Throwback Thursday: Looking at Ashley
Perry recalled when, in the early '80s and covering occasional furniture, he asked an industry "pro" about an up-and-coming Wisconsin-based manufacturer with aggressive management and sharp pricing. "The pro was not impressed. 'I've never heard of Ashley,'" Perry wrote. "That probably was the last time anybody made a comment like that." After huge growth in the 1980s and '90s, Ashley hit its first billion-dollar year early in the new millennium and established the nation's la
Occasional tables stay ahead of furniture, bedding sales growth
HIGH POINT — Occasional tables slightly outpaced overall home furnishings and bedding growth in 2016 in terms of sales. According to Furniture Today’s research, overall industry sales were up 2.7% this year to $104.8 billion. Occasional tables rose 2.8% to $5.5 billion, representing 5% of total industry sales. While its share of market remained the same this year, occasional tables’ growth did not match performance in 2015, when the category grew 3.8%. It’s no surprise that t
