Lots to Cover, Not Much Time:

Tupelo Fall 2004

I went to the acclaimed Tupelo Furniture Market in August to see what it was all about. In a certain sense it was an eye opener. Many major players in the furniture business were there, and the buyers that mean the most to them came and left without much fanfare. The futon sofa sleeper industry was well represented. Big Tree, Wolf, MIWA, Lifestyle Solutions, Donco, CottonWorks, Symbol Mattress, FBG, Royal Sleep Products and others all put their best foot forward.

I have read and heard quite a bit about Tupelo over the years. Maybe the times are changing now that Las Vegas is on the calendar for next summer. Tupelo has been marketed as a national show for upholstery and promotional goods, kind of like a Larry Karel show on steroids. I see Tupelo as a major regional show for these two segments. Though I heard many say the Fall 2004 show was good for them, they also added that traffic was a bit slow for this market.

I think the other regional and moving shows will all feel the pinch in the coming years as Las Vegas becomes a reality, and the expense of too many shows for buyers and sellers alike distills the options down to only two or three shows per year.

FAI and Las Vegas

The Association Board (of which I am a member) recently came to an agreement for a 20,000 square foot space at the WMC inaugural show in July of 2005. FAI is currently one of the show’s largest futon exhibitors.

All the cries of “its too hot in Las Vegas in July,” are now turning into, “You’ve got to have more room than that available, I need more space.” The first show at the WMC will rock and FAI will be front and center. Many FAI member manufacturers have already locked in to permanent and temporary space at the show. But with a couple of hundred thousand feet being scooped up fast, many smaller exhibitors, and those who want to tie into the futon marketing and larger footprint of the Association, will now have a great place to be.

The Association will be sending out contracts to exhibitors soon. The plan requires a deposit and then two additional installments in January and April, mirroring the WMC payment plan. For up to date information about the Futon Expo & Specialty Sleep Show® at the World Market Center in Las Vegas, July 18-22, 2005 contact the Association @ their web site www.futon.org.

Buffet Buys Into Furniture…Again!

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway investment firm recently purchased a 9% stake in Pier One (8 million shares valued at over $140 million), which is currently number 15 in F/T’s Top 25 and number 100 in the top 100 retailers nationally as ranked by Triversity, as released in STORES magazine, the official publication of the National Retail Federation. Buffet currently owns several furniture/retail stocks including Jordans, Star Furniture, R.C. Willey and Nebraska Furniture Mart. Could this be a fundamental nod to the future of the home furnishings business in general? Buffet has been very successful at buying low and selling high, but he is also known as a long view investor. If you take this perspective and add Jerry Epperson’s upbeat analysis and the current numbers for orders, shipments, and retail activity in our segment optimism would certainly be in order.