Home Furniture Design For Today's Lifestyle

How often does furniture inventory turnover at a large retailer?

We've found furniture that we like but aren't moving into our new house for about 6-8 months as it is being built. We don't have any room to put new furniture but don't want it to be gone/discontinued by the time we need to buy it.

Public Comments

1. It depends. Some retailers sell "open stock" They order furniture, often by the container load, and sell it when it comes in. When it's gone, it's gone and they may or may not order more of the same or even keep the same manufacturer. Others sell a manufacturer's line and will have display models and inventory or order things just like it as sold. They will continue to sell as long as the manufacturer makes that model and/or they have some in inventory. Others are "made to order" particularly upholstered furniture. You pick out the style and the fabric (sometimes from 1000s of options). As long as the fabric is available (average lifespan 3-5 years) they will make it for you. The other thing to do is just ask the retailer. They may know if the style is being discontinued soon. If so, you can buy it and have them hold it for you until you are ready. This may involve a storage or warehousing charge. Or you can put down a deposit and have them let you know if this is happening during the time you're waiting.
2. I worked for several years in sales, customer service, and then management for a large furniture retailer. The stock in most furniture stores turns over at varying rates and varying times. Basically, there are a number of furniture "markets" that occur in places like High Point North Carolina and Las Vegas. Whenever a market happens, it is likely that your furniture store has a buyer or high level executive there. If he or she sees good things, orders may be placed and new items would appear at the store. Once that happens, they may need to clear out pieces that are not moving very fast. Those would be close outs you see often times. Additionally, furniture manufacturers and distributors are constantly discontinuing collections and pieces. Additionally, companies will go out of business. These are the times that stock often is removed from a store. That said, depending on your retailer, furniture stores make buys, discontinue stock, and offer "special buys" almost constantly. The other answer is right: you should ask. However, I can tell you that often times nobody other than a buyer will know that a pieces is "going away." Other times, a manufacturer will stop a piece almost out of nowhere. Furniture is volatile in terms of market. You can ask your store about holding furniture, but warehouse space is a premium and many will not do it as long as you are talking about. You could always investigate special order pieces, or simply buy what you like and have it delivered to a storage space you rent ($30/month may be worth it if you find what you want at a great deal)! Anyway, again I am long winded on one of these answers. Hopefully I was of some help. Sincerely, The Furniture Guy Lead Writer, http://furniture-guy.blogspot.com/