Furniture Industry Under Pressure. Tariffs, Confidence, and Consolidation

Originally published October 1, 2025. This version was rebuilt from the tariff proclamation, the Conference Board release and company announcements for the FIN archive, and the facts are as of that date.

October 2025 opened with a tariff deadline two weeks out and shoppers in a sour mood. At the same time, some of the larger companies in the business were using the moment to restructure or combine.

The short version

• A presidential proclamation set 25% duties on upholstered wooden furniture and on kitchen cabinets and vanities starting October 14.
• The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 94.2 in September.
• HNI agreed in August to acquire Steelcase in a deal valued at about $2.2 billion.
• At Home was still working through its Chapter 11 case.

New tariffs on the calendar

The Section 232 proclamation on timber, lumber and their derivatives put a 25% duty on certain upholstered wooden products and on kitchen cabinets and vanities, effective October 14, 2025. The same document scheduled those rates to rise on January 1, 2026, to 30% for upholstered products and 50% for cabinets and vanities.

Update. A December 31, 2025 proclamation pushed those scheduled increases back to January 1, 2027.

Confidence keeps slipping

The Conference Board said its index fell to 94.2 in September from 97.8 in August, and its expectations index sat at 73.4. Readings under 80 on the expectations measure have historically signaled a recession ahead, which is not the backdrop anyone wants for big-ticket purchases.

Office furniture consolidates

HNI Corporation agreed to buy Steelcase for $7.20 in cash plus 0.2192 HNI shares for each Steelcase share, a deal the companies valued at about $2.2 billion. Two of the largest contract furniture makers would become one, with more scale to absorb tariff and materials costs.

At Home restructures

Home decor retailer At Home spent the summer in Chapter 11, closing stores and working to cut its debt.

Update. At Home emerged from bankruptcy on October 24, 2025, having eliminated substantially all of its nearly $2 billion in funded debt.

Pressure from both ends

Costs were set to rise on imported upholstery while shoppers were getting more cautious. The companies with scale were combining or cleaning up their balance sheets to get through it.

Related on FIN

• Follow the Tariff Dollars
• Furniture Shoppers Are Holding Back

Sources

• 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)
• The Conference Board, Consumer confidence, September 2025
• Steelcase Inc., HNI Corporation to acquire Steelcase Inc.
• At Home, At Home emerges from Chapter 11 (Oct. 24, 2025)