Marc Barnes — Furniture Today,
Report lists significant players in respective markets

HIGH POINT — Ask a medium-sized furniture retailer how business is in the industry right now and you’ll hear some recurrent themes, whether the store is in Alabama or Oregon, Missouri or California.


There are challenges in each market area, whether it’s slow sales, competition by larger and better-financed merchants, or customer concerns over high gas prices and increasing mortgage interest.

For Stuart Shevin, president of Standard Furniture in Birmingham, Ala., which has 13 locations across Alabama and one in Tennessee, the key is both simple and complex — and applies toTop 100 retailers as well as to single stores. The industry needs to find a way to get more customers to think about furniture.

 “The last time this came about, it was about cocooning,” said Shevin. “After 9/11, we had the idea, but as an industry, we didn’t do anything with it.”

Shevin said that at his stores, upholstery and occasional are going well, while case goods sales are lackluster. Ensuring product quality and finding qualified personnel are both challenges. To address these issues, Standard has made some changes in its inventory and is exploring changes in employee benefits.

Industry observers say a willingness to change will make the difference for medium-sized retailers hoping to survive and grow. 

The Great American Home Store in Southhaven, Miss., for one, seems headed upward.  Established in 2012, the store recently beat out 160 competitors across other business sectors to win the Small Business Award sponsored by the Memphis Business Journal.