Specialist
Former Associate Director at Wayfair Inc
Agenda
- Home goods e-commerce trends and developments – post-pandemic scenarios such as work-from home purchasing trends and e-commerce demographic shifts
- Competitive dynamics, highlighting Wayfair's (NYSE: W) broader positioning within the online home goods retail landscape
- Near-term risks and long-term outlook, including supply chain headwinds
Questions
1.
What are your top-of-mind expectations for the home goods e-commerce industry over the next 12-18 months?
2.
You mentioned that Wayfair’s new customers included a demographic previously uncomfortable with online purchasing pre-pandemic. Do you think this significant change will be a shift secular in nature as we exit the pandemic?
3.
Is there remaining pent-up demand from individuals outfitting their homes to accommodate home offices? Have we already reached a peak and that demand should potentially level off? How much of a drop-off could we expect, if so?
4.
When do you think demand for home office equipment or furniture might significantly drop off? To what extent does the Delta COVID-19 variant play into this?
5.
How would you estimate work-from-home purchases as a percentage of Wayfair’s revenue?
6.
What size would you estimate for home office furniture as a portion of the broader home goods industry?
7.
Could you estimate the size of the outdoor furniture category within the broader industry? What market share would Wayfair hold in that segment?
8.
What is your outlook for Wayfair’s potential growth opportunity in outdoor home furniture, especially coming out of the pandemic?
9.
Could you estimate outdoor furniture as a percentage of Wayfair’s revenue?
10.
What sustainable growth rate do you think Wayfair could achieve in home office furniture, or from the B2B aspects tied to work-from-home vs outdoor furniture categories?
11.
You mentioned Wayfair’s CAGR being around 30% over the last two years. Would your expectations for above 50% YoY growth be over the next 3-5 years? What would be sustainable?
12.
You’ve estimated that work-from-home type furniture is 5-10% of Wayfair’s revenues, similar to outdoor furniture. Could you outline your assumptions for the company’s other broader categories? What are its potential growth trajectories for key segments over the next 3-5 years or 12 months?
13.
How would you split industry sales across online vs in-store shopping? What are your expectations for increased or slowing penetration growth, especially with the re-opening of bricks-and-mortar retail?
14.
How would you characterise the market share shift to online from bricks-and-mortar? What is your three year outlook for those dynamics?
15.
What are the potential merits and drawbacks to showrooms in the home goods industry? There is obviously fragmentation, but what are the key considerations in light of the shift to e-commerce?
16.
How would you frame the potential for Wayfair to invest into the bricks-and-mortar channel?
17.
Would it make sense for Wayfair to acquire existing showrooms, given the market’s fragmentation? Could the company target mom-and-pop stores?
18.
Can you discuss Wayfair’s competitive threats? How do you assess its closest competitors such as Overstock?
19.
Where do Wayfair’s peers have a competitive advantage? What gaps is the company failing to address?
20.
What levers does Wayfair have to mitigate market share loss to players such as Amazon?
21.
Can you outline supply chain risks, including whether you think Wayfair is more or less exposed to these headwinds vs peers? La-Z-Boy and Wayfair reported furniture shipment delays of up to nine months around late July 2021.
22.
When do you expect the supply chain issues to resolve? Will it to be weeks, months or years?
23.
How exposed do you think Wayfair is to input price increases or input inflation for materials such as wood and timber?
24.
What are your thoughts on potential industry consolidation? Are there any players that would be attractive acquisition targets for Wayfair?
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