Back in 1982 when I opened my first owner operated furniture/mattress business, my main competition was Sears & JC Penny’s. There was no such thing as National Mattress or Furniture Chains and not many Independents, specializing in mattresses.

Gradually, the business shifted from department stores to sharp retailers, who exploited consumers with millions of dollars spent in traditional media, much like the cigarette and alcohol industry misled the masses on the positive benefits of their harmful products, which ultimately came to light.

Today, what we are seeing is the North American consumer is utilizing the Internet to get at the truth. They are coming to realize the ridiculous shenanigans and disguised markups that Retailers MUST employ, in order to persuade the public they are getting the best price, when it is now clear and obvious that the rent, advertising, employee and other retail overhead had to be added to the cost of goods and, on top of that, the WallStreet Casino insists they MAX profits over and above all of that.

So, according to BusinessInsider.com, we are in the beginning stages of the “Retail Apocalypse”, with thousands of stores closing up in 2017, and the rest soon to follow.

We know that billion dollar operations like MattressFirm and Ashley Home Stores are temporarily holding up and even expanding, since Amazon & Wayfair cannot compete on local service and try before you buy, and consumers are willing to pay a premium for that

HOWEVER

Companies like iDealFurniture, iDeal Lease2Own, PerfectDreamer SleepShop, furnitureBROKER and others are using a Distribution Center Model, run by Local Owner Operators that crush companies like MattressFirm or Ashley Home Stores, who spend millions each day on retail overheads, traditional media, trucks and high pressure salesmen who use bait and switch and other unethical practices to sell similar products at MUCH higher prices.

The Distribution Center model is not retail, no employees and $0 advertising budget. Operating by word-of-mouth and through local & national home based brokers to spread the word, owner operators are thriving in the NewEconomy and gradually picking up greater and greater market share, without overhead or much risk.

Furniture and Mattresses are a $100 Billion Dollar Industry and the Retail Apocalypse is what is fueling the Furniture Revolution. 

Founder/CEO, Larry Kozin