By MICKEY MEECE
\nIT may seem odd to mention now, with a housing slowdown upon us and recession fears suddenly real, but it is a great time to buy furniture.
\nThis week: Skipping business school on the Wall Street fast track, the Chinese stock market boom, a drug controversy in the dialysis business, and prospects for blue chip stocks.
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\nEven before the housing bubble burst, the furniture industry was in the throes of consolidation, as an influx of imports from the Far East spurred price competition that cut profit margins and forced many mom-and-pop stores to close and discount retailers like Costco to jump in.<\/p>\n
For consumers, that means lower prices at the big-box furniture store.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Discounting is the name of the game today,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Leonard B. Lewin, author of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Shopping for Furniture: A Consumer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Guide.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Three decades ago, he said, consumers could count on sales twice a year, in July and August and in January and February. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now there are sales every day of the week,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Mr. Lewin said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a store in town that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t routinely discounting 40 percent off the manufacturer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suggested retail price.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Last year, the top 100 furniture stores posted a 6.6 percent increase in sales, to about $32 billion, according to Furniture Today, an industry publication. That was down from an 8.3 percent gain in 2012.<\/p>\n
Ashley Furniture HomeStores supplanted Rooms to Go as the top store chain in 2013, according to the ranking.<\/p>\n
The government reported yesterday that sales at furniture stores rose 0.5 percent in August from July as overall retail sales edged slightly higher on the strength of auto sales. Economists are keeping a close eye on consumer spending, which has slowed this year in the face of higher gasoline prices and the cooling housing market.<\/p>\n
The discounting trend is even more pronounced in the home furnishings market, according to a recent report from Morgan Keegan & Company, a brokerage firm based in Memphis. Sales have remained weak this year at companies like Pier 1 Imports, Bombay, Williams-Sonoma, Kirklands and Cost Plus World Market. Discounting is likely to continue through the end of the year, the report said.<\/p>\n
Even Bed Bath & Beyond, which has gained market share at the expense of competitors, is feeling the ill effects of recent economic trends.<\/p>\n
A sale is what brought Frances Auerbach of New York City to the new Raymour & Flanigan Furniture store on West 23rd Street in Manhattan in August. She found an accent chair she wanted on sale and bought it.<\/p>\n
On a return visit this week to schedule a delivery date, she sat in the chair again, pleased with her purchase. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have difficulty in finding a chair, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m excited. This is just perfect for my back,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Consumers are smart,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Vicky D\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Agostino, director for communications at Raymour & Flanigan. They use the Internet and circulars to compare and research brands, construction and size.<\/p>\n
Larry Gallagher, Raymour & Flanigan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s president for metropolitan New York, added: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes, we have sales, but the real draw is the quality merchandise that consumers can get sooner than expected.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Raymour & Flanigan, ranked 11th by Furniture Today, offers three-day delivery for all furnishings.<\/p>\n
To be sure, buying furniture can be fraught with pitfalls, including financing and delivery.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Shopping for furniture is treacherous,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d James Hood, editor of ConsumerAffairs.com, wrote in an e-mail message. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The only 100 percent sure way to get what you pay for is to buy the items you want off the floor, load them into your truck or van and take them home with you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
With a little planning, consumers can minimize the potential for bad outcomes by following the advice of the specialists:<\/p>\n
RESEARCH Approach furniture buying as you would car buying, Mr. Lewin said. Research brands and retailers, and examine rankings and quality reports. Do your homework on the Internet, but don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily buy there. If you do, he said, pay with a credit card and make sure you understand the return policy.<\/p>\n
ROOM PLANS Raymour & Flanigan and other retailers now offer online room planning tools on their Web sites (raymourflanigan.com).<\/p>\n
Steve Street, the chief executive of Icovia Inc., which has created the room planning software, says it allows consumers to enter the dimensions of a room, add door widths, place windows and drop furniture into the room and move items around as they wish.<\/p>\n
After registering at the retailer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s site, buyers can save their designs, e-mail them and go to the store and change the plan on a store computer once they see the furniture. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Design and fit are the major questions they need answered before they buy the product,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Mr. Street said.<\/p>\n
Icovia is also working with property managers. Prospective buyers of condominiums at Number 5 NYC in Midtown, for instance, can use Icovia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Interactive Space Planner to view floor plans and see how the space would look furnished with items from the Ligne Roset catalog.<\/p>\n
STORE VISIT The biggest mistake people make is they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really test how well the item sits, Mr. Lewin, the author, said. If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a couch or chair, sit on it for as long as you can, he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everybody is in a hurry, but hold off ordering until you can come back and see if it feels good.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Come prepared with measurements. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153When you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re out spending thousands of dollars, you should have a plan with precise schematics and dimensions,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said, both square feet and cubic feet to account for higher ceilings.<\/p>\n
Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just look at the furniture, he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153heft it,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d pick up an arm to see if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s heavy. Lighter-weight material might be of lesser quality. Look at the pattern match. Fabric is a big clue to the care that went into production, he said. If the item is a table or dresser made of wood, examine the finish. Check the drawers and the back panels. If it has cardboard components, quality may be an issue.<\/p>\n
What you see in the showroom may not be what you get, Mr. Hood of ConsumerAffairs.com wrote. To avoid this, he writes, find a furniture warehouse, outlet or resale center that stocks the kind of furniture you want. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Many of these are open only on weekends. It might sound silly, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the surest way of getting what you want, and, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re careful, can be the most economical way of getting good quality furniture.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
DELIVERY Heeding Mr. Hood\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s advice means no problems on the receiving end. Many consumers write to ConsumerAffairs.com to relate delivery nightmares, he said.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Delivery problems are horrendous and getting worse,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he writes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Deliveries are often late, the crews are often ill-trained, rude and incompetent \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and sometimes larcenous. The furniture that is delivered may not be what you ordered, it may be damaged or it may not fit through the door.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If any of these occurs, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just the beginning of a long series of frustrating conversations with customer service,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n
LAYAWAYS AND FINANCING Many stores still offer layaway plans, which allow you to pay off the furniture before it is delivered. Retailers also have many buy-now, pay-later financing arrangements that are tailored to a consumer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s credit history and financial standing.<\/p>\n
Pay cash or use a credit card, Mr. Wood said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Layaway or other store-based financing is almost always a mistake. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good way to lose all of your money, in the case of layaway,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d when a furniture store declares bankruptcy or goes out of business. Financing plans often cost more than consumers expect, he added.<\/p>\n
Just like car dealers, retailers lure buyers with no-interest financing over longer periods. At Raymour & Flanigan, buyers who qualify can finance $1,000 a year, interest free, for up to four years. Borrowers must make monthly payments, and there is no prepayment penalty.<\/p>\n
Still, experts say, if consumers miss a payment on these finance plans or fail to pay off the balance on the due date, they are often hit with double-digit interest rate charges that some stores back-date to the time of purchase.<\/p>\n
It is a personal choice, Mr. Lewin says, but still consumers should recognize that they are changing rooms much more frequently today \u00e2\u20ac\u201d every couple of years instead of every decade. If consumers are buying now and paying later, they may need to get rid of the furniture before it is paid off, because of lifestyle changes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The smart shopper spends what they can afford. Period.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
This week, Christopher McCall of Brooklyn returned to Raymour & Flanigan in Manhattan to arrange delivery for furniture he bought for his mother. He said he spent about $15,000 during the opening sale. Asked about financing, he smiled and said: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wish. I paid cash.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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