Illinois retailer pulls off amazing transformation
By Tom Edmonds -- Furniture Today, February 25, 2002
LAKE ZURICH, Ill. — A former nostalgia oak shop, Capaccio Bros. Furniture has transformed itself into a specialty store that deserves special attention.
In addition to nearly doubling the store's size in a recent expansion, Capaccio Bros. is noteworthy because of its Victorian hotel motif and the unstinting devotion to quality details throughout the store.
Combining a tightly edited merchandise lineup that emphasizes custom options with an atmosphere of elegant hospitality, the store is uncommonly productive, averaging more than $1,000 in sales per square foot of display.
Brothers Nick and Ron Capaccio, who owns and operate the store, say they want to delight and entertain customers. On weekends, a three-piece band plays, and during the week, carefree vintage songs are piped in. The store always serves Starbucks coffee in paper cups, not Styrofoam, and Coca-Cola with no ice, just the way it was originally served in soda shops.
"When the consumer buys furniture, it's not something they do every week like with groceries," said Nick Capaccio. "When you do buy it, it should be a special experience."
The store's interior is done in the grand style of a Victorian hotel. In the older 15,000-square-foot portion, the dominant architectural feature is a twin spiral staircase.
In the 13,000-square-foot addition, the Capaccios have added a cage-style elevator with wrought iron rails. Every detail is meticulously consistent with the Victorian theme, including leaded stained-glass lenses over the light fixtures in the ceiling.
"The whole object of this is to give the feeling of warmth and friendliness as well as something that's fun and a little unusual," Nick Capaccio said.
A grand opening for the addition is set for next month.
Capaccio Bros. offers home office, home entertainment, casual dining, bedroom, upholstery and leather furniture, as well as accessories and occasional pieces. That sounds like a full-line furniture store, but Nick Capaccio prefers to think of it as a series of specialty shops.
The selection within each specialty is actually rather narrow with a better-best presentation in most categories, often with custom options at the "best" price points.
"What we try to do is offer the highest quality at the lowest available price, and we back that up with superior service," he said.
Notably, the store has only 20 furniture vendors.
"We get married to them," Capaccio said. "When we say we're going to buy from them, we're starting a long-term relationship. And we won't change suppliers unless we have a problem, like if they weren't shipping us on time."
The store does not have sales, and it doesn't pay commissions.
"For you to come in here with your family and to feel comfortable, I cannot have people pushing on you for a sale," Capaccio said. "At the same time, if I have a sale, I haven't guaranteed the lowest price to my previous customers. That would be wrong."
| The newly expanded Capaccio Bros. Furniture store in Lake Zurich, Ill. |
%5CEdit%5CPix%20Edit%5CTom-Capaccio%5CDscn0601.jpg)
|
| The new entry foyer is consistent with the Victorian theme throughout the store. |
| Brothers Ron, left, and Nick Capaccio flank new manager Brandon Capaccio, Nick's son. |
%5CEdit%5CPix%20Edit%5CTom-Capaccio%5CDscn0598.jpg)
|
%5CEdit%5CPix%20Edit%5CTom-Capaccio%5CDscn0599.jpg)
|
| Cherubs and angels, above, frolic in a hand-painted ceiling mural above the twin staircase in the older part of the store. |
| Leather upholstery is a strong category for the store. These pieces are from a vendor the Capaccios declined to identify. |
