Furniture Today’s Leadership Conference takes place this week, and those unable to attend can still take part in celebrating the great retailers who will be recognized at this year’s event. American Furniture Warehouse and Florida’s own Matter Brothers will each receive Furniture Industry Leadership Awards for a history of excellence and their ability to adapt and thrive in changing and challenging circumstances.
These accomplishments are particularly noteworthy in a year that saw the demise of several regulars of Furniture Today’s Top 100 and an even larger number of smaller retailers that were unable to sustain themselves in the face of one of the most challenging business environments in decades.
You will find detailed profiles of both amazing retail organizations in this issue.
Additionally, Furniture Today will recognize Gallery Furniture’s Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale with a Service to the Industry Award. This recognition reflects Mack’s career-long commitment to serving the people of Houston in their most difficult times, even if it means housing them in his store when major hurricanes have decimated the community.
This year’s conference also will include the unveiling of a new recognition program for retail’s unsung heroes: the retail sales associate. These day-in-day-out warriors of the showroom floor are rarely seen at industry events and award programs. But without them the furniture retail industry would come to a screeching halt.
We will honor 10 of the industry’s best this year and even include a session on Thursday where select members of the group will share their “secret sauce” for successful selling.
That’s only one of the changes on tap for this year’s conference which, for the third time in four years almost found itself dislodged by the fallout of a major hurricane. In addition to a new recognition program — you can read about all our honorees in the pages that follow — we’ve also added a second educational track focused specifically on merchandising and the role that design can play in boosting sales during difficult times.
Like the industry itself, our conference is working overtime to change with the times and provide the types of fresh, actionable insights and critical networking opportunities that can help retailers, manufacturers and suppliers grow their business in a rapidly shifting marketplace.
This is just the start to a busy December that will also see the release of our annual Retail Planning Guide, a year-round keeper issue packed with data and analysis of the changes reshaping the industry.
We also will offer a special 90-minute video complement to the planning guide. Called The Forecast Report, this 90-minute program will feature analysis and insights of the outlook for the retail real estate market in 2025, a look at the incredibly active M&A scene and an economic analysis of the furniture economy by the editors of Furniture Today.
Whether you prefer to read your news in print, watch or listen to video, or keep your focus on your smartphone, we continue to meet our audience where they are. Stay tuned for even more new and innovative programming in 2025.
For now, enjoy the coverage.