US Top 25 furniture and bedding retailers grew sales by 6% last year, which may be a reflection of the growing strength of e-commerce players nipping at their heels and contraction in some non-traditional furniture store sectors.

The combined group of retailers grew 2013 furniture and bedding sales to $30.7 billion from $29 billion for the Top 25 the year before, which was the same group of stores. That percentage growth was less than the 7.8% sales uptick for Furniture/Today's combined Top 100 furniture stores, which includes some of the same retailers on this list, and it also fell behind the 10.8% sales growth that the Top 25 experienced in 2012 over 2011.

Ashley Furniture HomeStores, the dedicated network of licensed and corporate-owned stores, topped the list for the fifth straight year with a 6% increase in furniture and bedding sales to $3 billion.

Furniture/Today's exclusive Top 25 Retailers ranks the leading U.S. furniture and bedding retailers by 2013 sales of furniture and bedding. Data is based on fiscal years ended Dec. 31, unless otherwise noted. Decorative accessory sales, including lamps, area rugs, wall décor and mirrors, are excluded in the estimates. Decorative accessory sales were included in the Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores Ranking, published in Furniture/Today's May 19, 2014, issue.

All sales figures, except those of publicly held companies which break out furniture and bedding sales as a separate line of business, are Furniture/Today market research estimates.

Sales estimates were derived from a variety of sources, including the companies themselves, public company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, discussions with industry analysts and suppliers and published and unpublished reports, including newspaper articles in various retailing areas.

This ranking is by no means comprehensive and does not represent the entire industry. More than the 25 retailers listed are vital companies within the industry. Furniture/Today chooses not to include some companies due to lack of verification of sales figures.

The Top 25 crosses all formats of furniture and bedding retailing. Channels include Bedding specialty stores (Mattress Firm, Sleepy's, Sleep Number); Department stores (Macy's, Inc.); Discount department stores (Walmart, Target, Big Lots); Lifestyle furniture stores (Ikea, Williams-Sonoma, Restoration Hardware); Manufacturer-branded stores (Ashley Furniture HomeStores, La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, Ethan Allen); Office supply stores (Staples, Office Depot); Rental stores (Rent-A-Center, Aaron’s); Traditional furniture stores (Rooms To Go, Berkshire Hathaway furniture division, Raymour & Flanigan, American Signature, Bob's Discount Furniture, Haverty's); and Warehouse membership clubs (Costco, Sam's Club).