Furniture Orders Rebound, but Tariff Pressures Keep Industry on Edge

Originally published October 8, 2025. This version was rebuilt from ISM's report, the tariff proclamation and company announcements for the FIN archive, and the facts are as of that date.

Early October 2025 offered furniture makers a bit of good news on orders, along with a tariff deadline that kept everyone cautious. Two big retail names were also changing how they reach customers.

The short version

• ISM listed furniture among the industries reporting growth in new orders in September.
• New duties on upholstered wooden furniture, cabinets and vanities were set to start October 14.
• Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, acquired logistics software company Locus.
• The first Bed Bath & Beyond Home store had opened in Nashville.

Orders pick up

In ISM's September survey, furniture and related products was one of six industries reporting growth in new orders, even as the industry's overall activity was still contracting. Orders tend to lead shipments, so the reading was an early sign that demand was steadying.

Tariffs keep everyone cautious

The Section 232 proclamation set a 25% duty on certain upholstered wooden products and on kitchen cabinets and vanities from October 14, with increases scheduled for January. Importers were deciding how much of that to pass along while orders were only beginning to recover.

Update. The January increases were later delayed to January 1, 2027.

IKEA buys its delivery software

Ingka Investments acquired Locus, a U.S. logistics technology company with an AI-powered platform for managing deliveries. Ingka said IKEA had relied on several outside providers for those systems and wanted more control over home delivery.

When the largest furniture retailer decides delivery software is worth owning, it says a lot about where customer experience is won or lost.

Bed Bath & Beyond returns to stores

Kirkland's, renamed The Brand House Collective, opened its first Bed Bath & Beyond Home store in Nashville in August. In September the company said the opening exceeded its expectations and that it was converting more stores to the brand.

Recovery with a caveat

Orders were moving in the right direction, but the tariff bill was about to arrive. Retailers were investing in delivery and store formats to keep shoppers coming back.

Related on FIN

• Furniture Orders Rose 9%. Factories Still Aren't Hiring for It.
• Furniture Delivery Fees Need a Fresh Look as Diesel Climbs

Sources

• Institute for Supply Management, Manufacturing PMI report, September 2025
• The White House, Proclamation adjusting imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products (Sept. 29, 2025)
• The White House, Amendments to the timber and lumber proclamation (Dec. 31, 2025)
• Ingka Group, Ingka Group acquires Locus
• The Brand House Collective, First Bed Bath & Beyond Home store in Nashville
• The Brand House Collective, Business update, September 2025