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Article: Furniture demand perks up in late '97.(American Furniture Manufacturers Association's econometric model)
- Article from:
- HFN The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network
- Article date:
- March 16, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 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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HIGH POINT, N.C.--Despite a very strong year of economic growth, low unemployment, rising consumer confidence, falling interest rates and a very strong year for housing activity, demand for traditional furniture was lackluster for most of 1997.
As a perplexed industry wrung its collective hands, many pointed to the success of so-called lifestyle retailers like Crate & Barrel, Pier I and Pottery Barn.
"The industry talks about things to a greater extent than the consumer talks about it," said Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group. "The consumer research that we do doesn't show that Crate & Barrel and the like are affecting the world that much, ...