The furniture industry had its struggles in 2023. According to Furniture Today, as of late October of 2023, furniture manufacturing had suffered 11 straight months of decline.
Retailers in the sector have seen layoffs and closures. Examples are Klaussner Home Furnishings, which shut down abruptly and left 900 people unemployed, and Wayfair, which recently laid off 13% of its workforce.
Florida has not been immune to these struggles. Florida-based furniture retailer CITY Furniture announced that it was laying off 39 employees in late January of 2024 due in part to “ongoing economic challenges.” But it has also recently announced that it will also be expanding with a new multi-million dollar showroom.
About CITY Furniture and Its Florida Locations: This Florida-based Company is headquartered in Tamarac. They have 23 locations across the Sunshine State – most of them in south Florida, but there are additional locations scattered across the state including places like Wellington, Plant City, Stuart, and Altamonte Springs.
The Upcoming Showroom: According to The Tampa Business Journal, CITY Furniture plans to open a 144,372-square-foot, $26 million showroom in Pasco County’s Cypress Creek Town Center.
CEO Andrew Koenig told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that the huge upcoming Pasco store is not the only store that is in the works. Stores are planned in Sarasota in 2025 and in Largo in March of 2024.
The company has had success in the Tampa Bay area. CEO Koenig told The Journal that the Plant City store has the highest traffic and revenues of all stores in the state of Florida.