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.
Fresh Take on Coastal Interior Design
When you hear “coastal,” your mind may automatically go to the beach, but in home decor this style has migrated away from seashells and palm trees to an eclectic, casual vibe at home in the country …
4 Merchandising Tips from the Experts
Set Up Your Buying Plan for Successful Merchandising
Good merchandising starts with a solid buying plan. Here’s what our showroom experts want you to know.
Determine your lifestyles, then add…
How to Create a Buyer Persona
If you own a small business, you likely have a pretty solid understanding of who your customers are. But if you want to formalize the process of understanding your ideal customer (and the potential…
Podcasting Goes Green: A Q&A with CaraGreen's Jessica McNaughton
For the average consumer, going green means dropping a few cans and papers in a recycling bin and maybe investing in an LED bulb or two, but as Jessica McNaughton, President at sustainable building…
Colorado Retailer Wins Bradington-Young 40th Anniversary Sweepstakes
Brent Simon, owner of Colorado Style Home Furnishings in Highlands Ranch, CO, won a limited-edition Bradington-Young 40th anniversary recliner during the recent High Point Market.
The leading luxury…
Universal Furniture Donates Proceeds From Chair Sales to City of Hope
Universal Furniture today announced that it will donate $50 to the City of Hope National Medical Center for every Hope chair sold through retailers and interior designers during the month of October…
Badgley Mischka Home Launches Collaboration With Design Home App
Badgley Mischka Home today announced the launch of its first collaboration with Design Home, a mobile entertainment app from Glu Mobile, that is free to download through the App Store and Google Play…
Hell For Leather
When retail strategist Lee Goodman began his career at Bob’s Discount Furniture in the early ‘90s, “we sold leather packages, meaning a sofa and loveseat for $799. You could get it immediately in…
Stand and Deliver
As noted in a recent Goldman Sachs report, some 65 percent of furniture imported into the U.S. is from China, and a 25 percent tariff imposed on another $200 billion of Chinese goods, including…
How to Not Be Like Sears
In life, nothing lasts forever.
This month, Sears filed for bankruptcy after years of struggling to find its place in the retail market among emerging giants like Amazon and Walmart. The company…