The Nation's Top 25 furniture and bedding retailers posted a double-digit sales gain last year, bolstered by strong bedding specialty and rental store sectors and a big comeback by Walmart.
The combined companies on the list grew 2012 furniture and bedding sales 10.8% to $29 billion. That was up from the 7% gain for last year's Top 25, which happened to be the same companies. The most recent increase also topped the 9.9% sales increase for Furniture/Today's Top 100 Furniture Stores, which includes some but not all of the names on the latest list.
Ashley Furniture HomeStores, a dedicated network of licensed and corporate-owned stores, topped the list for the fourth year in a row as its sales rose 9.4% to $2.82 billion and its net store count increased 6.5%, or by 28 units, to 462 stores.
But the bigger story this year might be No. 2 Walmart, which rebounded from a mediocre 1.7% furniture and bedding sales increase in 2011 to an estimated $2.5 billion in 2012, a 21.4% gain.
For the complete report, see the 19 August 2013 print issue of Furniture Today or click here for the exclusive online edition.
How the Numbers are Compiled
Furniture/Today's exclusive survey of the Top Retail Giants ranks the Top 25 U.S. furniture and bedding retailers. Data is based on fiscal years ended Dec. 31, unless otherwise noted. Companies are ranked according to their estimated 2012 sales of furniture and bedding. Decorative accessory sales, including lamps, area rugs, wall décor and mirrors, are excluded. Decorative accessory sales were included in the Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores Ranking, published in Furniture/Today's May 20, 2013, issue. All sales figures, except those of publicly held companies that break out furniture and bedding sales as a separate line of business, are Furniture/Today market research estimates. Revisions are footnoted in the tables.
The ranking crosses all formats of furniture and bedding retailing. Channels include bedding specialty stores (Mattress Firm, Sleepy's, Sleep Number); department stores (Macy's); discount department stores (Walmart, Target, Big Lots); lifestyle furniture stores (Ikea, Williams-Sonoma, Restoration Hardware); manufacturer-branded stores (Ashley Furniture HomeStores, La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, Ethan Allen); office supply stores (Staples, Office Depot); rental stores (Rent-A-Center, Aaron's); traditional furniture stores (Rooms To Go, Berkshire Hathaway furniture division, Raymour & Flanigan, American Signature, Bob's Discount Furniture, Haverty's); and warehouse membership clubs (Costco, Sam's Club).
Sales estimates were derived from a variety of sources, including the companies themselves, public company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, discussions with industry analysts and suppliers and published and unpublished reports, including newspaper articles in various retailing areas.
