A New Year Begins: 2025

originally published in Furniture Today

Most of us did indeed “survive to ‘25”; now we must figure out how to thrive.

This quip was frequently made early-to-mid-last year, as the furniture industry slowdown and various well-publicized bankruptcies crept into the psyche of just about everyone.

Overall, we believe the residential industry was probably down between 5% to 10% last year. There were bright spots in the high-end interior designer-driven segment of the market, and some green shoots late in the year with some positive signs in housing starts, strong Black Friday sales and a general sense of optimism following the conclusion of the election.

Now we are looking for profitable growth in 2025. The general sentiment is that “it’s going to take some time to get the engines firing,” or as the Goldman Sachs 2025 outlook report stated, “Keep on truckin!”

January will be a great month for face-to-face meetings, with clients and private board discussions about how to navigate the choppy waters of the furniture industry.

Jan. 20 is inauguration day, and we should learn the truth about tariffs and its potential impacts shortly thereafter. Then we head to Las Vegas for the semiannual winter market, which is always a nice start to the new year and informative for what’s to come in the year ahead. (Note: Bernhardt, La-Z-Boy, Carpenter and other major players are all exhibiting for the first time.)

The new U.S. President is bringing a positive energy to the business community, and most prognosticators are upbeat and expecting solid business growth and lower taxes, and hopefully lower interest rates and a rising public stock market.

These levers could ignite the housing market and drive furniture sales.

Commercial furniture is moving forward, too, as the back-to-work trend is trumping the work-from-home phenomenon that emerged during the pandemic. Likewise, the hospitality sector is booming with new construction and renovations, following a major slowdown earlier in the COVID-era.

We are bullish for the industry in 2025 and beyond, and believe all boats should rise for many years. This optimism bodes well for the M&A market, so expect to see increased levels of transactions this year.