Title: How do retailers rate the United States and Canada as furniture sources compared to China?

Author: Buehlmann, Urs; Bumgardner, Matthew; Frye, Mary; Lihra, Torsten

Year: 2008

Publication: FDMonline.com white paper. www.fdmonline.com/viewwhitepaper.aspx?id=29562.

Abstract: During the past decade, the U.S. wood household furniture industry has lost a significant share of its domestic market to imported furniture. This market share loss has been widely discussed and analyzed, largely from a manufacturing perspective. A relatively unexplored dimension of household furniture importing is the perspective of the retailer. Retailers play a critical role in the supply chain and interact directly with consumers. In today's marketplace, they often have experience with the relative strengths and weaknesses of suppliers from several countries. The present study sought to determine, from the U.S. retail perspective, those areas in which North American (U.S. and Canada) furniture manufacturers are perceived to do well compared to their counterparts in China, and conversely, in what areas they could improve. We investigated 16 attributes deemed to be relevant to furniture retailers by surveying the membership of a national trade association. Possible elements of competitive strategies for manufacturers in each source country are developed based on the findings.