Industry Trends

Charting the furniture industry evolution | Jerry Epperson

I am researching and writing a new report on a huge evolution in our industry. We all know about this, but the magnitude of the change is so large that I feel it deserves recognition and discussion.

Yes, back when I joined our furniture industry, the dominant categories were wooden — bedroom, dining room, occasional and related items — with wholesale domestic shipments of $ 4.9 billion in 1980 vs. $3.3 billion of upholstered furniture.

Also, back then our industry was dominated by a small number of large names such as Broyhill, Bassett, Thomasville and Ethan Allen, and our largest upholstery manufacturer was Kroehler. The largest retailers were Levitz run by brothers Phil, Leon and Ralph; Sears; and other department stores.

I got into our industry in 1971, but there is not a comparable statistical series that goes back that far.

In 2020, the U.S. had $3.3 billion in domestic wood furniture shipments (in 2020 dollars), but we need to add $13.2 billion in wood furniture imports* to see the real growth over the decades. Upholstered furniture made here totaled $12.3 billion in 2020, but upholstery imports were another $7.2 billion.* Yes, consumers were buying more upholstery than wood furniture for many, many reasons.

Doubt it? Look at retail floors, ad spending and media coverage. I believe that upholstery may have become the most profitable product at retail, but the race with mattresses is too close to call, at least for now.

There is more to discover and report, but our industry is changing just as our customer base is, and we have more to learn.

* Please note that the import numbers are as reported by the International Trade Commission and do not include agency fees and transportation costs.

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