by Brooke Shambley

Created on: January 17, 2011

According to Furniture Today's report in 2009, Ashley Furniture Store is the number one retailer of furniture in the world.  Regardless of their rankings in worldwide sales, Ashley Furniture should be appraised for what they sell and who they employ instead of merely regarding their success in sales.  The low prices offered by Ashley Furniture can easily explain their success without giving the shopper an indication of the quality of the furniture or service.

The furniture sold by Ashley Furniture is of questionable quality.  Excluding their furniture products that include a marble top or leather fabric, the rest of the pieces of furniture are comparable with the quality of Wal-mart and Target.  The prices suggest the same.  Ashley Furniture store is too inexpensive to offer quality products.  When discussing furniture, the price reflects three variable points:  style, quality, and size.  Since the styles offered by Ashley are contemporary, the styling of the furniture has not been sacrificed.  Size is also not an issue, because Ashley Furniture Store has larger pieces than many other furniture stores.  Therefore, quality is the variable that is suffering in Ashley's products.

The other element to consider with Ashley Furniture is their selection of employees.  Unlike a furniture retailer such as Ethan Allen, Ashley Furniture Stores hire sales persons rather than experts in furniture.  A fellow designer relayed this experience with Ashley's sales staff, "Upon entering Ashley Furniture, I was approached by a sales lady.  I told her that my client was looking for a small bedside table due to space limitations .  She proceeded to take me to nightstands that were around three feet in depth and in width.  I expressed my frustration about the size, and she proceeded to tell me that no one sells anything smaller.  Perhaps she has never been to any other furniture stores, but she is greatly mistaken."  This designer had trouble getting the salesperson to assist her in a very specific task, so imagine the experience of a first time furniture buyer.  The buyer has to decide if it is worth the money to pay more to get the assistance that they need.

Overall, Ashley Furniture story is a poor choice for furniture.  They only offer a one year limited warranty for their upholstery products, cushions, and finishes.  Better furniture stores offer at least a four maybe even a five year warrantyfor upholstery, cushions, and finishes.  When making your choice of where to shop for your home, consider making the better investment and go to a store that sells better quality furniture and where the sales personsare knowledgeable about furniture and not just making the sale.

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