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Retail Education

Home furnishings and lighting retailers face many challenges in this ever-changing economy. From new consumer expectations to online competition, today's retailers work hard to ensure their customers have access to on-trend products and great customer service. In this section, you'll find all things retailing — news, features, analysis and tools — needed to make your retail business a success.

Morris Furniture
Morris Furniture strives to replicate in-store signage and promotions on its website, right down to the price tags.

Balancing Bricks and Clicks in Home Furnishings Retail

There was a time when a shadow called e-commerce loomed large over brick-and-mortar home furnishings retailers. As it grew in size and power, launching a website that would capture and engage…
Home Design Business Think Tank Nancy Ganzekaufer Melissa Galt
The Home Design Business Think Tank for May is all about brand messaging.

May Think Tank Series Focuses on Brand Messaging, Communication

Whether just starting out or a veteran in your design or home furnishings business, the brand message you convey to your customers/clients changes often. Take the time we’re living through now. Are…

Universal Furniture Virtual Market Recordings Available

In light of the postponement of High Point Market, Universal Furniture hosted a Virtual Market for its retail and design customers, April 22-27. As part of the Virtual Market, on April 24, Universal…

How Small Businesses Can Protect Customer Data

For a business of any size, customer data is an especially critical asset, offering insights into consumer preferences that can guide business owners on everything from their marketing messaging to…
HOM Gabberts
The grand entrance to Gabberts in HOM’s Little Canada, MN store complex was designed by Connie Post, with an 18-foot faux fireplace flanked by see-through window grids for a striking and very upscale, glamorous look.

High-End Home Furnishings Inventory Leads to Big Profits

Despite the near weekly headlines about store closings across the country, Andy Bernstein, Founder of FurnitureDealer.net, is convinced that “we’ve passed the mid-point of the so-called retail…
Shops at 1700
Carole Marcotte has layered in old and new, adding local vendors in The Shops at 1700

Adding Layers: How Carole Marcotte Mixes the Old and New at The Shops at 1700

In the heart of Raleigh, NC, there’s an iconic Mid-Century building that was once a drive-through cleaners. That was transformed into a home furnishings and gift retailer several years ago after Form…
Design Kollective
Design Kollective is an e-commerce platform designed to create a seamless online/in-store shopping experience for consumers shopping boutique home furnishings showrooms.

Design Kollective Helps Retailers Tackle E-commerce

Home furnishings is a category where brick-and-mortar retailers still have a competitive edge, as many consumers still want to see and feel their furniture before opening their wallets. However, that…
(Photo: J. Kelly Brito on Unsplash)
(Photo: J. Kelly Brito on Unsplash)

IMC Announces Free Business-Building Webinars for Buyers, Exhibitors

As part of its ongoing support of the design and retail community during the COVID-19 crisis, International Market Centers (IMC) is presenting a series of free webinars for gift, home and apparel…

Making a Lasting Impression With Thoughtful Customer Appreciation

This past Christmas, while visiting my Millennial kids in New York, my daughter needed a pen. I grabbed a favorite pen out of my bag and handed it to her. Her reaction: “Mom, this pen is amazing! Can…
Control4 operating system
Smart home operating systems, like Control4, manage lighting, security, entertainment, furniture and more throughout a home.

Smart Home Technology and a Healthy Lifestyle

Smart home technology can offer end users the ultimate in comfort and convenience. Whether the technology is exhibited in furniture, lighting or anywhere else in the home, when a person is more…
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