Furniture retail is one of the hardest industry to tread because there are too many competitions and some companies are extremely successful in their brand, gaining dominance in the market right away. Apart from style and trends, the furniture industry has become a commodity market too.
The love for furniture alone is not enough reason to start a furniture store. There are critical factors to be considered first like investment capital, business smarts, and perseverance to make a furniture store profitable.
Here are the five things to consider before starting a furniture store.
1. Type of Furniture To Sell
It is imperative to know what kind of furniture would hit the market. There are different furniture qualities at every price point, style and type imaginable, some are in a combination of these three aspects. With this situation, competition in the market is a jungle.
The certainty with the product designs and how it is going to be manufactured, are the key points that will influence the business model, marketing model, and everything with regards to business. For example, if the seating line is on the high-end list, chances are it will be limited to a smaller niche of customers (those who can afford expensive furniture line) compared to much more affordable standard sectional pieces that may appeal to many.
2. Type of Brand and Value To Offer in the Market
It is all about the foundation of creating a unique position in the market. Create a mission statement that reflects on why you are getting into the furniture business and the commitment that you are willing to give - your personal brand.
The next thing to do is to identify a platform on how to deliver quality products to the customer. Is it going to be through direct selling, hospitality or brick-and-mortar resellers? There is almost nothing new that the market hasn’t seen at this point, so developing a solid mission and vision for your brand is important. It will make a unique positioning statement.
3. Research, Construct and Locate
Research would be you looking for the possible competitors in the area where you want to sell. Determine what type of furniture and what are the selling prices of your competitors. This will allow you to determine if there’s a possible market for the products that you want to sell.
Do not forget to construct a business plan. It should include the furnishing, equipment, cost of venue inventory, and transportation.
Last but not the least, locate a possible site for your future furniture store. The factors to consider are good square footage, the density of competitors (how many furniture stores are located in the same area), and the traffic of people.
4. Costing
This is not just all about the expenses to shell out within the process of opening the store. It’s also about the price point of the products. Choosing the possible price point can make or break a company.
The market for high end or expensive products will be most likely limited to an exclusive crowd or a small volume. When this happens, it 's hard to reach the sound financial model and it may force you to generate more products for a full-scale line.
Cost-effective or affordable furniture products, on the other hand, have it’s own downsides too. The competition in the market space is fierce, not to mention there are products from overseas too. Getting the affordable products point may appear attractive, but it will not be easier compared to products at higher price point.
5. The Target Market
Determine who is your target market because it will have a tremendous effect on the price points, distribution model, and manufacturing of the products.
It comes to a two-fold point. Know who is your target market at level one and two consumers. If you plan to engage in retail relationships, decide what type of retailers you will sell through.
Takeaway
There’s no magic formula in the furniture industry, and even to other industry. Having a taste for business, loving what you do and what you create, would help raise your market branding. But there are several factors involved that needs to be played and considered. The things mentioned above are meant to serve as guidelines.
Alyssa Mason Prout is a person who loves traveling the world to look for the latest fashion style of different races. Aside from looking for the most recent trends in the furniture business, she also enjoys writing, and it has been her greatest passion. Alyssa writes on behalf of Focus on Furniture, a website that sells furniture and beddings. Whatever she learns in her journey, she writes it and shares it with her readers.