AT THE MARKET — When Top 100 retailer Old Brick Furniture & Mattress Co. visits a market, its team always views its buying with a strategic eye.

Particularly now, as the industry continues its struggles at most levels, being strategic tends to pay off.

Furniture Today got to watch Old Brick in action on Thursday as owner Michael Fiacco led a team that included Melessa Snyder and Rachael Clark on visits to England Furniture and Franklin Furniture.

Fiacco told Furniture Today that the Albany, N.Y.-based retailer always wants to keep its floors looking their best, but the deals must be sharp to make sense.

“Our open to buy is no different than any other market. We need to keep our stores fresh and up-to-date,” Fiacco said. “With the business climate being what it is currently, the value needs to be strong for us to move on goods.”

Fiacco said England has always been a key partner, but it picked up a lot of Old Brick’s special-order upholstery when Klaussner went out of business. “They’re good in that they turn special orders around in 21 days. We’re getting trucks from them constantly,” Fiacco said.

At England, sales rep Rick Pregent walked the team through the showroom, highlighting many of the new sectionals, including several modular options. Clark took note of a curved chaise on one sectional.

“This is where we do most of our big dollars with you guys, with these sectionals,” Pregent said as he pointed out a couple of different modular configurations.

Upon checking out one oversized sectional, Fiacco thinks it could be a hit. “This is ‘Joe Lunchbox’ furniture,” he said, speaking to its everyman appeal. “I think this group could surprise us.”

Pregent took the team through a few other areas, including a space with coastal looks as well as some areas with sofas and sectionals with down blend seating and some new leather choices.

“We’re looking for one more leather grouping,” Fiacco said, while having a seat. “This does sit really nicely. It’s a good, high back. How many colors in the leather?” “Two,” replied Pregent.

After wrapping up at England, the group heads upstairs for its next appointment. Franklin, Fiacco said, is a reliable stocking vendor partner. “They’re meat and potatoes furniture. It’s big, beefy furniture at good prices.”

Sales rep Peter Paladino met the team and started the tour with some modular sectional offerings. “We think this is going to be big,” Paladino said. “It’s a great look, and it sits great.”

At another sectional grouping, Snyder remarked about liking the cover offerings, and Paladino said it comes with tremendous pricing. “It looks high because the seating is a little firmer,” Snyder said after having a seat.

At one area in the Franklin showroom, Paladino shows off groups in four different colors. Fiacco said that would be an easy story to tell. “You could swatch it or go sofa-love-chair if you wanted to show the colors.” Snyder noted that of the four colors, the spicier toned one was her pick.

At another grouping, Snyder balked at a green fabric, preferring the blue. “We don’t have anything like this; I would do it in the sapphire,” she said. After some discussion, Paladino said giving the emerald set a trial might be in order. “Put it on four floors and see what happens,” he said. Fiacco replied, “It might get some love from Schenectady.”

After looking at one group that Fiacco called “bomber jacket leather,” he reminisced about an old Broyhill grouping that always sold well and said he believes something similar could recapture some of that mojo. “I’d love to see someone in our universe bring that back.”

The showroom tour wrapped up in the recliner room as Paladino showed some of the new offerings, including some good-better-best options.

So what will business look like as we turn toward 2025? Fiacco believes that the industry still has a little way to go before better days make their return. “I think ’25 will be another grind,” he said.

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