Everything To Know About Marketing & Business Strategy
  • HOME
    • Home Furnishings "STUFF"
    • About Us
    • Commitment To Our Veterans
    • Free Marketing Analysis - No Strings-No Sales Pitch
  • Social Platforms
  • Technologies
  • Marketing Integration
    • Free Marketing Analysis - No Strings-No Sales Pitch
    • How Social Media is Changing Brand Building & Retail
    • Brick & Mortar Retail Touch Points Exposed
    • The Secret to a Good Mobile Website for Retailers
    • U.S. Newspaper Revenues Hit 50-Year Low in 2012
    • Future Retail Trends-2015
    • The Power Of Gen Y in Today’s And Tomorrow's Workplace [INFOGRAPHIC]
    • Brick And Mortar Retailers May Become Extinct If They Do Not Embrace The New Economy >
      • A Retailer's Guide to Webrooming
      • INFOGRAPHIC - Do men and women shop differently online?
    • How Big Is Amazon {INFOGRAPHIC}
    • Why retailers must excel in the 4 Cs instead of just the 4 Ps
    • E-tailers: Tips, Trends, and Reasons E-Commerce is About to Boom
    • Is Texting The New Marketing Engagement Frontier
    • Which Social Network's Users Make the Most Money? [INFOGRAPHIC]
    • 120 Awesome Marketing Charts, Graphs and Statistics
    • What It Costs A Business To Do Social Marketing
    • The NEW Retail Demographics
    • More Shoppers Reach for Mobile to Browse, Buy >
      • Online Reviews Influence Shoppers Most, but Print Catalogs Trump Social Networks
      • How Shoppers Use Smartphones to Save Money
      • Age, Gender Determine 'Go-To' Devices
  • MY RETAIL RANTS BLOG
  • CONTACT US
    • free marketing help desk

IS PURE-PLAY E-COMMERCE FURNITURE RETAIL DEAD

IS PURE-PLAY E-COMMERCE FURNITURE RETAIL DEAD

4/25/2017

4 Comments

 

​IS PURE-PLAY E-COMMERCE FURNITURE RETAIL DEAD? I'll report, you decide.

​By now, you’ve heard the BUZZ from the High Point Furniture Market that Clint Engel wrote about in Furniture Today -
​
AMAZON LAUNCHING NEW FURNITURE SELLER PROGRAM
Picture
​"AT THE MARKET— Amazon is pitching furniture stores here on a change coming to its marketplace designed to make it more competitive in the bulky furniture category by eliminating the national delivery requirement for its furniture sellers.

Speaking to about 40 retailer members of the Furniture Marketing Group buying group here, Amazon representatives in the furniture category said the e-commerce giant hopes to launch the new “Unified Delivery with Services” change to its platform late in the third quarter.
Under the plan, furniture sellers, such as stores, won’t be required to sell nationwide. The retailers will set their own pricing that can change with the services an Amazon customer chooses. White glove delivery (to a dry room) is the bare minimum service requirement — no drop-off at the door — but retailers can offer additional services, including delivery to the customers’ “room of choice,” set-up and haul away."

Read the entire article here

But that’s not the REAL NEWS, these articles are from ZEROHEDGE, my favorite website dedicated to what’s really happening in the business/financial world.

​Wayfair Tumbles After Amazon Launches Furniture Seller Program

Picture
Picture

But this is the part of the article that is a MUST READ
Citron Research: Wayfair Is Like a Ponzi Scheme ​

Picture
​By Rebecca McClay | April 20, 2017 — 11:00 AM EDT
"Wayfair Inc. may have buyers excited about rock-bottom prices for home goods, but its business model is unsustainable, Citron Research analyst Andrew Left says.

"The accounts payable, the cash flow, the business model – it's stupid," Left said in a phone interview with Real Money. "They'll never make money."
Wayfair stock is up 30.3 percent year to date as its online discount model for home decor and furnishings has churned up interest. (See also: Wayfair, Overstock Riding Online Trends.)

Left, a notable short-seller, says shareholders should be alarmed that a company of Wayfair's size, with more than 10,000 suppliers, uses manual internal controls, or does accounting by hand instead of automation. He compared the process to that used by convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, who personally supervised his company's manual process.

In other areas of concern to Citron, Boston-based Wayfair’s accounts payable comprises 50 percent of its total assets and are 10 percent more than its revenue. Its accounts payable is also more than its $100 million cash on hand, Left says in an unpublished report obtained by Real Money.
Wayfair’s first-quarter earnings report in February showed it was still operating firmly in the red, although it had a rapidly growing customer base and significantly increasing revenue. Quarterly sales increased 33 percent year over year to $984.6 million, as the number of its active customers grew 53 percent to 8.3 million.

Still, Left says the company’s negatives – which go beyond the ballooning accounts payable – outstretch its positives, saying that a detailed look at user numbers reveal red flags among U.S. consumers. Unique visitors from mobile U.S. internet slid 1 percent as of February, and the number of unique U.S. visitors fell 11.4 percent year over year to 16.9 million.

Left says sputtering user growth jeopardizes Wayfair’s free cash flow, which he calls an “illusion.” Without the growth of liabilities and accounts payable, Wayfair’s cash flow would be negative, he points out.

"As Wayfair's revenue growth slows, I would expect the trend in accounts payable and accrued liabilities growth will reverse, hurting their operating cash flow trends," Left said in the report.
​
Finally, Left identified areas where Wayfair’s retail competitors Restoration Hardware Inc. (RH) Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) have distinct advantages. Namely, that Restoration Hardware can provide customers with an in-store experience where they can see their products before buying them. And Amazon and Wal-Mart can exert competitive pricing in the online realm".

OK ... NOW WHAT YOU ASK?

​For furniture retailers, this could be construed as good news for their local brick and mortar stores, especially for those that have yet dodged the retail bullet by not investing in a great website and the new technologies that can help them compete, save money and best yet ... make more money,

but ... I’m not so sure.

​’ll explain why in my next article in my series that I’ll post in a couple days

THE IGNORANCE OF ARROGANCE PART 4

You can read my other blogs in this series HERE
Picture
4 Comments
Weareseos link
12/10/2021 03:13:11 pm

Thank you for the beautiful post!

Reply
Roofing Contractor In Gulf Shores link
12/11/2021 04:55:15 pm

He compared the process to that used by convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, who personally supervised his company's manual process. Thank you for making this such an awesome post!

Reply
Know more link
12/25/2021 01:03:42 pm

The home furnishings retail industry allows consumers to make their homes truly their own with their very own choices of furniture and décor to adorn them.

Reply
Contractor Leads link
5/13/2022 07:10:31 am

I think you enjoy Bill Napier's writings as much as I do - I see him featured in multiple spots throughout the site. Zero Hedge is a very insightful publication, I'm glad I'm not the only one who soaks up their writing.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    About Bill Napier

    Bill Napier is Managing Partner of Napier Marketing Group. 

    He has been the chief marketing officer of several small, medium and large companies throughout his career, most notably Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. 

    Many in the home furnishings industry call him an industry serial disruptor. "His thought provoking blog will challenge conventional wisdom, look under the industry’s hood and seek to uncover the critical clues to improving its performance".  

    Bill is also a featured writer and speaker in the retail industry. His vast understanding of the issues retailers and brands face to compete in the digital arena, coupled with his humorous interpretation of his knowledge of trends, facts and solutions for helping companies compete, makes for an engaging and informative session for every brand or retailer that attends his sessions. 

    ​His passion is to help retail brands & brick mortar retailers grow their business by creating, guiding and deploying successful marketing B2B/B2C solutions integrating traditional marketing with the web/social media. You can see his passion for this at his FREE marketing information website; www.social4retail.com

    Archives

    April 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Picture

home

About Us

Contact us

commitment to our veterans

social marketing platforms

marketing integration


technologies for retailers

home furnishing's industry

free marketing help desk

our RETAIL rants blog


the beginners guide to marketing

Picture



​​content provided by free

​napier marketing group, inc.


CATEGORY EXPERIENCE

Home Furnishings • Consumer Durables • Retail • Trade • Consumer Products • Printing-Publication • Technology • Entertainment Partnerships • Furniture Stores  •  
​Social • Digital • Business Transformation – Corporate Turnaround • Marketing • Sales & Sales Management • Business Development • Brand Management • Home Furnishing Marketing • Furniture Retail Strategy • Marketing, Advertising & Promotion  • Staff Management • Product Positioning • Strategic Partnerships • Product Pricing • Trade Show Management & Presentations • Strategic Planning • Marketing Communications • Product Differentiation • Marketing Strategy / Execution • Online Marketing ​

​Napier Marketing Group
​is Located In Ft. Myers, Florida
billnapier@napiermkt.com
​612.217.1297


Picture

© 2007 – 2022 Copyright Napier Marketing Group Inc. All Rights Reserved. No use, publication or reuse is permitted without express written authorization.
Website design and maintenance provided by 
Napier Marketing Group Inc.
Ft. Myers, Florida
- www.napiermkt.com - 
- billnapier@napiermkt.com -
- (612-217-1297) -

Picture
Contact Us
  • HOME
    • Home Furnishings "STUFF"
    • About Us
    • Commitment To Our Veterans
    • Free Marketing Analysis - No Strings-No Sales Pitch
  • Social Platforms
  • Technologies
  • Marketing Integration
    • Free Marketing Analysis - No Strings-No Sales Pitch
    • How Social Media is Changing Brand Building & Retail
    • Brick & Mortar Retail Touch Points Exposed
    • The Secret to a Good Mobile Website for Retailers
    • U.S. Newspaper Revenues Hit 50-Year Low in 2012
    • Future Retail Trends-2015
    • The Power Of Gen Y in Today’s And Tomorrow's Workplace [INFOGRAPHIC]
    • Brick And Mortar Retailers May Become Extinct If They Do Not Embrace The New Economy >
      • A Retailer's Guide to Webrooming
      • INFOGRAPHIC - Do men and women shop differently online?
    • How Big Is Amazon {INFOGRAPHIC}
    • Why retailers must excel in the 4 Cs instead of just the 4 Ps
    • E-tailers: Tips, Trends, and Reasons E-Commerce is About to Boom
    • Is Texting The New Marketing Engagement Frontier
    • Which Social Network's Users Make the Most Money? [INFOGRAPHIC]
    • 120 Awesome Marketing Charts, Graphs and Statistics
    • What It Costs A Business To Do Social Marketing
    • The NEW Retail Demographics
    • More Shoppers Reach for Mobile to Browse, Buy >
      • Online Reviews Influence Shoppers Most, but Print Catalogs Trump Social Networks
      • How Shoppers Use Smartphones to Save Money
      • Age, Gender Determine 'Go-To' Devices
  • MY RETAIL RANTS BLOG
  • CONTACT US
    • free marketing help desk