Furniture stores hire salespeople, warehouse staff and delivery crews in every province. Leon’s and The Brick, which share one owner, run about 300 stores between them, and IKEA, Structube and Urban Barn add well over 100 more.
Furniture chains we cover
Open a card for that store’s roles, hourly rates and hiring steps ↓
Who owns the big furniture chains
A handful of companies run most of the country’s furniture showrooms. Several started as family firms in Quebec, Manitoba or British Columbia, and two of the biggest names answer to the same head office.
Leon’s, based in Toronto, has owned The Brick for more than a decade. EQ3 belongs to Palliser, a Winnipeg furniture maker.
Sales floor, warehouse or delivery truck
Most openings fall into three groups. The hourly figures below are Job Bank’s national ranges for each occupation and leave out commission, so a store in a big city may start you higher.
🛋️ Showroom
Showroom salesperson
$15.00-$28.85
Walks customers through sofas, beds and appliances, writes up the order and books a delivery date.
📦 Warehouse
Warehouse associate
$16.55-$30.29
Unloads containers, pulls orders for customer pickup and wraps each piece before it goes on a truck.
🚚 Delivery
Driver or helper
$15.00-$29.35
Carries furniture into homes, puts beds and tables together and hauls away old mattresses when a customer pays for it.
Ranges per hour from Job Bank’s wage tables for retail salespersons, material handlers and delivery drivers.
Commission, draws and hourly rates
At Leon’s and The Brick, sales associates earn mostly commission. Staff who post their pay on Indeed report averages close to $62,000 a year, but a quiet month shrinks the cheque.
Some stores add a draw: an hourly amount paid up front that your commission must cover later. IKEA works differently, with co-workers on a set hourly rate of $17.50 to $22.40 for most store roles.
💡 Three questions for a commission job: Is there a draw? What percentage do I keep on each sale? And what happens to my commission if a customer returns the order?
Head office, franchise or local dealer
Not every store is run by the brand on its sign. Ashley HomeStore locations belong to licensees, and the Dufresne Group operates 39 of the 59 between BC and Ontario. Across the country, La-Z-Boy galleries belong to regional dealers, and some of The Brick’s locations are franchises.
That changes who reads your application. The owner or store manager usually hires, so pay, benefits and the staff discount can differ between two stores with the same name.
Flat-pack, appliances or contemporary pieces
Each chain sells a different look, and knowing its catalogue helps in the interview. Start with the store whose products you would happily explain to a customer.
Before you apply to a furniture store
Do I need design training to sell furniture?
No. Stores teach their product lines on the job. A few design consultant roles ask for courses in interior décor, but sales associate postings rarely do.
How heavy is warehouse and delivery work?
Very. You lift sofas, dressers and mattresses, usually with a partner and sometimes up several flights of stairs. Most employers ask for safety boots.
When do furniture stores add shifts?
In the sale season that runs from late November to the days after Christmas, and when a new location opens. Tell your manager early if you want those extra hours.
⚠️ Drivers need a clean record: delivery postings usually ask for a valid licence and a driving abstract, and trucks leave the warehouse early in the morning.
Apply online, then visit the showroom
Big showrooms and warehouses sit in suburban retail parks, so check the bus route before you apply. Fill in the chain’s online form, then drop off a printed résumé at the showroom on a quiet weekday.
Store counts come from LFL Group, Structube, Urban Barn, EQ3, IKEA Canada, the Dufresne Group and each chain’s store locator. Hourly pay: Job Bank national wage data. Commission averages: employee pay reports on Indeed. Every dollar figure on this page is Canadian.