1. Furniture industry. I would describe the household wood furniture industry as an important business sector of the overall furniture industry, which is divided into three major categories: 1) upholstered, 2) wood, and 3) read-to-assemble and casual furniture. Of these three, wood furniture makes up 40 percent of the total furniture sales. The different types of wood furniture include dressers, tables, bedroom and dining room suites, with bedroom and dining room furniture being the majority of sales. In terms of position, Haverwood is not ranked in the top 25 manufacturers which account for over half of the country’s furniture sales. They are a medium to high-priced manufacturer and sell through 1000 high-quality department stores and independent furniture specialty stores nationwide. They are very selective in choosing retail outlets to mirror their products, so they are more of a niche company, and do not sell to the typical chain stores.
2. Consumer purchases. Consumers generally make furniture purchases when they buy a new house and the types of consumers who buy furniture are those with a higher level of disposable personal income. This is due to wood furniture being more expensive than other types of furniture and it is normally sold in sets (i.e., dining room table and chairs). Consumers with less disposable income will more often defer such pricey purchases or buy less expensive, less quality furniture to meet their family needs. Age is also a factor in consumers’ purchase of furniture. For example, as Exhibit 4 in our text show, the younger and older age groups tend to make the least amount of furniture purchases (i.e., under 25 age group and 65 and older group). Those ages 25 – 64 make up the majority of furniture purchases in our nation.
