While the housing market seems to be cooling off due to high prices, continued interest in furnishing existing homes and online buying trends should drive the furniture industry’s growth. Therefore, furniture stocks such as RH (NYSE:RH) and Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) should see rising sales. But which of these stocks is a better buy now? Read more to find out.RH (RH) and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) are two well-established residential furniture retailers in the United States. RH offers furniture, lighting, textiles, bath-ware, décor, outdoor and garden, and child and teen furnishing products. WSM retails cooking and serving equipment, home furnishings, decorative accessories, and a range of lighting, hardware, and furniture assortments. Both companies distribute their products primarily through retail stores, mail order catalogs, and websites.
While the housing market appears to be cooling off some due to high prices, the demand for furniture remains high. With the continuation of remote working structures owing to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, people are upgrading their homes and improving the quality of living and home-working environments. This has enabled furniture and home furnishings stores to witness a 3.7% sales growth in August from the prior month. The growing demand for comfortable and good quality furniture should allow furniture companies to offset high lumber prices by raising product prices. The global furniture market is expected to grow at a 4.1% CAGR to $538.40 billion by 2026. So, both RH and WSM should benefit.
While RH lost 3.2% over the past month, WSM surged 4.3%. In terms of the past three months’ performance, WSM is a clear winner with a 20.2% gain versus RH’s negative return. But which of these stocks is a better pick now? Let’s find out.