It’s Full Speed Ahead for Furniture Technology Source

A look ahead at Summit and the rest of the home furnishings year

By Michael Posa, FTS

Ahead of next month’s BrandSource Summit 2022, here’s a look what’s in store for Furniture Technology Source (FTS) members, both at the show and for the balance of the year.

Expect a raft of show specials and incisive Furniture Track sessions when we return to Las Vegas in ten days for Summit. There’ll be aggressive mattress, furniture and marketing opportunities at the show-special Stampede event on Monday night, plus two compelling presentations earlier that day — on store design and brand experience — by retail consultant and AVB contributor Lyn Falk.

Also on Monday, be sure to catch the Mattress Executive Panel Discussion, featuring senior-level representatives from Serta, Tempur, and our newest vendor partner, Malouf.  Malouf is an incredibly fast-growing mattress and furniture line founded by Sam and Kacie Malouf, who built the two-person operation into a home furnishings force with over 11,000 product choices. The couple, and their company, are renown for melding time-tested materials with the freshness of cutting-edge technologies.

Also joining the panel will be Michael Magnuson, founder/CEO of consumer advisory site GoodBed.com.

The sessions will be followed on Tuesday morning with a Furniture Town Hall Breakfast hosted by yours truly.

Looking out on the rest of 2022, vendors are projecting a more manageable growth rate of 1 percent to 3 percent industrywide. Be creative with how and when you buy, and you will be able to far exceed those projections.

While we continue to sell more than we’re getting, the good news is inventory availability is improving due to a recent easing in consumer demand, coupled with expanded production, warehousing and distribution by key vendors.

That said, stress levels for home furnishings dealers remain high due to a lack of delivery drivers and other labor, as well as customer frustration over delayed orders. While that makes it tough to manage your businesses, you’ve still grown by record amounts. You’ve all figured out a way to do an amazing job during a difficult stretch, and we commend you for that.

Assisting you along the way is a host of industry-leading FTS initiatives including:

  • A new consumer finance offer through our recent partnership with TD Bank
  • The addition of furniture to our Package Builder program, which allows you to create custom room ensembles or utilize our own forthcoming room groups
  • Building out our website catalogs at an accelerated pace
  • Upcoming website enhancements including vendor inventory availability by warehouse and more 360-degree and “zoomable” product images
  • Pinterest and SMS digital marketing programs that provide outstanding ROI
  • FTS’s very own private-label Tranquility Essentials mattress collection, and a selection of TempurSealy’s Carrington Chase beds, also available exclusively through BrandSource.

Well, I’ve gone on long enough and need to save something for Summit! I look forward to seeing all of you at the show!

To register for Summit 2022, visit AVBevents.com/summit.

Michael Posa is General Manager of Home Furnishings for AVB BrandSource and helps spearhead the group’s Furniture Technology Source (FTS) initiatives. You can reach him at Michael.Posa@avb.net.

Upcoming Events