Raymour plans 4 stores
Also finishes reopening 12 Levitz sites
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, March 9, 2009
LIVERPOOL, N.Y. — In the midst of one of the worst economic climates imaginable, Raymour & Flanigan is barreling ahead with expansion plans, having reopened the last of a dozen former Levitz locations late last month and prepping for four more stores this year.
The Top 100 company just opened a Raymour & Flanigan store at the former Levitz on Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village, N.Y., in Queens. That was on top of 11 former Levitz stores it re-opened in 2008 — the result of acquiring the leases through the defunct retailer's bankruptcy proceedings.
The next round of growth is coming primarily through three Linen 'N Things leases that Raymour acquired out of bankruptcy in the last few months. The stores — in Philadelphia's Center City, on Cropsey Avenue; in Brooklyn, on Harmon Meadows Boulevard; and in Secaucus, N.J. — are expected to open this summer and fall, said Vicky D'Agostino, director of communications for the Liverpool, N.Y.-based retailer.
In addition, Raymour is opening another metro New York store in the Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market later this year, she said.
The new stores this year range from 35,000 to 48,000 square feet — in the middle of Raymour's typical 15,000- to 75,000-square-foot range for its showrooms. The four new stores will add about 110 jobs to Raymour's ranks and add “density to our existing marketing, distribution and delivery network,” D'Agostino said.
The company would not disclose its investment in the new locations nor project sales.
When the new units open, Raymour & Flanigan's store count will increase to 92 stores from 88 today — including eight clearance centers — in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Delaware.
In 2007, a difficult growth year for the industry, Raymour & Flanigan managed to increase its furniture, bedding and accessories sales 13% over the previous year to an estimated $881.1 million, lifting it to No. 10 on Furniture/Today's Top 100 furniture store ranking.
Asked how the company is managing to expand and grow business in such a tough environment, Raymour President and CEO Neil Goldberg noted that the retailer is choosing locations this year “that best fill the gaps in our market but do not compete with our existing stores.”
He added that “multiple factors” contribute to the chain's success, including the fact that Raymour is well capitalized and has a “highly efficient operating system.”
“Our hub-and-spoke distribution system of service centers enable us to have products available closer to our customers, ensuring we'll meet our three-day delivery guaranteed on in-stock merchandise,” he said.
Goldberg also pointed to Raymour's extensive advertising across seven states that helps to raise its brand awareness and a high-caliber workforce that Goldberg called “the true engine that drives our successes,” with its focus on enhancing the consumer shopping experience.
“Customers have demonstrated how important this is from their loyalty and referrals,” he said.
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