Thomasville accelerating dedicated store program
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, January 4, 2004
THOMASVILLE, N.C. — Full-line manufacturer Thomasville Furniture Inds. plans to open between 25 and 30 new dedicated, independently owned stores in 2004, putting it on track for its goal of 250 new locations by 2007.
Seventeen Thomasville Home Furnishings stores opened in 2003.
Much of the expansion in both 2003 and 2004 is coming from existing store owners, who plan to open additional stores in current or new markets, said Tom Tilley, president and chief executive officer of Thomasville.
"While we continue looking for new candidates, we regard expansion by existing independent owners as an excellent source for growth," Tilley said. "We grow as they grow. We both win."
Paul Coleman in Connecticut, Barry Goldberg in upstate New York and the Massood family, which owns and operates Thomasville stores in New Jersey and the District of Columbia, are examples of current Thomasville retailers who are expanding their business with the manufacturer.
Coleman, who opened his first Thomasville store almost four years ago in Brookfield, Conn., expects to open his fourth Thomasville location in the state next year. The location and timing have not yet been decided.
Sales at his original Thomasville store doubled expectations, said Coleman, president and chief executive officer of Connecticut Home Furnishings Inc., who spent 15 years in the furniture business before opening a Thomasville location.
"We happened to be in the right place at the right time in the right market," he said. "But this was not a flash in the pan. Sales have continued to grow."
Since then, he has opened stores in Manchester, Conn., on Dec. 26, 2002, and in Orange, Conn., on March 1, 2003.
Goldberg opened Thomasville Home Furnishings stores in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in August 1998, in Albany in July 2001 and in Syracuse in August 2003. He opened a store in Rochester last month, and plans to open one in Buffalo in 2005.
The Syracuse store, he said, is state-of-the-art not only in design but also in making customers feel comfortable and at home. It has skylights in the Design Area, a supervised room for children, coffee bar with a kitchen for baking cookies and pies, and an area with a 50-inch television where people can watch sports while their companions shop. Other large-screen televisions in two other areas of the store are pre-set to the Cooking Channel and home-related shows.
"Beyond entertainment for the family, we're also providing tools that help our salespeople," Goldberg said.
Converting to Thomasville
Goldberg has been in the furniture business since 1982 but converted his general furniture store in Troy, N.Y., to Thomasville before replacing it with the Albany store. He believed the store would do better if it were affiliated with a manufacturer, and selected Thomasville because of the quality and breadth of the products and his long-standing relationships with Thomasville executives.
For the Massood family, the road to carrying the Thomasville line began by carrying many lines of furniture — literally. The family operates MGM Transport, which specializes in hauling furniture from North Carolina manufacturers to department stores and other retailers around the country.
"Through MGM Transport, we know the major players in furniture manufacturing and retailing and the logistics of the furniture industry. That led us to consider going into the retail end," said Paul Rizzuto, chief financial officer of MGM Transport and vice president of Plum and BETM Management, which operates the stores.
He said the Massoods selected Thomasville because of its "quality products and well-received name. The branding is complete."
The New Jersey stores are in Paramus, Princeton and Woodbridge. Plans call for opening stores in Eatontown and East Hanover. The Massoods also plan to open stores in Wayne and Bridgewater, and are exploring whether to open a store in Ocean County, Rizzuto said.
The Washington-area stores are in the Virginia suburbs of Alexandria, Tyson's Corner and Fairfax. Possible new locations include Rockville and Annapolis, Md., and Baltimore.
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