Retail Watch

There used to be something of a stigma around "used" furniture. Now, whether it's to circumvent supply chain issues, get a deal, find something unique, or go the more sustainable route, furniture resale is an increasingly hot business, and Kaiyo is one of the hottest platforms. The site, founded in 2014 by entrepreneur Alpay Koralturk, offers a smooth e-commerce experience for buying and selling used furniture online, mostly in the Northeast. Now, with a $36 million fundraise in the bank, Koraltuck is looking to expand across the U.S. On this episode of the podcast, he discusses what's next both for Kaiyo and the world of furniture resale. This episode is sponsored by ArticleLINKSKaiyoWarren ShoulbergBusiness of Home

That’s a wrap on High Point Market! The twice-yearly furniture bonanza just closed its spring edition, and this week on Retail Watch, host Warren Shoulberg invites fellow BOH podcaster Dennis Scully on the show to recap a busy few days in North Carolina. Topics include the normalization of crazy lead times, rising inflation, how much longer the home boom is going to last, and why in-person markets have survived COVID and Zoom alike.  This episode is sponsored by ArticleLINKSDennis ScullyWarren ShoulbergBusiness of Home

As an analyst at market research firm The NPD Group, Joe Derochowski’s job is simple, at least in theory: He tries to understand what people buy, and why they buy it. In practice, it’s fiendishly complicated, requiring everything from high level analysis of the housing market to deep dives into human behavior—and more than a few retail field trips to observe the American consumer in its natural habitat. In this episode the podcast, Derochowski chats with host Warren Shoulberg about hot topics in home retail, ranging from rising inflation to what’s shaping up to be a lucrative holiday season. Derochowski also weighs in on how long we can expect the home boom to last, and why the debate between e-commerce sales and brick-and-mortar retail misses the point.       LINKSThe NPD GroupBusiness of Home

Ethan Allen CEO Farooq Kathwari knows the home boom can't last forever, but he's staying philosophical about it.  “This has been an incredible run. But I think that people are now coming out of their homes, so as we go forward we are preparing for the fact that it’s going to be harder,” he tells host Warren Shoulberg. “People are going to be more cautious. They’re going to demand better quality and service. [Demand is] not going to remain at the levels we’ve seen, which means that we have to work harder and differentiate ourselves to gain market share. That's what we intend to do.”In this episode of the podcast, Kathwari weighs in on a variety of hot topics in retail, ranging from the sensitive relationship with China to why he’s betting on smaller stores more than some of his competitors. He also shares a thumbnail sketch of an incredible life story that took him from the mountains of the Kashmir region of India to leading a venerable American retail brand for more than 30 years.

It’s a familiar nugget of wisdom in the home furnishings business that retailers and manufacturers will never quite see eye-to-eye. So common is this observation that it often gets reduced into idiom—Norwalk Furniture president Caroline Hipple’s favorite version is “Retailers speak Martian, manufacturers speak Venutian.” Luckily for her, Hipple is fluent in both.Before joining Norwalk in 2016, she had deep experience on the retail side of the business, with 23 years at This End Up and then six at Storehouse. Having been on both sides of the aisle has given Hipple a particularly holistic view of the industry, and an appreciation for the interconnectedness of it all. That’s been handy in the midst of the recent supply chain crises. “[To get through this period] I think the best practices are communication, education, transparency and holding hands and crossing this road together whether you’re the Martian or the Venutian," Hipple tells host Warren Shoulberg.In this episode of the show, Hipple also explains how Norwalk has rolled with the punches of COVID, shares why the company recently unveiled an ESOP; and offers her thoughts on some of the latest trends in retail.This episode is sponsored by House of RohlLINKS Norwalk FurnitureBusiness of Home

Elaine Hughes knows good talent. Since the early 1990s, she’s been one of retail industry’s most successful headhunters, working with companies ranging from JCPenney and Tori Burch to Hunter Douglas and Ann Taylor. On this episode of the podcast, she discusses how retailers can navigate the labor shortage, why job candidates need to relax about salary and brand prestige, and why the home industry needs to take lessons from footwear when it comes to recruiting.This episode is sponsored by The House of Rohl.LINKSElaine HughesBusiness of Home

Independent furniture retailers often get a bad rap. The stereotyped image of a big store out on the highway with bad lighting, boxes of furniture lined up like tombstones and rows of recliners—it's a hard image to shake. Make no mistake, those kind of stores still exist, but then there's City Furniture. Started as a waterbed outlet in the 70s, the company shifted focus in the 1990s and is now the largest independent furniture retailer in Florida, with more than 3,000 employees and 35 locations. On this episode of Retail Watch, president Andrew Koenig (he's the son of the founder) tells host Warren Shoulberg about what it's like to  run a family-owned retailer, the challenges and opportunities of COVID, and why home furnishings is a fashion business.This episode of the podcast is sponsored by Square.

His given name is WW Epperson Jr., but to everyone in the furniture business, he’s simply “Jerry.” A consultant and 50-year veteran of the industry, Epperson is always ready with an optimistic take on where home is headed. The pandemic-inspired boom? Yes, it’ll recede, but the massive cohort of millennials getting into their homebuying years will keep up the momentum. Consolidation at the top? Yes, it’s happening, but independent retailers still have a huge part to play. Supply chain snarls? Yes, they’re bad, but manufacturing hubs are popping up all over the world.  In this episode of the show, Eppersen shares wisdom from five decades in the business, and insight on the present day with host Warren Shoulberg.This episode is sponsored by Square

Americans have been buying a lot of home goods over the past 18 months—that’s obvious. Less obvious has been the boom in buying and selling of home companies themselves. Herman Miller bought Knoll. Food52 bought Dansk. Design Holding bought YDesign. Beneath those marquee names, hundreds of brands have been changing hands at a feverish pace. It’s mergers and acquisitions season.  In the latest episode of Retail Watch, industry consultant and M&A expert Randy Eller explains why we're in a buying and selling frenzy and gives some helpful tips for anyone who’s considering putting their business on the market (surprisingly, the first question you should ask has nothing to do with money).This episode is sponsored by Square.LINKSRandy EllerBusiness of Home

There's an old saying: Those who can, do, and those who can't, teach. Mark Cohen is a notable exception. He spent decades as a retail executive everywhere from The Gap to Lazarus to Sears, but since 2006 Cohen has taught retail at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business. Having closely followed retail both from its trenches and the ivory tower of academia, Cohen is uniquely situated to offer perspectives on its past, present and future. In this episode of the podcast, he chats with host Warren Shoulberg about the dim prospects for the American department store, the boundless opportunity afforded by COVID, and the dance between physical retail and e-commerce.  This episode is sponsored by Square.