that number and say "Well, if 25 % are out of the market, then that still leaves me 75% to sell to - so lets figure out what they want - and where they are".
High Quality....check.
Nothing from China...check.
Aggressive pricing...check.
Product knowledge and Service...check, check.
HONESTY.....triple check. That's a big one. Customers are tired of getting lied to and duped. Yet so many stores refuse to stop selling worthless fabric protection programs, and ridiculous extended warranties, or sell cheap fabric on a recliner that they KNOW is going to wear out in less than five years. Just be straight up!, its easy. Yes, store owner, you might miss a few sales to the smooth talker down the road from you a few miles, but guess what? That same potential customer will come back to you in a few years because they will remember that you were honest with them in the original assessment, even if they didn't buy from you back then.
Staying in business during hard times is like fighting cancer (I'm a late stage cancer survivor - told I was terminal in November 2005). You have to decide to dedicate yourself to the task on hand and throw all your energies into it. Hunkering down to see what happens and ride it out is not the answer....that's passive, and just like fighting cancer, it will get you killed.
This business/economic cycle will pass, in the same way gasoline came down from $ 4 a gallon. I see a resurgence in the desire of customers to have American-made pieces instead of watered down junk from China, and customers are getting far more eductated (hopefully thanks to forums such as this one) which means they can recognize quality pieces when they see them. Those stores healthy and still remaining will be well-positioned when business and the economy rebound, as it eventually will.
