Home Furnishings Association-HFA

Our brands/collections consist of:

• 3 KEYS Gifting & Event Consultancy
• ACA/Advertising Concepts of America
• ACIMA
• ADL (Anti-Defamation League)
• American Homestead Furniture
• DispatchTrack
• E-Retail
• Envio by Vista
• Esquire Advertising
• FamOn.com
• Fortiva Retail Credit
• Furnish Near Me/FurnitureDealer.net
• Furniture Wizard
• Guardsman
• Gulfstream Shippers Association
• HFA Health Care
• HFA Sales Academy
• Homestyler
• International Home Furnishings Representatives Association
• J. B. Hunt Final Mile
• Jola Interactive
• LendPro
• Myriad Software
• Omni Digital Group
• Podium
• Renaissance
• Roomvo
• SaySo
• Snap Finance
• STORIS, Inc.
• Synchrony
• Trekstone Financial
• TruCare Protection
• United Steel Storage

Last Impressions: Protecting Your Brand at the Customer’s Doorstep

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

In home furnishings retail, the sale isn’t complete until the furniture is in the customer’s home. White-glove delivery is the final, most personal brand moment—yet it’s often outsourced and under-managed. This session shows why last-mile delivery is a brand-protection strategy, not a cost center. Learn how consistency, trained teams, visibility, and proactive issue management help retailers protect reputation, exceed expectations, and build lasting customer loyalty at the doorstep.

Speakers: Mark Bannon, Shelia Johnson

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Cash Flow Is King: Building a Resilient Supply Chain in a Volatile Retail Market

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Healthy cash flow is the foundation of a resilient supply chain—especially for retailers navigating long lead times, large inventory investments, and unpredictable demand. We’ll break down how cash flow constraints quietly weaken supplier relationships, limit buying power, and create stockout risk. Attendees will learn practical strategies to strengthen their supply chain by aligning inventory planning, payment timing, and capital access. The goal: free up working capital, negotiate from a position of strength, and build a supply chain that scales profitably without putting unnecessary strain on the business.

Speakers: John Donovan

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Turning Logistics Chaos into Customer Confidence

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Logistics today faces real-world turbulence—delays, damaged deliveries, limited visibility, costly returns, and last-mile breakdowns that erode trust. The retailers who win turn these challenges into a better customer experience. This session shows how to identify friction across the delivery journey, use real-time visibility to prevent surprises, and empower teams to resolve issues fast. Learn practical tactics and templates to reduce costs, increase transparency, and turn delivery into a loyalty driver.

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Beyond the Container Rate: Using AI to Optimize Furniture Supply Chains

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

This session explores how AI-driven trade lane health gives furniture importers a clearer view of supply chain costs beyond ocean freight. Learn how improved visibility highlights excess inventory, carrying costs, missed sales, delays, and inefficient loading. See how AI aligns supply with demand, helps sales teams move the right products, balances high- and low-demand shipments, and identifies carrier partners that reduce disruption. The advantage isn’t more data—it’s using it to prevent exceptions and lost opportunities.

Speakers: James Ford-Hutchinson

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From Dock to Destination: Expert Logistics Insights for Retailers

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Delivery expectations are rising while margins are under pressure—and traditional LTL playbooks aren’t enough anymore. This session goes beyond basics to unpack what’s really working right now in furniture logistics. Learn how leading retailers are reducing damage, improving transit times, increasing visibility, and lowering costs across dock-to-door operations. J.B. Hunt experts will share practical strategies, real-world examples, and proven tactics tailored specifically to the unique challenges of home furnishings delivery.

Speakers: Richard Tucker, Josh Delay

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State of the Industry: Navigating Supply Chain Chaos

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Join us for a concise seminar tailored for furniture retailers and manufacturers. We’ll cover the current and future states of the ocean and domestic freight markets, how shifting political dynamics and new regulations are impacting global and domestic supply chains, and what it all means for your business. Walk away with practical, actionable strategies to strengthen supply chain resilience, reduce disruption, and save both you and your customers significant heartache.

Speakers: Chris Brennan, Mari Bermejo

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Who Moved My Cheese? What an Old Business Book Can Teach Us About AI

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

AI is no longer coming—it’s already changing how home furnishings retailers buy, sell, market, and operate. Just like the shift to inventory systems decades ago, the rules are moving fast. This session uses the timeless lessons of the business teachings of Who Moved My Cheese? to help retailers understand where AI matters, how to prepare teams for constant change, and when to act quickly versus stay put. Gain clarity, confidence, and practical guidance for leading growth in an AI-driven retail environment.

Speakers: Richard Harris

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Small Retailer Advertising Collective: Compete with the market leaders

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

We bring together small retailers to co-invest in high-end TV and digital video campaigns built to outperform big-brand competitors. By joining an advertising collective, you can leverage polished, creative content tailored to your brand to gain an immediate advantage in your market. Linnihan Foy can help lead group formation, strategic planning, and all aspects of production from concept to final edited spots.

Speakers: Erik Lillejord

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CTV Unfiltered: A Paramount VP Reveals What’s Driving Revenue In 2026

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

What if you could see exactly how Paramount is driving measurable sales for furniture retailers using CTV? In this exclusive insider session, a Senior VP from Paramount and Orbit Interactive will reveal what makes Connected TV the fastest growth lever in furniture retail right now. They will pull back the curtain on how top retailers are driving measurable sales, store visits, and 7:1+ ROI using CTV in 2026. Learn the exact strategies behind precise shopper targeting, campaign measurement beyond branding, and market-level execution. Plus, candid breakouts comparing TV vs. CTV and Cable vs. CTV—no fluff, just results.

Speakers: Richard Harris, Paramount Sr. VP

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The Future of Retail: Connecting Every Customer Touchpoint

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Today’s home furnishings customer engages across multiple platforms, expecting a seamless experience whether they browse online, walk into your showroom, or receive a direct mail piece at home. In this expert-led panel discussion, industry leaders break down what true omnichannel marketing means for furniture and mattress retailers. Learn how to utilize and align all touchpoints across social media, email, and print.

Speakers: Angelo Mazzella

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The Hidden Profits in Bedding

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Looking for new ways to boost profit margins in bedding? Learn how to effectively sell protection plans with the right pricing, margins, and staff commissions. Discover why customers value these plans, how bundling increases sales, and what top retailers across the US are doing to succeed. Through real-world case studies, see the dollars left on the table when plans aren’t offered, and how to turn that into profit.

Speakers: Dan Miller

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Technology Trends in Home Furnishings

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Get an inside look at real-world strategies and tools used and shared by leading retailers. Explore how AI, automation, marketing innovations, and operational systems can help you streamline processes, improve service, and gain a powerful competitive edge in today’s retail world.

Speakers: David McMahon

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From Showroom to Support: How AI Assistants Are Transforming Furniture Business

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

In the furniture industry, every customer interaction matters—from the first inquiry to final purchase and beyond. This session explores how AI assistants are taking on dual roles as AI receptionists and AI sales assistants, managing inbound inquiries, qualifying leads, answering product questions, and providing intelligent recommendations that support buying decisions. We’ll explore how these capabilities are being applied across showrooms, digital channels, and phone interactions to improve efficiency, support sales teams, and enhance customer experience at scale.

Speakers: Steven Yang

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The Future of Retail: Personalizing the Shopping Experience

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

In this fast-paced session, you will discover how the next wave of AI tools and automation is transforming the furniture industry. You’ll learn real-world strategies for using AI to personalize the shopping experience, boost conversions, and streamline store operations—from smart websites and automated marketing to data-driven service models. You will leave with actionable ways to future-proof your business and turn emerging technology into measurable revenue growth. Perfect for retailers ready to modernize without losing their human touch.

Speakers: Jake Freedman

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Why Visual Merchandising Breaks at Customization—and What Comes Next

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Custom furniture reveals a hard truth: most visualization merchandising approaches don’t work. As fabrics, leathers, and finishes constantly change, visual merchandising collapses under cost, labor, and complexity. While 3D rendering can scale, it introduces subjectivity, heavy data demands, and endless revisions. Photo-based swapping distorts color, and AI imagery can’t deliver accurate, assortment-wide visuals. This session challenges assumptions and defines what independent retailers should demand to visualize customization effectively.

Speakers: Clarence Chui

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Science in Design: How Environments Affect Mind and Body

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Science now documents the impact our environments have on our minds and bodies. Studies at Johns Hopkins, the Penn Center for Neurasthenics, and similar institutions prove that the design of spaces, such as retail environments, is never neutral. The presentation will provide retailers with information to create pleasing, reassuring, and calming retail spaces.

Speakers: Mike Peterson

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The End of the Static Showroom: AI, Visualization, and the Adaptive Store

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Static showrooms can’t keep up with modern buyers. This seminar introduces the concept of the adaptive showroom—a space that responds to customer behavior, preferences, and intent in real time. From AI-driven visual configuration to personalized walkthroughs and dynamic merchandising, we’ll explore how furniture retailers can turn limited floor space into infinite choice, without increasing inventory or complexity.

Speakers: Harrison Montgomery

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Do You Have the Social Hook to Win Customers

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Social media has evolved from simple algorithms to a complex system capable of turning anyone into an overnight sensation with the right post, hook, setup, and story. There's a winning formula to social media success, and it’s not as complicated as it seems. Join us at this seminar as we break down the formula and help transform your store or business into a social media star.

Speakers: Darrell Dahlberg

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Removing Friction from the Furniture Buying Experience

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

In an industry built on comfort, the purchase journey should never create anxiety. Yet many shoppers enter the showroom worried about approval, complexity, and uncertainty. To win in 2026, retailers must stop treating payment approval as a back-end step and instead use it as a front-end experience that builds trust and momentum. This session explores how transparency, choice, and seamless processes transform browsing into buying—boosting conversion, confidence, and long-term loyalty.

Speakers: Vicki Turjan

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Beyond Facebook: What Actually Drives Furniture Sales in 2026

Educational Home Furnishings Association-HFA, Plaza Suites, Floor 1 Neighborhood: Downtown Main Shuttle Stop: 14 (Red/Green Line)

Boosting posts and running Facebook ads feels productive, but for most furniture retailers, it’s not enough to drive consistent showroom traffic or sales in 2026. This session breaks down the real role social media plays in the marketing funnel, where it falls short, and how top-performing retailers combine social, CTV, and mobile to drive measurable showroom lift. If Facebook is your primary strategy, this will change how you think about it and how you grow.

Speakers: Fredy Wright

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