Schneiderman's draws crowds
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, February 20, 2005
Plymouth, Minn. — Schneiderman's Furniture opened its largest showroom here to enthusiastic crowds eager to snap up the midpriced retailer's expanded assortment.
With 110,000 square feet of display, the company expanded in all categories. Sales have gone well, said Larry Schneiderman, president of the eight-store Lakeville, Minn., company he co-owns with his brother Russell. "It's undoubtedly the best response we've ever had to anything we've ever done," he said, though he declined to provide sales results or projections.
Consumers seemed surprised and pleased with Schneiderman's renovations to what had been an industrial-looking building, Larry Schneiderman said. The showroom integrates a variety of colors and textures in a lifestyle display format.
Schneiderman's geared up for a big opening, but even so, found it had to recruit an additional 10 salespeople to cope with the traffic, he said. The store, on Annapolis Lane in a western suburb of Minneapolis, replaced two smaller stores in nearby Minnetonka and Maple Grove that recently closed.
It features an updated and expanded youth bedroom area, christened Digs, that Schneiderman said is doing well and will be rolled out to other stores. Suppliers include Stanley, Legacy Classic and Powell.
He also is pleased with the store's Urban Outlook contemporary area. The style has never been the retailer's strength, but the new display — with offerings from suppliers such as Southern, Flexsteel, Klaussner, Stanley and Ellis — has sparked business in the category, he said.
Schneiderman's also expanded its 4 Winds accessories shop to about 5,000 square feet. It sells accent pieces imported from around the world.
The Plymouth store is now the chain's largest unit, carrying a broader offering from most key suppliers. The retailer also stepped up with the addition of Bernhardt and Lexington.
"It's nice to move some furniture at those higher price points," Schneiderman said.
Other important suppliers include Clayton Marcus, King Hickory, Alan White, Cochrane and Canadel, and in bedding, Sealy and Stearns & Foster.
Next month, Schneiderman's will expand again with a 50,000-square-foot store in Duluth, Minn., replacing a smaller unit there.
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