The credit crunch’s rippling effect has touched every industry, including the furniture industry. Of the top furniture stores in the industry, Ashley furniture continues to make a strong statement. Currently furniture sales trends seem a bit disheartening, but there is hope on the horizon for the economic future of furniture sales.
Top 100: Ashley Furniture Ranks #1 in Top Furniture Stores
Ashley Furniture has been leading the pack for a while now and once again ranked #1 of 100 of the nations top furniture stores for the third year in a row. However, Ashley Furniture, a manufacturer and distributer of high quality furniture, hasn’t escaped the decline in sales volume. Although still ranking #1, they decreased by 15% in their sales numbers last year, topping off at 2.1 billion dollars in sales. With the overall downturn of the economy as a whole, the furniture industry has not escaped the fallout. A Furniture Today article outlines the specifics of the Top Furniture Stores and how the economic situation has affected the industry.
Furniture Sales Trends Have Declined, but the Future Looks Bright
March ended with a 21% decline in furniture sales as layoffs in the industry as a whole continued. There have, however, been some encouraging signs of consumer confidence, causing experts to believe that the furniture sales trends of the future may be brighter.
A Lexington, NC online publication reports the following regarding the furniture industry:
“We believe most of the ‘blow out’ of inventories is about over. This should mean that, hopefully, retailers will begin buying more products at more normal prices. While there may still be some discounting, at least we should not have to give the 50-80 percent discounts we have heard about.”
Good News: Economy Predicted to Pick Up at the End of 2009
The credit crunch’s affect on the furniture industry has been significant but it appears that according to the Fed, the tide could be changing as a bottom out the economy is expected soon. The bottom out will intrinsically lead to economic growth by the end of 2009.
| Email This Post | Print This Post |
