September 25th, 2013

UK Retail Furniture Industry in Strife

Long established, family-run businesses are in danger of closure. According to statistics released by the Bureau of Labour UK, employment rates in the retail furniture industry have dropped by 24% in just 7 years – that is over 140 000 jobs. And it is all to do with advertising.

Years ago, the majority of newspaper advertisements were for local family businesses, with furniture making up a large percentage of advertising sales. As larger retail-chains spread throughout the country and with the explosion of the online marketplace, family-based businesses couldn’t compete, as their buying power was too small. As a result, these family run stores had to cut costs and advertising was one of the first things to go.

The Internal Revenue Source said that from 2005-2010, the advertising industry dropped by 20% for small and medium businesses who had billings under £250 million a year. In that same period, corporate advertising for those with revenue above £250 million, rose by 6%.

[Source]http://adage.com/article/news/furniture-retailers-hit-hard-changing-ad-dynamics/243212/