Daily News

From Home Furnishing Business

Spring Air Int’l Partners with Furniture Leaders in Pacific NW

July 13, 2023  by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry   

“What’s so exciting about this new relationship is that for the most part, these independents are full-line furniture stores, all leaders in their smaller communities. Their customers look to them as leaders in their communities and trust their product recommendations because they’ve been doing business with them in some cases for generations,” said Nick Bates, president of the Top 20 U.S. bedding manufacturer.

“At the same time, given the changing demographics in that part of the country, they are serving new waves of customers who are moving to the region in search of rural lifestyles and wide-open spaces. We’re proud to be doing business with them.”

Founded in 1972 as AMI with its roots in the appliance and electronics business, the buying group later added the furniture category and came to be known as Furniture Leaders. It is unique among industry buying groups, because of their central billing, and a focus on buying together for maximum purchasing power with vendors, unlike other groups that focus more on marketing and advertising.

The retailer-owned, not-for-profit, gives members access to lines typically only available to large independent accounts, achieving the best possible pricing, product, service, terms and flow of goods.

“We expect Spring Air to be a key bedding brand for our stores,” said Bruce Dunning, president of Furniture Leaders, noting that the buying group was successfully partnered with Spring Air years ago, prior to the bedding manufacturer being sold. Because of that, group believes the Spring Air brand still carries weight in its markets and will resonate with customers.

“We’ve watched the company grow in its present iteration into a national presence, and it’s clear in the way they approach their business today that they will provide the kind of attention our dealers need to effectively compete,” he said.

Furniture Leaders is the third key buying group relationship Spring Air has undertaken. Earlier this year, the manufacturer joined the BrandSource buying group as an approved vendor, and since 2019, Spring Air has also been an approved supplier for Furniture First.

“Spring Air is an ideal partner for Furniture Leaders because our company is comprised of 11 independent licensees, so while we obviously are coming to the table with national strength, we have great commonality with these small independents and regional dealers in terms of how we think and do business,” said Chris Sanders, a Spring Air licensee representing the Everton Mattress Factory who helped to facilitate the new partnership.

“We understand each other and look forward to creating meaningful relationships with all of these dealers moving forward.”