NHFA GREAT DEBATE BETWEEN JERRY EPPERSON AND BRITT BEEMER

Furniture World Magazine

"The Great Debate" featured industry analyst Jerry Epperson and researcher Britt Beemer, who shared their differing viewpoints on the future of the industry. While no blows were sustained on the stage, both men delivered a jab or two in the audience's direction. On the topic of retail advertising, Epperson, managing director of the Richmond, Va.-based Mann, Armistead and Epperson, advised retailers to "try something really crazy ... like honesty." When a question from the audience asked Epperson and Beemer to comment on manufacturer quality and service issues, Epperson again had strong words for retailers. Because so many retailers are "fixated" on price, "in a way, I think you deserve what comes out of that box," he quipped. Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, admonished manufacturers to "make a consistent quality product and let the consumer know it exists." He described delivery times as "atrocious" and urged factories to "build a product the consumer wants to buy." Beemer's words to the retail community were equally as harsh. "The furniture industry is not cyclical, it's sick!" he declared to the packed audience in the ballroom of the Hotel Del Coronado. "The consumer looks at us every day and decides against us." He claims 83 percent of the consumers his firm surveys say all furniture stores look the same.