Today is February 17, 2026, and welcome to Furniture Industry News.

I'm glad you're here.

There's a lot moving right now across retail, technology, housing and the financial side of the business.

If you step back, the big themes are pretty clear.

Artificial intelligence is no longer optional.

Consolidation is reshaping parts of the market, housing is sending mixed signals, and consumers are getting more selective about what earns their attention.

Lets start with artificial intelligence because that conversation is getting louder every month.

At the recent Las Vegas market, retailers heard a straightforward AI should power the experience, not replace the human touch.

Jake Friedman, the chief executive officer of Dover Media, told retailers that the future is personal but still human.

The retailers who win will not be the most automated, they will be the most intentional.

AI can power the experience, but but sales reps will still close the sale.

That's an important distinction for our industry.

Furniture is not a quick impulse purchase.

Customers are making big decisions.

They want reassurance.

They want context.

They want someone to guide them through fabric, scale, price and timing.

Friedman broke AI down into practical uses.

Personalization is not just product recommendations.

It's offering the right sofa at the right price.

It's understanding shopper intent.

It's helping customers move forward when they're stuck.

He encouraged retailers to start simple Audit your current technology, identify friction points in the customer journey, then prioritize automation that makes the biggest impact.

At the same time, train your team alongside the rollout and measure everything.

He was clear about the mistakes retailers are making chasing shiny tools without a plan over automating customer interactions and ignoring poor data quality, expecting instant results.

AI is a system, not a switch.

There are some very practical applications already happening, showing only in stock items online, sending a targeted 10% offer while a customer is actively shopping capturing a phone number to better understand shopping patterns, automating repetitive tasks so salespeople can focus on relationship driven selling, even generating consistent website content.

But if you can't measure the impact, it's not a working strategy.

Conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, close rates in store.

Those numbers matter.

And he also suggested something many companies have not done yet mandatory AI training policies that are clear and granular for employees.

This ties directly into planning for 2026 in the annual Retail Planning Outlook, one message stood out.

While tariffs have dominated much of the conversation recently on artificial intelligence may be the more significant issue heading into this year, AI's computational power is doubling every six months.

Adoption is happening at a pace that dwarfs earlier technologies.

ChatGPT reached 1 million users in five days.

It took the Internet years to hit 50 million users.

a recent leadership conference, more than half of companies in attendance said they are already using AI in some form.

Many are experimenting with generative tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot and Claude, but very few have formal policies in place.

Several executives describe the current situation as the wild wild West.

That's not sustainable.

The recommendation is to develop a formal AI strategy and a formal policy, a framework that defines how it will be used, where it will be used and what guardrails are in place.

Without that structure, adoption becomes fragmented and reactive.

With it, companies can move from experimenting to executing.

Now let's shift to consolidation and growth.

On the design side of the business, Havenly Brands has added the Expert, an interior designer and trade focused online brand, to its portfolio.

The companies describe the combination as complementary.

Havenly brings scale, infrastructure and proprietary technology.

The Expert brings cultural credibility, taste, leadership and trust within the trade.

The Expert will continue as a standalone experience, but it will gain access to Havenly's technology, including AI assisted product discovery and AI powered workflows.

It will also have access to products from brands like Interior, Define the citizenry and St. Frank.

The broader goal is to build a service platform that supports designers across the full lifecycle of a project, from early sourcing and concept development to procurement, logistics and financial management.

It's another example of how technology and trade relationships are becoming more integrated.

On the betting side, Somni Group International reported record fourth quarter net sales, driven by the first full quarter of results from its Mattress Firm acquisition.

Fourth quarter net sales rose 54.7% to $1.87 billion, up from 1.21 billion a year earlier.

The increase was largely due to the addition of $892.1 million in Mattress Firm sales.

Operating income jumped 93.7%.

Adjusted earnings per share rose 20% to $0.72.

Gross margin improved to 44% from just over 40% for the full year.

Net sales reached nearly $7.5 billion, up more than 50% from the prior year.

Net income was essentially flat year over year.

The acquisition, completed in early February 2025, has shifted the company's profile.

Direct sales accounted for 65.2% of net sales in the fourth quarter, compared with 26.9% a year earlier.

Looking ahead, the company expects adjusted earnings per share between $3 and $3.40.

Longer term, it is targeting mid single digit annual sales growth and adjusted earnings per share of about $5.15 by 2028.

Management acknowledged that the broader betting market remains below historical growth trends but they expressed confidence in integration, benefits and operational execution.

Leverage stood at 3.21 times adjusted EBITDA at year end, reflecting debt from the acquisition.

The board also increased the quarterly dividend by 13%.

Now let's talk about financial restructuring, because that continues to impact parts of the industry.

The Khan's Badcock bankruptcy case remains active.

A dispute with the Texas comptroller centers on more than $24 million in sales tax claims tied to an audit period from July 2011 through February 2015.

The company's plan administrator argues the claim is flawed and contends that the state owes Khan's more than $4.2 million.

The comptroller disputes that and maintains the original tax certificate is presumed correct.

A hearing is scheduled for early March.

Separately, the company's intellectual property, including brand names and trademarks, was bundled with its consumer finance business and sold to Jefferson Capital Systems for $340 million in late 2024.

Because Khan's operated primarily as a credit driven retailer, its brand and data were closely tied to loan servicing.

Jefferson can continue using the brand names while collecting on debts and managing the credit transition.

In a related Texas matter, a judge approved an emergency settlement between Buddy Mac holdings and its primary lender, Phoenix RBS.

Under the agreement, Phoenix RBS will receive 55%, the McDonald family irrevocable trust 25% and the bankruptcy estates 20%.

A stalking horse bid of $9.7 million is expected to be considered, along with potential liquidation of remaining stores.

Finally, let's look at housing and promotions because both directly influence furniture demand.

Existing home sales fell 4.4% year over year in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $3.91 million.

Sales also declined 8.4% from December.

The median home price reached $396,800, marking the 31st consecutive month of annual increases.

Inventory stood at 1.22 million units, representing a 3.7 month supply.

The average 30 year fixed mortgage rate was 6.1%, down from nearly 7% a year earlier.

While sales volume was disappointing, Affordability improved.

The Housing Affordability index rose to 116.5, the highest level since March 2022.

That improvement was driven by wage gains outpacing home price growth and mortgage rates lower than a year ago.

For furniture retailers, the picture is mixed.

Slower home sales can slow demand, but improving affordability and continued price appreciation suggest homeowners remain in relatively solid financial positions.

Spring will be important on the consumer side.

A new shopper study found that 80% of respondents care more about getting a quality deal than the lowest price, which was cited by 58%.

Three and four say personalized offers are important 83% say valuable savings or rewards drive loyalty.

Nearly 40% most often notice promotions via email or text, while 23% say online ads or social media catch their attention.

Half of consumers do not care where they receive offers as long as they work consistently across channels, and six in 10 say they would abandon a retailer entirely if pricing is inconsistent between channels.

More than seven in ten are exploring AI tools to find better deals, and one in three are actively using them for deal seeking.

The message there is Consumers are not asking for more promotions.

They are asking for relevant, personalized and consistent ones.

That's where we'll leave it today.

Technology, consolidation, housing and smarter promotions are all shaping the year ahead.

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