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Stories Tagged as

Furniture

Why you can buy the same product at different retailers for vastly different prices

by Stephanie Hughes
Oct 1, 2024
When a retailer buys a product from a manufacturer as is and slaps its own label and price tag on it, the practice is called white labelling.
White labeling is "more common than you think it is," says retail trend analyst Natalie Kotlyar with BDO.
Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Furniture retailers like Wayfair suffer as fewer people buy homes

by Daniel Ackerman
Aug 2, 2024
This week, Wayfair reported a $42 million loss and its CEO compared the drop in demand to the one seen in the last financial crisis.
Wayfair, among other furniture retailers, has experienced revenue declines in recent months.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Why is manufacturing activity up in some regions and down in others?

by Daniel Ackerman
Jul 26, 2024
Different parts of the country make different products and often respond distinctly to economic trends.
Manufacturers' response to economic shocks depends in part on where they're located.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Gaming furniture levels up to a more decorative aesthetic

by Matt Levin
Apr 18, 2024
Ikea is launching a new line of gaming furniture more suited for the living room than the basement. It's a sign of how gamer demographics are maturing.
Back in the day, furniture designed for gamers may have looked more like fighter pilot seats than something you'd find in a living room. Increasingly, that's changing.
Courtesy Ikea
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Why prices are dropping at furniture retailers like Ikea

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Mar 12, 2024
Furniture prices fell 3.7% over the last year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report.
Demand for furniture spiked at the beginning of the pandemic, but now manufacturing and shipping costs have eased, making price cuts to furniture possible.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
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My Economy

Need space to store your vinyl records? This small business makes furniture for that.

by Sofia Terenzio
Jan 18, 2024
Matthew Wicker, owner of Oregon-based WickerWoodWorks, is profiting from the renewed popularity of records and record players.
Wicker makes handmade pieces to store vinyl records and turntables.
Courtesy Matthew Wicker
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Furniture sellers hoped for a better 2023

by Elizabeth Trovall
Jan 17, 2024
The furniture and home furnishings sector saw a 5.4% sales decline last year.
Furniture sales dipped 4.7% for the year, according to the Commerce Department.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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Why does furniture fall apart so easily?

by Kai Ryssdal and Richard Cunningham
Sep 27, 2023
Furniture used to last a lifetime. Now, not so much. But how did we get here?
"A great place to buy long-lasting furniture is a vintage furniture store, right? The proof is in the pudding that it's well made because it's lasting long enough for you to be able to purchase it right now," said Washington Post reporter Rachel Kurzius.
jozzeppe/Getty Images
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Furniture sellers adapt to a nationwide drop in sales

by Stephanie Hughes
Sep 15, 2023
Sales at furniture stores have been sliding amid a cooling housing market and weakening consumer sentiment about making big purchases.
AJ Venable at Urban Links Furniture & Appliances in Baltimore. He said his customers have become more price-sensitive.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace
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A classic midcentury modern chair gets a sustainable remake

by Cole del Charco
Nov 24, 2022
Furniture maker Herman Miller is now manufacturing the Eames plastic shell chair out of post-industrial recycled plastic.
The Eames plastic shell chair in new colors, and a new material — recycled plastic.
Courtesy Herman Miller
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