That’s a question we have been answering a lot over the last year here at The Country Squire. So what’s the hold up on my order? When will I receive my new Furniture?
As I’m sure you are aware Covid 19 has done more to us than make us sick. Covid has put severe kinks in the supply chain and the labor chain that constructs your furniture.
When Covid came for a visit in early 2020 we were all locked up in the house, just looking around at our home environment. As many folks looked around they decided that their home environment was truly important and needed a fix-up. When the stay-at-home orders were lifted many went out to shop to make their home new, comfortable, and beautiful. These shoppers caused huge sales increases on in-stock and special order furniture of all kinds. So manufacturers making sofas, dining tables, lamps, etc, saw orders to their factories increase by over 100 to 150 percent! What a wonderful thing for the furniture business, right? Not so fast!
Do you remember the recession of 2008-2011? After the last recession, the furniture industry cut back on the number of products and parts stocked. As the American shoppers cut back on ordering new furniture, the manufacturers cut back on labor and capacity to create new furniture for you. So by the time the Covid 19 surge hit, things were running very lean in the furniture business. Mix Covid in with low capacity and it became impossible to manufacture furniture at the rate the American public wanted and expected.
So just hire more people! Your furniture takes many talented people working from the time you place your order till the time that furniture is placed in your home. Upholsterers, finishers, cutters of fabric and leather even down to the people that package your furniture for safe arrival to your home. If you haven’t heard labor and skilled labor are hard to secure at almost any price. Covid 19 caused many folks to exit the labor force, some folks opted for early retirement, some changed occupations, and others just dropped out of the labor pool. Where did everyone go? That’s a question I just can’t answer.
So where’s your furniture? By the fourth quarter of 2021, we were now looking at delivery times of 24 to 30 weeks. BY the first quarter of 2022 we were looking at delivery times of 32 to 40 weeks, and in some rare cases up to a year. YIKES! I’m happy to tell you that those delivery times are now coming down! Hallelujah! We are now at 24 to 36 weeks and look to lessen these lead times as the summer goes on. I predict that by the end of summer we will be at 16 to 24 weeks. No, this is not great, but quite an improvement from earlier this year.
So what are your choices in purchasing new furniture and its delivery times? Plan accordingly and be a little flexible, if you are building a home you should be ordering when the house goes under roof. Renovating? As soon as those renovations start you should be placing orders, and expecting that you will wait for some weeks after the renovation is completed.
Geez! You don’t want to, or can’t wait for your furniture? You do have another choice. Here at The Country Squire, you can purchase directly from our floor. We have been ordering all through the pandemic and have a very nice selection of fine home furnishings on our floor. You may have to be a little flexible in your expectations for your furniture wants. I can tell you that we can deliver quickly and can help manage your purchases with construction and renovation schedules.
Ok, what about the prices you ask? Well, you can expect to pay more for your new furniture, in the vicinity of 12 to 20 percent from 2019 pricing. Prices have gone up, due to the costs of labor, transportation, and supply costs. Here at The Country Squire, we have been receiving new price lists, surcharges, and fees associated with furniture, in several increments since the middle of 2020. The good news is that we have priced our items according to the price we paid, so you could see a leather recliner that was ordered 30 weeks ago, on our floor priced at a price that was quoted at the old price.
So what this means is this could be a considerable saving to our customers looking for one piece or an entire room of furniture.
Whew! In summary, Covid 19 has reminded us that our home is a very important aspect of our lives and the lives of our loved ones. Yes you may have to wait a little longer, and pay a little more for your new furniture but the investment in time and money will be well worth it. If you need your furniture now, come and visit us at the Country Squire and we will sell you anything on our floor, and deliver it to you in just a few days.
I want to take a moment to say a very big “Thank You” to our customers for their patience, understanding, and support during the past two years. We really appreciate it!