I didn’t learn much when I studied journalism, but they did teach you that if you wrote a regular column you were required to do a NewYear Preview piece every January. This was not optional and if you knew what was good for you, you went along with the program.

So, it being that time of the year, I am required to write this…though you are under no such obligation to read it. Some things in life are still at your discretion.

What kind of year will 2025 be? For some people of certain political persuasions, it will be plenty scary. For those in the business of buying, selling and creating home textiles and furnishings products, it’s going to be plenty tricky. Maybe a little scary, too.

Here are some of the reasons why.

Tariffs. Yes, no business preview this year would be complete without discussing the T-word. It’s another reason why Americans should have paid more attention to their tenth grade economics class so they better understand how tariffs actually work. We really don’t have a clear picture of what will happen with all of this trade talk. How much is political posturing and how much is policy? We’ll find out soon enough but, in the meantime, anyone involved in merchandise that comes from outside the country is trying to come up with workarounds…just in case. This one is not going away.

Going, Going, Gone. Last year was pretty brutal for home furnishings retailers. Long-time brands like Conn’s, Badcock and American Freight all went belly up and are disappearing. Others like Big Lots and Joanne’s also filed for bankruptcy but are living to see another day under new ownership and/or management. Other fringe players, like LL Flooring, OKA, buybuy Baby’s physical stores and the Canadian Rooms + Spaces successor to Bed Bath & Beyond in that country, also either went out or are coming back in different shapes. In 2025,there will probably be less of this…only because there are fewer retailers still on the bubble. That said, the worst may be over.

Better Business. The worst of the horrible downturn in home furnishings business may also be over. We said the same thing last year and while that was true, it wasn’t much of an improvement. We may see a slightly better improvement this year but it’s going to be a slog until business is anything to write home about.

Concentration. An oldie but a goodie on my particular soapbox, but when people talk about consolidation, they really should be talking about concentration. The bigs in the business are going to get bigger and since it’s a zero-sum game, it’s going to come out of somebody else’s market share. Put Walmart, Costco and the TJX brands at the top of your list for this year…as they were last year. Target used to be there, but it has a lot of work to do to get back in the fast lane.

As my obligation has now officially been taken care of, I wish you only the best for 2025. We all could sure use it.