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Article: CASUAL FURNITURE REPORT: WEATHER OR NOT...JUST WARMING UP.
- Article from:
- HFN The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network
- Article date:
- March 27, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 MacFadden Communications Group LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Matt Bolch
Weather or Not
DESPITE A RECORD NUMBER OF HURRICANES, skyrocketing fuel costs that closed many shoppers' wallets and a number of high-profile specialty store closures, the casual furniture industry remains upbeat.
Annual retail sales of casual furniture rose 3.8 percent in 2005 to $4.71 billion, according to exclusive HFN research. The increase follows a 7.8 percent sales increase in 2004.
Specialty retailers held their own in the segment, accounting for 27 percent of sales again in 2005. However, mass merchants, price clubs and do-it-yourself retailers moved nearly two-thirds of all casual furniture sold through the ...