The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Jan. 29, edition that furniture retailers are struggling. The Globe's Bianca Thompson writes that in November, Canadian furniture stores sold approximately $1.1-billion in merchandise, according to inflation-adjusted figures from Statistics Canada. Sales have stagnated for years, remaining over $200-million below the peak levels of 2020 and 2021, when home sales soared and consumers upgraded their spaces during the pandemic. Real estate activity has softened since that frenzied period. Economists do not expect a large rebound taking hold this year, which is bad news for retailers that ride the boom-and-bust cycles of the housing market. A similar dynamic is playing out in the United States, where home sales are lacklustre because of higher interest rates. For retailers, the adjustment has been jarring. Some publicly traded furniture companies have shed billions of dollars in market value in recent years. But some companies have managed to adjust to a slow-moving housing market. Shares of Leon's Furniture are not far off all-time highs set in 2025. Replacement-driven demand, a broad product mix and higher conversion rates have supported steady profitability.