Home furnishings will be front and center at this month’s Nashville show
By Alan Wolf, YSN
This month’s BrandSource Convention 2023 in Nashville promises to be the most furniture-packed BrandSource event in the buying group’s history.
On deck are more than 40 home furnishings exhibitors, representing the largest furniture contingent at any Convention or Summit, plus exclusive new customer programs and what AVB’s Furniture Technology Source arm (FTS) promises will be “even better deals” than those available at the Las Vegas or High Point Markets.
Adding to the EXPO floor excitement are some 15 first-time exhibitors include Bedgear, Elements, Emerald Home, England Furniture Co., Legacy, Legends Home, Magnussen Home, Mohawk Finishing Products, Neo Living, Nourison, Puffy, Remedy Sleep, Spring Air, Sunny Designs and Yosemite Home Décor.
What’s more, Furniture Direct, a power-motion leather line sourced directly and available exclusively to BrandSource members, will also be on display on the EXPO floor.
As a further value-add, all members will receive 3% cash back on all orders placed with any participating furniture exhibitor, up to a maximum of $500, in addition to any vendor discounts.
Home furnishings members will also find a power-packed agenda at the show. The furniture fracas gets underway at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 28, when the first in a slew of education sessions kicks off with a look at “Design Trends in Furniture Retail.” Then, at 10:30, FTS will convene a Top 100 Dealer Panel to discuss “How to Market & Drive Sales in Your Local Market Using All Medias.”
Following lunch, FTS’s Vendor Relations Manager Luke Larsen will moderate a 12:30 p.m. presentation by Mohawk Products on “Managing Your Furniture Repair Strategy.” Then, as appliance dealers break for region meetings at 1:30 p.m., BrandSource’s furniture dealers can attend their very own 90-minute Home Furnishings Town Hall, led by Larsen and FTS lead Michael Posa, where members and staff will share best practices and address challenges and opportunities within their industry.
The Town Hall will be immediately followed at 3 p.m. by perhaps the most critical agenda item of all, a furniture-focused update on MTEQ, AVB’s integrated suite of retail technology solutions that give home furnishings members a major leg up in the marketplace. These proprietary, high-tech tools include a custom point-of-sale system (SYNC), a customer management relationship platform (HUB), digital price tags and interactive in-store displays (KIOSQ) and a comprehensive, continuously updated digital catalog that’s the most extensive in the industry.
Together these powerful assets have been a key differentiator for BrandSource furniture dealers, and have helped their businesses thrive by driving traffic, sales and market share within an ultra-competitive channel.
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Topping off the busy day will be the much-anticipated Stampede, offering members special show prices on a wide range of home goods, and a sneak peek of, and dinner reception on, the EXPO product floor.
The next morning at 8 a.m., FTS’s Posa will kick things off with “Coffee & Conversation” at the FTS Direct booth as the doors fling open to the Convention Expo, where the largest contingent of home furnishings vendors in BrandSource show history will gather. Among them is Tempur Sealy, which will host a two-hour “Mattresses & Mimosas” event starting at 10 a.m., while Posa will top off the day at 4:30 p.m. with a “Cocktails & Conversation” session back at the FTS Direct booth.
The Convention concludes on Wednesday, Aug. 30, but not before Serta and Beautyrest present a final home furnishings session on “Unleashing Your Potential: Gaining Market Share in a Competitive Landscape,” which will be held at 8:30 and 9:30 a.m.
As a further benefit, BrandSource has added more than 10 new rebate programs this year from such brands as Legacy, Liberty, Magnussen and Spring Air.
Taken together, it’s no surprise then that furniture dealers now comprise the largest segment of new members to join BrandSource, marking a group first.
So “plug in” to the next level of marketing, technology and home furnishings retail by making it your business to be in Nashville Aug. 27-30 for Convention 2023. For more information, visit the dedicated FTS Convention page, here and access the furniture dealer agenda here.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
