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Thread: The Furniture Biz : Bad!

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default The Furniture Biz : Bad!

    I've been in this business since 1985 and have never seen it as bad as it is right now. So many of my suppliers are just about in tears it seems, from lack of business. They've been 'holding on' for some time now, and hoping things would get better - but they haven't. There was a small flurry of orders back in March that seemed to give a little boost, but they dried up in April/May/June.

    I have suppliers calling me up asking if they can make anything for me for floor stock (no, sorry), and others telling me they have not one single order in house to make something. One of my very best master craftsmen told me today he's going out this weekend to re-finish a wood floor to earn some money......I could not believe that! A man of his talent re-surfacing hardwood floors? That's like Piccasso taking a job painting the exterior trim of a house.

    Some furniture reps are no longer even calling on dealers, it costs too much to go out on the road and dealers are not giving them stock orders.

    Most seem resigned to their fate, and that of the economy. I don't think they will all be able to keep their doors open much longer, and that's a real shame for I've been doing business with most of them for a quarter century. All hard-working, all honest as the day is long, and all just want to be able to pay their bills from their work. Worst I've ever seen it.

    When I DO send in an order, I can almost hear the 'Thank You, Lord' on the other end of the phone. Any work at all is hugely appreciated from all the suppliers. I can't name names, but rest assured this is occurring all the way from the 1-man artisan shop to the thousand-man strong factories. Its a strange time to be in this business.

    I hope some can make it through July and August. Orders almost always pick up in September, and I know most will try to hang on until then to see if they can rally. In any case, if there's anything you need from ANY maker, this is a real good time to order. You won't get a better price, but your order will keep Americans working and they need a little bit to help make it to September and (hopefully) the traditional Fall push will sustain them until 2010.

    My friend Carmen is closing his store in Devon, PA. He can't make it. If you are in that area, stop by see if there's anything on his going-out-of-business sale that you can use. You'll get a great price and help him liquidate his inventory:

    http://www.quailridgefurniture.com/
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Default

    I was wondering how the furniture business is doing, I know furniture purchases I planned for this summer have taken a back seat to new Windows and possibly insulation. I was planning on replacing just a few of the worst windows but with the tax break of up to $1500 on cost of the window, I decided to replace all the first floor windows. Talking to the sales people it seems the government credit has boosted business a lot, to bad I don't see any credit for furniture unless they tie in a new home buyer credit for appliances/furniture (ha).

    I still go shopping furniture just in case there is a must have item or a great value but so far the stores in my area operating as normal which kind of astounds me. I'm not saying stores should be discounting heavily or anything but if business is hurting maybe lowering prices a bit more than usual especially with all the price hikes of the past two years might help attract some buyers.

    I hope this doesn't last to long because already there are too few middle to high quality furniture manufacturers and I don't want to be left with mostly low end stuff selling at high volume stores.

  3. #3
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    Default

    Two more handcrafter's have bit the dust last week, Eldred Wheeler and David Lefort. Both NE England high-end makers. They're done.

    Many stores are already at rock bottom for the most part. You can't keep lowering prices as a store when you pay the same from the manufacturer, doesn't work like that because the rent, payroll, credit card processing fees, diesel fuel & trucks and taxes all cost the same. Cut further and they go bankrupt, there's not enough to pay overhead and take home enough to cover living expenses. Most stores and suppliers have their back up against the wall right now, and are trying to hang on, hoping for the fall season to give them a touch of breathing room. When they can't hang on any longer, they just close up.

    Look at it like this:

    You have a job where you go to work and five years ago you were making a good wage - say $ 150K a year, and had a nice income that let you buy some toys and fun vacations. Then things became not so good and you lost all your bonuses, just making a base salary of $ 75K You tightened up.

    Things got worse and he boss comes in and tells you that he's firing half the staff, but you get to keep your job but at half pay - now you are earning $ 38K. You do it, because the boss has told you that things will get better if you can just do this for awhile. You hang on, selling off toys and possessions to pay your house mortgage each month, and considering moving to a smaller residence.

    Then, he comes in AGAIN and wants you to work for half again as much or else the business will collapse. At that point, you say 'I'm not working for $ 19K a year', I can go work elsewhere and make more money. That's when you leave.....

    Its just like that. Substitute 'your salary' for 'furniture store' or 'cabinetmaker' and its all the same.



    That's what is happening in the industry.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Default

    I understand where you're coming from. I was more talking what I have seen locally. The low-mid end stores are doing their "huge sellathons" everyday it seems but for the mid-higher end stores I can only go one what I have seen. Some examples are

    One store is having a big sale lately where their prices are a lot less than before but say on H&M they are now only 15-30% more instead of the the 30% or higher they used to be over you're everyday prices (that is including shipping you have quoted in the past).

    Another store has only raised their prices since this all began and though on some pieces they are not too bad, on others they are 40-45% more than a dealer just a bit over an hour away for the same items.

    I don't mind paying more to buy local but when you're talking that huge of a price difference on the same pieces from an actual B&M store that just happens not to be local, makes it harder to buy local.
    Last edited by Briant73; 06-29-2009 at 03:47 PM.

  5. #5
    Sarah Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by drcollie View Post
    Two more handcrafter's have bit the dust last week, Eldred Wheeler and David Lefort. Both NE England high-end makers. They're done.
    I thought that Eldred Wheeler already went under once & was bought up by someone else. I am I confusing them w/ another manufacturer or is this the second time?

  6. #6
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    Correct, Sarah.

    EW has been bought and sold so many times that its hard to keep track! At one time I was their largest dealer for a period of almost ten years, and used to sell a lot of it when it was a good product.

    1978 Emmett Eldred and Bill Wheeler begin the company. Bill knews nothing of furniture making, but was a highly skilled marketing guy. Emmett was and still is a scientist by trade, but has a passion for making furniture. He is also a very shrewd businessman. They start small, then moving into 60 Sharp Street in Hingham MA in the early 80's.

    In 1991 they sell it to Chartwell Corporation, a home decorating firm. Bill leaves and retires to Florida, Emmett says on as adviser and day to day running of the company until his Chartwell stock is vested.

    1993 Chartwell goes belly up. Emmett buys it back for a fraction of the sales price and sells it to Dave McCarthy, the shop foreman. Emmett stays on only for new item development and finances the sale to Dave McCarthy. McCarthy changes the way the business is run, and changes the way its made. A number of key people leave when this happens and the true artists move out to other shops. This is the end of the 'good' EW product for my money.

    McCarthy sells it to Anthony Trace and Paul Naumann who made a fortune in the tech industry. They know nothing about running a furniture operation and run it from 2005 until April 2008 at which time it goes bankrupt. They were pretty much suckered into this by the 'romance' of this style of furniture and were in over their heads. The machinery is sold at auction and the operation abandons 60 Sharp Street.

    Curry Woodworking in Avon MA buys the rights to the name and patterns in April/May 2008 and it goes nowhere. Too little, too late, and in a bad economy. They are now liquidating existing stock and I have no idea if they will try to sell the name and patterns yet once again.

    That's one horse that has been beat to death, I think. But if you ever find 1978 to say 1989 EW for sale, you can get some very nice items that were made in that era. After '93 they really began to slide downhill and cuts to quality in lumber and finish were evident to my eye. They became more and more difficult to work with and I terminated our dealership with them in 1996.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  7. #7
    puhmuckel Guest

    Default Sales

    I am now confused, was it not recently that you mentioned that you could not keep up with the orders? Are you now saying that the orders or H&M are coming in, but the orders for casegoods are not? Or is it that hardly any orders are coming in at all?

    I have been to a couple of furniture stores in the city. Empty.
    Most have given up selling any quality at all, but the stores are still empty.f
    I saw some H&M sofa's at a local store but it was such a rip off that it made me so angry that I will never set foot in this place again.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Oh, I can ALWAYS keep up with orders! That's never a problem.....<G>

    Business has slowed considerably since end of May. Not unusual, but suppliers are really complaining more than normal.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  9. #9
    ranjosh Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Briant73 View Post
    I was wondering how the furniture business is doing, I know furniture purchases I planned for this summer have taken a back seat to new Windows and possibly insulation. I was planning on replacing just a few of the worst windows but with the tax break of up to $1500 on cost of the window, I decided to replace all the first floor windows. Talking to the sales people it seems the government credit has boosted business a lot, to bad I don't see any credit for furniture unless they tie in a new home buyer credit for appliances/furniture (ha).

    I still go shopping furniture just in case there is a must have item or a great value but so far the stores in my area operating as normal which kind of astounds me. I'm not saying stores should be discounting heavily or anything but if business is hurting maybe lowering prices a bit more than usual especially with all the price hikes of the past two years might help attract some buyers.


    I hope this doesn't last to long because already there are too few middle to high quality furniture manufacturers and I don't want to be left with mostly low end stuff selling at high volume stores.


    yeah that will be a good opportunity for you to have some furniture bussiness



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  10. #10
    Martha2 Guest

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    Duane,
    Since the manufacturers are experiencing a low volume of orders, does that mean that I could custom order some uphostery pieces and expect to receive them in a shorter time frame than usual?
    Martha

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