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Sales strong at furniture stores

Mirror photo by Gary M. Baranec Ryan Miller touches up a bedding display Wednesday at McMullen Furniture, 601 N. Second St., Juniata. Owner Ed Miller said that someone is always looking for bedding and it sells all the time.

It’s a good time to be in the furniture business.

“We had our biggest year ever last year,” said Bob Fiore, president of Fiore Furniture, 201 Cayuga Ave. “We have had six years of increases coming off the tougher times. Traffic remains strong this year so far.

“As far as the industry, people are saying this will be a banner year for furniture. I am not seeing any slowdown,” he said.

According to Furniture Today magazine, furniture and bedding retail sales increased an estimated 2.7 percent in 2016, reaching $104.8 billion. In 2015, retail sales totaled $102 billion, 3.9 percent over 2014 sales of $98.2 billion.

Fiore said he has seen an increase in sales of living room furniture.

“Our best sellers are sofas, motion furniture and reclining furniture. What’s real hot are power rocker recliners where there is a power assist to prop your feet up and recline back,” Fiore said. “Most young people want power reclining. We see less service on them than the manual reclining. It is a much smoother operation. The very latest are the adjustable power head rests.”

Sales also are up at Park Home, which recently opened a larger, remodeled store at 2134 Plank Road, said Travis Muccitelli, vice president of operations.

Doug Wolf, CEO of Bellwood-based Wolf Furniture Co., said furniture sales nationally are back to 2008 levels, which can be seen as good or bad.

“We have 31 million more people today, so people are still spending less on furniture. For nine out of the last 10 years, furniture prices have declined,” Wolf said. “Furniture is now cheaper than it was 20 years ago, but in some cases it is much better made.”

Wolf Furniture, which has stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, has grown through acquisitions. Wolf’s Blair County business is doing well.

“Our business in Blair County would be among the strongest in our company,” Wolf said.

Wolf said his business has seen a significant increase in bedding sales. Generation Xers (those born between 1966 and 1980) are partly responsible.

“Generation Xers are getting to an age where sleep is more critical and not as easy. They are very cognizant of the need for sleep and the quality of a mattress. Young people like all that technology put into the bedding process,” Wolf said.

Bedding sales also have increased at Park Home and McMullen Furniture, 601 N. Second St.

“Bedding is a real hot category, with all of the new technology with mattresses,” Park Home’s Muccitelli said. “Adjustable bases are the new thing; you can put up your head and your feet. That is very popular. That can help with medical issues such as sleep apnea, snoring and back pain.”

“We still sell more furniture than anything. Reclining furniture is the hot thing today. People want comfort,” Muccitelli said.

“There is always someone looking for bedding,” said McMullen’s owner Ed Miller. “Upholstery sales are good, but bedding sells all the time. We get bedding in every week. Bedding is our number one seller. I wish everything was like that.”

“We also sell a lot of upholstered furniture such as sofas and recliners, but it is bedding that brings in the customers,” Miller said.

Wolf’s has seen an increase in the sale of Amish furniture.

“There is an increase in Amish furniture, a return to quality. There is a segment that has gone to wanting something handmade. There has been a big resurgence in Amish furniture. Pennsyl­vania is a source of a lot of the wood components,” Wolf said.

The mild winter has been good for business.

“I can tell you I haven’t felt the negative impact of winter,” Fiore said.

“Good weather is always good. We are impacted when a big snow or ice storm hits; people don’t go out. Every day you are open and people are shopping is a good day,” Fiore said.

However, even a harsh winter sometimes can be helpful.

“In one respect, when winter is cold, people stay in their homes and take a more critical look at their furniture and may say ‘We need to make a change,'” Wolf said.

“What is surprising is that over the years when we have heavy snows, those are some of our busiest days. It is surprising, but people are out on days like that,” Miller said.

Retailers said advertising plays a significant role in their success.

“We believe in advertising,” Fiore said. “We think it is very important to get our story out to consumers and keep our name in front of them when they are ready to make a major purchase. We advertise 52 weeks a year, 365 days a year.”

“Advertising is a big part of our business. If you don’t advertise, you don’t see the traffic,” Muccitelli said.

McMullen Furniture advertises in the Mirror and on local television, but Miller said a large part of his business comes from his customers.

“Most of our business comes via word of mouth, customers telling other customers. That accounts for about 75 percent of our business,” Miller said.

Furniture Today and the statisticians from Easy Analytic Software Inc. predict overall furniture and bedding sales will grow by 21.1 percent over the next five years to a total of $126.8 billion in 2021.

“I hope they are right,” Muccitelli said. “I think if the economy gets rolling, there is a lot of pent-up demand. People have put off spending. The last few years, people haven’t felt good about the economy.”

“Nationally, that is possible if millennials moved from temporary homes and form households,” Wolf said.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 946-7467.

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