Schneiderman's opens with romantic twist
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, October 3, 2005
Duluth, Minn. — Schneiderman's Furniture opened a 50,000-square-foot showroom here — its second new store in six months — with an unusual anniversary twist.
The store, on Decker Road in this northern Minnesota city, is nearly six times the size of the 8,500-square-foot showroom it replaces. It has a few new vendors for the company and expanded offerings in all key departments.
In announcing the grand opening, the midpriced Lakeville, Minn.-based retailer also issued a special request: That some longtime married couples come to the store and renew their wedding vows. Ten couples selected would receive a pair of glider rockers for their efforts.
The catch was that the couples had to be married in or before 1948 — when Schneiderman's was founded.
When the announcement reached customers' mailboxes, the company's phone rang off the hook and the 10 slots were filled that same day, said President Larry Schneiderman, second-generation co-owner of the eight-store business with his brother Russell Schneiderman.
Schneiderman's brought in a minister and appointed the store appropriately with wedding decorations. Punch was served and each couple had a wedding cake.
Radio and TV stations covered the event.
"It truly was an inspiring day," said Schneiderman, recalling a mix of seriousness and high spirits among the participants. "The common denominator was all of them had good senses of humor."
Schneiderman asked each couple the secret to a long, successful marriage.
The husband of one couple married in 1947 said that early on they agreed that his wife would make the little decisions and he would make all the big ones.
"Here it is 2005," he added, "and nothing big has come up."
For Schneiderman's, the opposite is true. Duluth is the retailer's second big replacement store to open in six months.
The Duluth store repeats the special touches that Schneiderman's brought to its 110,000-square-foot Plymouth, Minn., showroom, which soft opened in December. Among the features: an expanded Digs youth bedroom area, an Urban Outlook contemporary space and an expanded 4 Winds accessories shop near the front of the store.
Schneiderman's added upholstery in Duluth from Southern of High Point and casual dining from Canadel. It expanded its offering from Flexsteel and Stanley and "moved the store upscale by a notch or two," Schneiderman said.
Consumers visiting on grand opening day were treated to a cookout and received complimentary crystal votive sets.
Business has been challenging in Minnesota this year, but initial response to the Duluth store has be "very heartening," he said.
Schneiderman's does not release sale figures, though Furniture/Today estimates annual sales for the company at about $40 million.
