Welcome to Furniture Industry News for Monday, July 14, 2025.

I'm here to break down the most important developments happening in our industry right now.

Let's start with the big story that's affecting every furniture retailer and manufacturer tariffs.

The tariff situation is finally getting clearer, and unfortunately for everyone involved, price increases are pretty much unavoidable at this point.

Vietnam, which became our number one furniture exporter after overtaking China, just got hit with a 20% tariff rate.

This follows right after the tariff deal with China was settled, giving us the first real clarity on sourcing costs since the initial tariff announcements back in April.

But here's the thing.

It's not just Vietnam.

Cambodia is looking at a 36% tariff rate, down from 49% in April, but that's still way too high to attract business away from Vietnam.

Malaysia's sitting at 25% and India's at 27%, though that could still change.

The reality is that furniture coming from almost any major trading partner is going to carry tariffs around 20% or higher.

That's the same rate that hit China back in 2019 and caused the massive shift to Vietnamese sourcing in the first place.

What does this mean for you?

Well, manufacturers are already under huge financial pressure, and we're seeing more vendors close their doors.

Some major retailers are trying to push back on price increases, but that strategy might backfire.

If manufacturers can't raise prices, they'll start using cheaper materials, and that's going to hurt quality.

Nobody wants that, especially when you're trying to keep existing customers happy and attract new ones.

Speaking of retail changes, American Freight is back from the dead and looking to capitalize on all this market chaos.

Remember when Franchise Group went bankrupt last November and was going to shut down all the American Freight stores?

Well, new ownership saved about 30 stores and a distribution center, and now they're ready to compete again.

Jonathan Waters, their VP of store operations, says they're sticking to their original game plan, being the value option for furniture and mattresses with inventory customers can take home the same day.

The interesting part is that American Freight sees huge opportunities right now because of all the store closures we've seen lately.

They're not rushing to expand, though.

They want to get their existing stores back to where they used to be first, then grow responsibly.

With their licensing partner in Dallas running about 30 stores and planning more, the brand could have a real comeback story.

This connects to something we saw during the July 4th holiday sales period.

Despite some concerns about traffic, retailers are finding success with the right products and strategies.

Bedding and upholstery continue to be the big winners across the board.

Brandon Crinian from Factory Direct Enterprises, which runs Ashley stores in the Northeast, says bedding was up and upholstery keeps performing really well.

Nothing too surprising there since those categories have been winning for a while.

What's interesting is that mattresses were the top category for Big Sandy Superstore and their average tickets actually went up during the sale thanks to long term financing options and targeted discounts.

Kyle Dietz from Dietz Furniture in Nebraska saw success with mattress sales across all price points from value to high end tickets, plus doorbuster deals on recliners and accent furniture.

The July 4 results also show how tariff fears affected buying patterns.

Van Hoos from Big Sandy believes a lot of business got pulled forward in the second quarter as customers tried to beat potential price increases.

That strong Q2 performance didn't carry the same urgency into the July 4th period, which suggests consumers are being more cautious now.

While retailers dealt with holiday sales, manufacturers were getting ready for summer casual market in Atlanta, and outdoor furniture is seeing some major trends.

The big focus is on mixed materials that give you style without the maintenance headaches.

Ben Collins from luxury brand Brown Jordan says their Luka Collection, which is mostly aluminum with teak accents, has blown past their sales targets.

They're also offering it with aluminum accents for buyers who want to avoid teak maintenance entirely.

Motion is becoming huge in outdoor furniture, too.

Brown Jordan's best selling piece in their Huntley collection is actually a swivel chair, and Collins says customers are really enjoying motion outdoors.

It's influencing their whole product development strategy.

Now the push for low maintenance solutions is hitting every part of the outdoor market.

Aigio is using a sustainable material called resista, which is 60% rice husk and gives you the natural wood look without the upkeep.

Jim Kemp from says they're seeing demand for darker wood tones, especially dark browns, which are replacing the lighter grays and neutrals from previous seasons.

Even high end brands like Lloyd Flanders are getting creative with maintenance free options.

Their Frontier collection uses a faux wood film embossed over aluminum frames, and president Brian Eccles says the technology has gotten so good that you can barely tell it's not real wood.

Indoor case goods manufacturers are dealing with their own challenges as consumers adapt to economic pressures.

Higher interest rates are keeping people in smaller spaces, which means storage and multifunctional features are more important than ever.

Universal Furniture's Kayla Miller says they're really pushing hidden storage and USB charging features because consumers see huge value in getting multiple functions from one piece.

The trend toward platform beds is helping retailers in one way but hurting in another.

Jason Blalock from Crownmark points out that storage beds are usually platform beds, so you can sell different types of mattresses without needing box springs.

But that also means you can't sell adjustable bed bases, which are higher ticket items.

Consumers are also preferring smaller furniture overall.

Miller from Universal says they're getting way more requests for round, smaller dining tables instead of big rectangular ones that seat 12 people.

Leaf options are becoming essential because people want flexibility in their smaller spaces.

This shift towards smaller, more functional furniture reflects broader changes in the housing market.

Chris Delisa from Lineage Collections says even well off buyers are choosing smaller homes now and they need furniture with smaller footprints.

Plus, many people are buying homes as stepping stones to their dream home later, so they want furniture that can work in different design settings.

Looking ahead to the holiday season, new research shows consumers are going to be even more careful with their spending.

A study from Inmar intelligence predicts that 82% of shoppers might save money on groceries and essentials to cover holiday expenses.

But here's the 25% would be more likely to buy a higher priced gift if they got a rebate or cashback offer.

The study also found that 60% of shoppers plan to choose healthier foods and drinks this holiday season, and over a third of households now include someone using weight loss medications, which is changing buying decisions.

For furniture retailers, this means understanding that your customers are making more deliberate trade offs across all their purchases.

Holiday shopping behavior is also changing with technology.

The research shows that 40% of shoppers will discover products in one channel but buy in a completely different one.

Almost the same percentage will use their phones to look up prices or reviews, and 38% will research products online than buy in store.

This multichannel behavior was on full display during Amazon's Prime Day event, which just wrapped up.

The four day event generated 24.1 billion in US online sales and beating expectations and showing 30% growth from last year.

What's interesting for furniture retailers is that storage furniture was up 120% during the event, showing that the demand for functional furniture we're seeing in traditional retail is happening online too.

The Prime Day results also showed that mobile drove 53% of online sales and buy now pay later orders accounted for 8.1% of purchases, up from 7.4% last year.

These payment options are becoming more important as consumers deal with financial pressures.

All of these trends point to a furniture industry that's adapting to new realities.

Tariffs are pushing prices up, but consumers are still buying when they see value.

Retailers like American Freight are finding opportunities in market disruption.

Manufacturers are focusing on functionality and low maintenance.

And everyone's dealing with consumers who shop across multiple channels and think more carefully about every purchase.

The key takeaway is that success in this environment means understanding what your customers really need and delivering it efficiently.

Whether that's storage solutions for smaller spaces, outdoor furniture that looks great without constant upkeep, or financing options that make bigger purchases possible, the companies that thrive will be the ones that solve real problems for real people.

That's all for today's furniture industry news.

Make sure to subscribe to stay up to date on all the latest developments in our industry.