Hello and welcome to Furniture Industry News.

It's December 12, 2025 and we've got a lot of news to cover from the last week, from the holiday sales rush to some deeper economic currents shaping our industry.

Let's get right into it.

The holiday season kicked off with a bang for many home furnishings retailers.

We saw some truly impressive numbers over the Black Friday weekend.

For instance, 1915 South, a major Ashley licensee, reported that their sales were up a remarkable 21% year over year.

On Friday alone.

Morris Furniture also celebrated a record breaking four day weekend.

So what was the secret sauce for these successful retailers?

It seems to come down to a powerful combination of strong marketing, having well staffed showrooms with trained sales associates, and offering compelling financing options that resonated with customers.

The hot ticket items driving this growth were largely in the bedding and motion upholstery categories.

Of course, it wasn't a record breaking weekend for everyone, and Miskelly Furniture, for example, described their November as good but not quite great when compared to the previous year.

This aligns with the broader retail picture.

While overall retail sales were healthy in November, the month over month results were essentially flat.

Looking specifically at our sector, furniture and home furnishing stores saw a slight year over year increase of just over half a percent.

Looking ahead, the National Retail Federation is projecting that Holiday sales for 2025 will increase somewhere between 3.7 and 4.2% compared to 20, suggesting a cautiously optimistic outlook for the season.

While the holiday season is bringing some cheer, it's impossible to ignore the significant financial hardships that have rocked the industry over the past year.

Since the beginning of 2024, a staggering seven retailers from the top 100 list have either filed for bankruptcy or closed their doors for good.

This isn't a small ripple, it's a major wave impacting over 1,600 stores and and representing more than $3.8 billion in sales.

We're talking about major, well known names.

The list includes the Room Place Cons, Home plus and its Badcock subsidiary, Big Lots, Sam Levitt's Furniture and American Freight.

It also includes At Home and American Signature Inc.

Which is the parent company of American Signature Furniture and Value City Furniture.

These companies have been forced into difficult situations, from major restructuring and widespread store closures to in some cases, fragments full liquidation.

It's a stark reminder of the volatile market we're navigating.

However, it's not all grim news on the corporate front.

RH, for example, posted some very strong results for the third quarter of 2025 with a nearly 9% increase in both net revenues and net income.

The company's CEO specifically noted that this impressive growth was achieved despite a challenging housing market, proving that strategic positioning can lead to success even in tough times.

Shifting gears from the retail floor to the factory floor, there's some encouraging news coming from U.S. furniture manufacturers.

In September, they saw a significant 15% jump in new orders compared to August.

Even more importantly, that's a 7% increase compared to September of last year.

This surge brings year to date orders to be just about even with 2024 levels, which is a great sign of stabilization and recovery.

Shipments also improved, although at a more modest rate and and backlogs have strengthened, which gives manufacturers better visibility for the months ahead.

But as we zoom out to look at the broader economy, the signals get a little more mixed.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index took a sharp fall in November.

Consumers are feeling more pessimistic about future business conditions and the job market.

This sentiment is backed by some of the labor data.

The private sector actually shed 32,000 jobs in November.

This slowdown was primarily led by a pullback in hiring among small businesses.

On the other hand, wages are still growing, a 4.4% year over year increase, which helps consumer purchasing power.

And what about the housing market, a key driver for our industry?

The data there is slightly more positive.

Existing home sales saw a modest increase of 1.2% in October.

And perhaps more importantly, mortgage rates have been steadily decreasing, which could help unlock some pent up demand.

So with all these economic crosscurrents, what is the consumer actually thinking and feeling right now?

A recent survey provides some fascinating insight.

It found that a massive 86% of consumers embrace the idea of Hygge, that Danish concept of getting cozy and comfortable, especially during the winter months.

And furniture plays a central role in this.

Nearly half the people surveyed, 48% said that curling up on the sofa is the number one thing that makes them feel cozy.

This points to a huge opportunity.

Many consumers feel their homes could be cozier, and a staggering 76% believe that being more comfortable directly leads to better sleep.

This suggests a clear path for retailers focusing on products that deliver comfort, Coziness and well being could be a winning strategy in the current climate.

And that's a wrap on this week's Industry Update.

There are certainly challenges, but also clear opportunities for those who are listening to the consumer and watching the data.

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Thanks for listening.