Bring in the merchandise. Sell it and deliver it. Bring in more, sell more and deliver more. It’s that kind of rinse-and-repeat process that’s at the heart of retail, no matter whether you are selling new cars or patio furniture — and no matter how big or small you are.
Within the outdoor furnishings space, several outdoor retailers, from a variety of store sizes, shared their views on stock and inventory. Some say they have bought a lot; others have taken a more balanced view. All have seen a downturn in sales — and all agree that consumers looking to buy without a wait would do well to buy now.
Jeffrey D. Harris, CEO and president of Furnitureland South in Jamestown, North Carolina, said that he began to buy lots of inventory when the pandemic kicked in, about three years ago.
“This (outdoor) has remained a hot category,” said Harris. “We have several million in inventory now and we have more that we have ordered for the spring. Hopefully it will be here in time for that. We have more stock inventory for that category than we have ever had.”
Harris said that he has seen somewhat of a downturn in sales, roughly 15% from last year. But the store is still above where it was in 2020, as far as new written orders are concerned.
If consumers are ready to buy, virtually any time is a good time, says Harris.
“Our pricing model is a low-price guarantee,” said Harris. “We discount every day and we have continued to be aggressive with our pricing. For a couple of months this fall, we had an 8,000-square-foot tent in our parking lot. We had a lot of that product displayed out there. We have a huge inventory in our distribution center and an outlet center where we have 15,000 square feet devoted to that category. Our prices have been and continue to be at great discounts for the consumers. We have so much product available now for customers who want to continue to furnish their outdoor living spaces.”
Judy Miller, president of Outback Patio Furnishings, which has locations in Marble Falls and Kerrville, Texas, said she, too, has recently purchased a lot of stock, to have an ample supply of inventory on hand.
Miller said that she has seen some slowdown in sales, but at a different point in the season than she has previously seen.
“Traditionally, our slowdown time started probably in July from the previous two years,” said Miller. “Usually, we had a slowdown from November to February. It wasn’t off that much in July and August — we are going back to the pre-Covid schedule and we noticed it starting to slow down. I believe that a lot more people have decided to travel and getting back to that traveling has taken precedence over fixing up their patio.”
Another factor, Miller said, has been the economy. The slowdown in sales might be due, in part, to people being reluctant to spend money.
Miller added that the best time to buy is now.
“Buy now — we have inventory so you don’t have to wait,” she said.
London Wood, a buyer for Las Vegas-based Walker Furniture, said her store’s outdoor furniture stock is doing well.
“We are actually sitting pretty good on our stock situation,” said Wood. “We started to see a small decline in sales at the beginning of the 2022 year and started adjusting our intake at that point.”
Year over year, Walker Furniture has experienced something of a slowdown.
“We’ve had a small decline over 2021 business and we are just working closely with our team members to be more efficient,” said Wood.
Any suggestion for consumers?
“There are a lot of values out there for consumers and they should continue to look for new looks and lower-priced deals,” said Wood.
