Hello and welcome to Furniture Industry News.

It's October 31, 2025 and we've got a lot to cover today, from the latest high point market numbers to major moves in logistics and technology.

Let's get right into it.

First up, let's talk about the fall high point market.

Despite some uncertainty in the wider economy, the final attendance numbers came as a pleasant surprise to many.

The headcount was nearly identical to the spring market, down by less than 1%.

Digging into those numbers, attendance from the top 300 large retailers was actually up by almost 7% and the market saw a nearly 3% gain in new companies.

The designer category, which the market authority calls non stocking buyers, also saw a slight increase of about 1%.

The one area that saw a dip was international traffic, which was down about 10% compared to the spring.

However, organizers noted that this gap closed significantly in the final weeks leading up to the market, which a very late registration cycle.

On the logistics side, the single park and ride area was a success, handling over a thousand cars a day, and the on demand go anywhere shuttle Service saw a 10% increase in rides, with a big jump on Monday and Tuesday due to rain.

That positive market energy seems to be reflected in some recent retailer earnings.

Haverty's, for example, reported a strong third quarter, beating its prior year sales by more than 10%.

The Atlanta based retailer saw consolidated sales hit $194.5 million with comparable store sales jumping over 7%.

Company leadership sees this as great momentum heading into 2026 and a potential springboard for returning to a billion dollar plus company.

According to CEO Steve Burdett, the Labor Day weekend was a huge driver for the quarter, with written business up over 13% for that four day period alone.

The company's average ticket also grew, reaching nearly $3,700 while tickets involving design services climbed to almost $8,000.

Burdett also addressed the ongoing issue of tariffs, stating that Havertys makes strategic price changes immediately to maintain its values and margins.

They've also been working with vendors to move production out of China to support their special order business.

Looking ahead, Haverty's plans to get back to opening five new showrooms a year starting in 2026.

They've already finalized leases for four new stores, one in St. Louis, one in Nashville and two more in the key Houston market.

Speaking of tariffs and international trade, there was a significant development recently that, while not front page news for furniture, is certainly relevant.

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a preliminary truce in a dispute over rare earth elements.

This eases tensions that were threatening to escalate the trade war.

So what are rare earth elements and what do they have to do with furniture?

We're talking about 17 elements that are the secret ingredient in powerful magnets.

These aren't just for smartphones and electric cars, they're in our industry too.

If you make or sell furniture that clicks, slides or has a soft close feature, you're likely using what are called neodymium magnets.

They're in drawer catches, modular furniture joints, recliner mechanisms and even some wireless charging components built into desks and nightstands.

China controls about 80% of the global supply A disruption could mean higher hardware costs and supply chain headaches.

This one year truce brings some welcome stability.

It means component costs for magnet reliant hardware are less likely to spike and supply chains should remain reliable.

It's especially good news for the fast growing segments of smart furniture, motion seating and modular design.

But it's important to remember this deal is preliminary and subject to renegotiation, so keeping an eye on diversifying supply chains remains a smart move from global supply chains.

Let's turn to domestic logistics.

XPO reported its third quarter results showing growth in both revenue and adjusted earnings.

Revenue increased to $2.11 billion from $2.05 billion a year ago.

However, net income did decline from $95 million to $82 million.

The company attributed this dip to a one time $35 million legal charge related to an old insurance lawsuit from its 2015 acquisition of Conway.

Despite that charge, CEO Mario Herrick said the company continued to exceed expectations, pointing to margin expansion and record service quality in a tough freight environment.

He specifically highlighted the North American LTL business where AI driven productivity improvements helped generate strong margin outperformance.

In that segment, revenue was up slightly to $1.26 billion and adjusted operating income rose 10% to $217 million.

XPO isn't the only company leveraging AI for growth.

This was a huge topic at High Point Market and it's being put into practice by the biggest names in retail.

Amazon, for example, just posted a massive third quarter with net sales jumping 13% to over $180 billion.

CEO Andy Jassy directly credited AI for driving meaningful improvements in every corner of our business.

The company's aws segment grew 20% and they're seeing strong demand for AI and core infrastructure.

On the customer facing side, use of Amazon's AI powered assistant Rufus has grown to 250 million customers.

The data shows that shoppers using Rufus are 60% more likely to complete a purchase.

They also recently launched a new AI feature called Help Me Decide to aid in product selection based on a user's shopping history and preferences.

This real world application at Amazon lines up perfectly with advice shared at High Point Market by Steven Yang, co founder of the AI solutions company Solvia.

He emphasized that for furniture retailers, the goal shouldn't be to replace people with AI, but to integrate it with human expertise.

The key, he said, is to build teams where AI works alongside people in the same workflow.

Solvia's research shows that the interest is there 65% of recent furniture buyers were interested in using AI during their shopping experience, and over 70% of customers now expect personalized shopping.

Yang noted that most retailers are looking to adopt AI in three main improving the customer experience, enhancing employee training and providing better omnichannel support.

For instance, AI can handle calls and emails to free up in store staff, and AI powered tools can help onboard new sales associates by sharing insights from top performers.

However, Yang cautioned that consumers still want that in store experience to touch and feel the products, so technology should complement that, not replace it.

His advice to retailers was not to rush.

Instead, he recommended introducing AI in specific areas where you're struggling the most, so it can make an immediate impact.

The focus should be on developing a framework that fits your specific operational needs by automating repetitive, time consuming tasks first.

And that's our update for this week.

From market attendance and retailer growth to global trade and the rise of AI, there's a lot happening in our industry.

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