It’s the best of times….and…It’s the worst of times…
That statement was said to me by a North Carolina furniture executive during a chat we had during my trip to the semi-annual Home furnishings show in High Point North Carolina. The abbreviated and re-scheduled furniture market was held in June instead of its traditional time of April.
It’s the Best of Times for many U.S. furniture companies because Covid 19 lockdowns had many of us look around our homes and decided we needed some refreshing. That refreshing has caused furniture orders to U.S. factories to go up 100 percent from April 2020 to April 2021. How Great! How Wonderful! But……
Covid outbreaks, lack of new talented labor, lack of raw materials, lack of shipping capacity on the world’s oceans, and a lack of U.S. truck drivers have all worked together to make it the Worst of Times for manufacturers and retailers here in the U.S.
So how does this affect us at The Country Squire? Currently. we are experiencing delays in SOME merchandise. We hope that as the summer goes on some of these wait times will decrease. Folks have asked if the prices of merchandise have risen, and do I think those increases will be permanent, that I can’t say for sure but, my guess is yes, the increases in prices will be permanent. But…..
The good news is that before the Covid shut down, during the Covid shut down and after reopening, we have been ordering merchandise. At the moment we have a very nice selection of furniture and accessories in stock. Some stores are not selling off of their sales floor, and are taking special orders only. Here at The Country Squire, we are NOT doing that. How could we say NO to our loyal customers that travel from near and far to see us? You can choose from our selection of in-stock sofas, chairs, dining room tables, and beds and it can all be delivered to you within days.
As you are probably aware, all prices are rising, and these increases will affect the newest incoming items here at the store. But…here at The Country Squire, we have not raised prices on our current inventory. What this means to you is that many of the items in stock may be priced from price lists that are 6 months to a year old, so the replacement costs of the same items ordered now could be 10 to 15 percent more costly. We currently also have selected items throughout our store on sale, so these SALE items offer substantial savings.
Yes, it’s a wonderful time, we are busy helping folks find some comfortable options for their homes. It has also been great to see so many new and familiar faces! At the moment business can be a little challenging, but we will do our utmost to deliver quality home furnishings and gifts to you are valued customers.
Thank you so much for your continued support, everyone here at The Country Squire really appreciates it!
Wishing you the best of times,
Shane