COVID-19 & The Supply Chain

When the clock struck twelve back on January first of 2020, America was looking forward to a year of opportunity, improvement, and success. Little did we know a microscopic virus three months later would change the course of not only our country, but the entire world.

The Power of the Pandemic

Supply and demand must reach a point of equilibrium in their relationship in order to be beneficial to the economy. The recent pandemic shifted this equilibrium in the furniture supply chain, causing demand to skyrocket and supply to plummet.

When COVID-19 shut down the United States, the furniture industry was blindsided. Manufacturers responded by preparing themselves for a recession by cancelling supply orders. However, with everyone stuck at home, consumers began to invest in their homes using extra money from cancelled vacations and stimulus checks. Since they’d originally anticipated no demand, manufacturers were slow to respond due to depleted warehouses and lack of raw material. Foam is a frequently used material in the furniture industry.  As the demand for furniture rose, as did the demand for foam. The prices furniture manufacturers and other companies were willing to pay increased dramatically. A majority of foam’s raw materials are sourced from foam suppliers in Texas and Louisiana. Unusual freezing temperatures during the winter led to foam manufactures not being able to produce foam in normal quantities. Combined with the COVID-19 shutdown, the freeze left the foam industry with a huge demand, but no supply at the ready. Partners in Vietnam and China had already shut down prior to the U.S. back in February of 2020, causing supply chain issues.In addition, new COVID-19 precautions such as social distancing and a loss of workers cut productivity. Shipping suffered through COVID with an increase in container prices and not enough truck drivers for both raw goods and product.


So What Now?

Right now, eager buyers are facing long delays for their purchases. Turnaround times have increased greatly since last March. For example, pre-COVID, one of our manufacturer’s turnaround times was about three weeks. Currently, it is at thirty weeks. As of now, these are the current turnaround times for our different manufacturers:

  • Albany: 40 weeks
  • Ashley: 16 weeks
  • Best Craft: 40 weeks
  • Best Home Furnishings: 35 weeks
  • Coaster: 24 weeks
  • Door County Furniture: 18 weeks
  • Flexsteel: 30 weeks
  • International Furniture Direct: 20 weeks
  • Jofran: 20 weeks
  • LaZBoy: 40 weeks (recliners), Close to 1 Year (sectionals, stationary, and lift furniture).
  • Leather Italia: 30+ weeks
  • Leick: 20 weeks
  • Perdue: 30 weeks
  • Perfect Choice: 20 weeks
  • Sealy/Stearns & Foster: 4-6 weeks
  • Southern Motion: 38-40 hours
  • Sunny Designs: 40 weeks
  • Surya: 6-8 weeks
  • Tennessee Enterprises: 20 weeks
  • TempurPedic: 2-4 weeks
  • Ultra Comfort: 12
  • Wolfcraft: 20 weeks

 As COVID-19 rules and regulations are slowly but surely
disappearing, expect prices to continue to rise. While uncertainty in the industry makes all plans subject to adjustment and reevaluation, Plymouth Furniture promises to continue doing our best for our customers.

Pick Up & Delivery At Plymouth Furniture

Let’s be honest. Transporting furniture is not always a fun or easy task. Luckily for you, Plymouth Furniture does the heavy lifting. Whether it be pick up or delivery, we make sure your furniture gets home in the most convenient way possible for you.

Pick Up

If you would rather transport your purchase yourself, our staff will be available to help load your vehicle. Once you have fully paid for your furniture, follow the “furniture pick-up” sign to ring the door bell for pick up. We suggest to bring the necessary materials (blankets, towels, foam, straps, rope, etc.) to protect and secure your furniture and mattresses. We do not recommend loading furniture into open trucks, trailers or onto roofs of vehicles. Plymouth Furniture is not responsible for any damage that may occur to your purchase or vehicle during loading, securing, or during transport. Store pick up hours are  9:30am-7:30pm Monday through Friday, 9:30am-4:30pm on Saturdays, and 11:30am-3:30pm on Sundays. 

Delivery

Plymouth Furniture offers high quality delivery service straight to your home in a room of your choice. If you have a mattress order over $699, Plymouth Furniture  provides free delivery, set-up, and removal of any mattress. Delivery fees for orders under $699 for furnitures or mattresses will be charged at $69.99 within 45 minutes of the store. If you are purchasing furniture in addition to a mattress, consider delivering both at the same time.

Plymouth Furniture Clearance’s cost of delivery starts at $69.99. Additional fees apply for number of pieces, removal and disposal, and distance from the store. Any delivery that is past 25 miles from the store will be charged $3 per extra mile. Delivery service from the Clearance Center does not include set up or assembly.  Personnel are not responsbile for moving existing furniture with the exception of paid removal.

All of our delivery personnel have been trained to load and unload your furniture with care, using techniques and equipment  designed to minimize damage in transit.

Are You Ready for Delivery Day?

It is important to be ready for your Delivery Day. All delivery cancellations or rescheduling must call (920) 892-6006 Ext. 2. The latest you can call is the day prior to the Delivery Day before 11:00am to avoid a $45 delivery cancellation fee. Use this checklist to make sure you are prepared for the arrival of your new furniture:

  • Person (at least 18 years of age) home to receive and sign off on delivery and merchandise.
  • Clear hallways, stairwells, and door openings before the delivery crew arrives.
  • Clear all pedestrian obstacles outside and inside your home including cars in driveway and snow/ice before delivery.
  • Put pets away before delivery personnel arrive.
  • Remember to fully inspect your merchandise upon delivery, any damage must be reported immediately.

 Plymouth Furniture delivers from 4pm-8pm Monday through Friday and 8am-1pm on Saturday.

 

 

Recycling At Plymouth Furniture

The first Earth Day was organized by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson back on April 22, 1970. Nelson raised awareness on environmental issues through a national demonstration. Today, Earth Day is an event celebrated by hundreds of different countries across the world.

Here at Plymouth Furniture, we do not take the phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle” lightly. We make it a priority to create as little garbage as possible while recycling  as much as we can.

Why Recycle Foam?

With the amount of packages we receive on a daily basis, you can only imagine the surplus of foam we compile in a short span of time. Unlike most stores, Plymouth Furniture chooses to recycle the foam through Plymouth Foam Waste Management. Quite often, we are able to fill up a 16 foot box truck full of foam.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch’s debris many consists of EPS, endangering marine life.

EPS, expanded Polystyrene, otherwise known as Styrofoam, can be extremely
harmful to the environment. While foam does not weight much, it takes up a lot of volume in landfills.  Unlike other waste, EPS is non- biodegradable, meaning it cannot decompose into an environmentally safe material. Since foam is so light weight, it is easily carried into waterways and oceans by the wind. This can become costly as raking up the foam is an expensive service. In addition, EPS is hazardous to shorelines, landscapes, and wildlife.

Despite what many people think, there are many different uses for recycled EPS. Some of these include: outdoor furniture, roofing tiles, coat hangers, seedling containers, door and window frames, packaging peanuts and more.

The Three R’s In Action 

Plymouth Furniture takes other steps to make our business as environmental friendly as possible. Not only do we recycle foam, but other materials such as baled cardboard. We have one dumpster for garbage and one for recycling that are emptied weekly. The majority of waste baskets found here are located in office spaces only. All in all, we typically have only fifteen bags of garbage a week. Plymouth Furniture also takes customers’ old furniture that is in good condition and donates it to our neighbors at St. Vincent DePaul. Unlike many other large corporations, we are able to set ourselves apart by reducing, reusing, and recycling.

The Most Recommended Bed

Tempur-Pedic did not earn their countless number of awards and achievements by creating ordinary products. The groundbreaking technology found throughout the layers of their mattresses set Tempur-Pedic far ahead any other competing brands.

Out of This World…Literally

The mattresses were originally developed from the blueprints of NASA’s Tempur Material formula developed in the 1960s during the height of the space race. Its purpose was to minimize the effects of gravity on astronauts during landings and launches. In the 1990s on a trip to Europe, Tempur Pedic founder Bobby Trussel slept on an odd feeling mattress. He immediately fell in love with the material, brought it back to the States, and turned it into a million dollar business.

Tempur-Pedic #1 in Customer Satisfaction in the retail mattress category in the J.D. Power 2020 Mattress Satisfaction Report for 2nd consecutive year.

This brand is ranked highest in customer satisfaction by J.D. Power in 2017, 2019, and 2020. Its NASA inspired features has even earned its induction into the Space Technology Hall of Fame back in 1998. Ninety five percent of sleepers recommend Tempur-Pedic. There is no shortage of rave reviews for the company.

Tempur-Pedic has a mattress for every sleeper according to their preference. With various collections and accessories offered, each customer is guaranteed to find a product they will love.

Tempur-Pedic in Plymouth

Plymouth Furniture has proudly been selling Tempur-Pedic products longer than anyone else in the area. In fact, we have even received an award for the largest regional growth. Tempur-Pedic is an outstanding brand that provides our customers with what they truly deserve.