On Sunday October 27, during High Point Market, Business of Home hosted a select group of leading home retailers for a dinner at String & Splinter to discuss the emerging trends in e-commerce and the challenges facing the current home and retail marketplace. The conversation touched on how to best handle customer demands, channel conflict, the impact of tariffs on imports, and adapting internal technology to meet external market demands. 

An issue that was frequently brought up was staying top of mind for customers: Andrew Crone from Chaddock shared how the company is simplifying its customization process to be more accessible to customers through its website, and Loloi’s Cyrus Loloi and Wildwood’s Russ Barnes both questioned the best way to meet their clientele. 

Coley Collett Hull and Ginny Collett discussed finding more ways for people to experience Coley Home—a relatively smaller, newer brand. Storytelling as a vehicle for customer acquisition was a priority for Neil MacKenzie of Regina Andrew. Oscar Yague and Chris DeWitt from Ardmore Home Design discussed bringing their newly acquired brand Burton James to market.

Technology was another hot topic. Josh Jarboe of Four Hands discussed the company’s switch to a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, a move also recently made by Nitesh Chaudhary of Jaipur Living and Andrew Palecek of Palecek.

Both Asha Chaudhary of Jaipur Living and Bew White of Summer Classics discussed channel conflict being a recurring challenge—finding the right mix between physical retail vs e-commerce distribution. And Federico Contigiani of Hickory Chair spoke of the balancing act between trade and retail customers.

The dinner was underwritten by BigCommerce. Ty Baucum of Wovenbyrd and Scott Williams from Human Marketing were on hand to share about their experiences partnering with the e-commerce platform. Business of Home’s Dennis Scully moderated the informal but informative conversation.

“What an exciting night!” said Williams. “There’s something powerful about bringing together industry leaders at various stages to share openly about the challenges and opportunities shaping their businesses and the home furnishings space as a whole. I’m grateful to have been part of it and for the relationships that were formed and strengthened.”

“With schedules full and demands high, I’m deeply grateful to everyone who joined us for another successful leadership dinner,” said Scully. “It’s a privilege to share this space and these invaluable conversations with the people shaping our industry’s future.”

“The dinner with Business of Home was an excellent opportunity to connect with home furnishings leaders and hear how BigCommerce can help them foster deeper connections with customers and maximize sales and drive growth,” said Danielle Summers, senior sales development representative at BigCommerce, who was in attendance. “BigCommerce is committed to empowering B2B companies in home furnishings and other industries to operate more efficiently, stay resilient amid changing market conditions, and stand out in a competitive market to keep their customers coming back for more.”