If there's one jingle that I remember quite fondly from my childhood, it's "You'll love it at Levitz". Looks like we won't be loving anything from Levitz Furniture, Bombay Co., Mattress Gallery, Sofa Express and quite a few other furniture shops. With the sharp downturn in the housing market, many Southern California furniture stores are facing lean times, and a few are having to throw in their cards. Are we seeing the beginning of the end for many independent and chain furniture retailers?
[Photo: John McCoy/Daily News]
The Love Affair Has Ended
According to the Daily News, retailers like Maxim's Furniture Inc. in North Hollywood have seen a 25% downturn in business, and even larger chains like Pier One Imports and Cost Plus World Market are being squeezed, all victims of the housing market crisis.
Has this downturn in the economy affected your own decorating and purchasing habits? Industry experts predict a recovery in the second half, as "57% percent of sales are made in the second half...[people] move in summer, decorate in the fall", but we're more inclined to expect consumers to forgo purchasing big ticket items with a looming recession and refocus on redecorating and renovating rather than rely on retail (that's sure a lot of "r's" in that sentence).
From our observation, many consumers are now relying on large discount retailers like Target, Walmart and Kohl's, alongside online resources, for their furniture purchases, forgoing traditional furniture retailers. IKEA remains a strong consumer destination, but we'd be curious to see if their numbers also reflect a slowdown in purchases. We're just disappointed to hear we're likely to have less and less options in the coming months (and to know, a few long standing independent retailers will lose their businesses).
Comments (7)
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I'm a Southern California baby and remember the Levitz jingle. Never went into one though, hope I never missed anything (I have an inkling that I'm not).
view BrookeinBoston's profile
I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale and I remeber that jingle too!! I really don't like Levitz furniture however. I'm sorry for all the jobs lost though.
view orangejuce's profile
Independents are dropping like flies in my midwestern town. Three come to mind in the last month.
No major purchases on my horizon either...bought a house, that was enough. Paint maybe....but that's IT.
view hdtex's profile
People are probably also cutting corners via Craigslist - got my desk and coffee table that way, saving several hundred $$
view KarenH's profile
I'm so glad I read this article. My husband and I just moved to a condo from a tiny apt. and we are looking to furnish it. I heard that Levitz is going out of business and was saddened by the news. I too will miss hearing the jingle. I grew up w/ Levitz furniture, when my parents took me there to look for couches. [lame i know]
I went to the Rosemead Levitz and they said they will be around for another 2mths before actually closing their doors. We went to take a look and everything was sold as is. The prices are decent and a lot of customers. Unfortunately we walked out empty handed. Hopefully I'll find something before my options run out.
view lilcee's profile
I wonder if some of this is just a thining out of the herd to some degree, that is, when there is a boom industry, you will get lots of stores popping up to support that industry, in this case, the housing boom brought with it, a boom in furniture stores and I think there will always be people who shop for furniture, even if to just to replace something worn.
I'm not sad about Levitz closing as they specialized in bland contemporary furniture with a sprinkling of pseudo traditional and deco like modern pieces to add avariety and often of the cheap-ish variety, same with Sears and other places like that. At least with IKEA you do get style with your low prices, generally and IKEA does not feature overstuff bland contemporary furniture in shades of beige. :-)
I recall the jingle took, been around a long time.
view ciddyguy's profile
Something tells me IKEA will be just fine.
It sucks that local businesses are feeling the heat, but the world could do without the mediocre furniture pushed by such places. If they're going out of business it doesn't mean the world is crapping on them; it means they weren't able to respond to evolving market conditions. It's just business.
view mmadden's profile