What’s behind the bankruptcies of the past year?
Almost exactly a year ago, more than 2,700 furniture factory workers, truck drivers and office personnel got the big bald turkey of an email that …
Author: Brian Carroll
Brian Carroll covered the international home furnishings industry for 15 years as a reporter, editor and photographer. He chairs the Department of Communication at Berry College in Northwest Georgia, where he has been a professor since 2003.
Luxury retailers create bespoke ‘experiences’
At the upper end, the focus is on offering desirability, custom design and a memorable experience for the customer The idea of buying and transacting …
Musings on Italy, where many fine things have originated, including Natuzzi
FIRENZE, Italy — My family marked the occasion of the recent High Point Market by leaving the country. Fortunately for this column, we escaped to …
A few agenda items for discussion during the fall High Point Market
Topics include the tectonic shifts at retail, the modern and minimalist style juggernaut and the threat from travel The Agenda-Setting Theory of communication suggests that …
Sharing a few postcards from markets past
HIGH POINT — Although I do not miss the daily grind of covering the October furniture market here, I recall with no small degree of …
Local newspapers are dying, and independent furniture retailers should care
Friends, countrymen, furniture folks, lend me your ears. There is a dark cloud rising over a growing number of communities throughout the land, and with …
Banana Republic entering furnishings arena in move to remake brand
SAN FRANCISCO – Bucking the strong headwinds at retail, Banana Republic is making a big move into home furnishings. With this move, the chain is …
A sneak peek at Notre Dame Cathedral’s noble, simplistic and calm furniture
My favorite city in the world is Paris, the City of Light. I would (much) rather spend a bad day in Paris than a good …
A few lessons to learn from Texas’ Buc-ee’s
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – What can we as an industry learn from large, semi-aquatic rodents? Well, when one of them is the cartoon mascot for a …
Barbie knows her home furnishings
I’m jumping on the Barbie bandwagon, and I’m holding a hand out for you, too. C’mon! Take a ride — it’s going places. When I …
