Furniture First Wraps Up 1st Regional Meeting

March 18, 2012  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Business Strategy on March 19, 2012 The buying group Furniture First held its two-day regional member meeting in Phoenix last week with members from the group's board of directors and West, Southwest and Northwest regions.

The event included a best idea session, networking and a live bulletin board discussion during which retailers debated the merits of online pricing of furniture. The group also held a best sellers session with members sharing their best-peforming products.

More than 3,000 square feet of products from Furniture First supplier partners was on display at the meeting. Emphasis was placed on products developed exclusively for Furniture First Members, as well as on power buys, developed by the group's merchandising team.

Roundtable sessions allowed members to learn more about the group's service partners with retail industry topics such as "Adverting Promotions That Work", "How to Follow Up with Customers from Your Web site", "Consumer Financing Trends and Improving Sales on Protection Plans."

Representatives from several of Furniture First's supplier partners that sponsored the event also attended. Sponsors included Ashley, aspenhome, Banner Marketing, Flexsteel, Intercon, Legacy Traditions, Legends, Leggett & Platt, MFS, MicroD, Palliser, Sealy, Serta, Southern Motion, Surya, TD Retail Card Services, TSYS Merchant Solutions and Wells Fargo.

This year, Furniture First will hold three additional regional meetings:

* Northeast Region, April 4-5, in Philadelphia;
* Midwest Region:  May 15-16, 2012 in St. Louis, and;
* Southeast Region:  July 11-12, 2012 in Charlotte, N.C.

Furniture First is a 17-year-old national buying group serving the retail home furnishings and mattress industry with 188 company members representing 402 store fronts and $1.4 billion in retail sales.