Aronson unveils new prototype in Chicagoland
Chain targets broader base with whole-home approach
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, January 15, 2006
Oak Lawn, Ill. — Aronson Furniture has opened a new-format store here designed to play up its strengths as a whole-home retailer while reaching out to a broader consumer base.
The 40,000-square-foot Aronson Rooms & More is a Connie Post Cos.-designed prototype in this southern suburb of Chicago on Cicero Avenue.
The store is Aronson's largest without an attached clearance center and signals the direction it intends to take with future units, said Bob Cremer, chairman and CEO of the 10-store retailer.
"We came to Oak Lawn because our core customer is moving up in the world, and our policy is to move with them," he said. "At the same time, we're also seeking to attract a broader customer base, and I wanted this location to be a 'wow' store."
Among the competitors near the new store are Wickes, Harlem and Value City.
For years, Aronson catered largely to an ethnic Chicago consumer with annual household income of $24,000 to $40,000. But as incomes increased and the consumer base moved to the suburbs, Aaronson followed, attracting many Caucasians as well. The average household income of its customers today is in the $40,000 to $65,000 range, Cremer said.
The Aronson Rooms & More name is being rolled out to all stores, and the retailer will incorporate as many of the new features in other stores as possible. Among those features:
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Vinyl flooring that looks like such hard-surface materials as cobblestone, marble and wood. Connie Post, CEO of Connie Post Cos., said the glue-down products are not much more expensive than carpet and are easy to maintain.
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A dropped ceiling box in the center of the store that looks like a skylight, with blue sky and white clouds, to help bring an airy ambiance to the store.
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A bedding department moved to the front of the store to raise visibility. Bedding resources include Simmons, Serta and Restonic.
Davie Coll, Connie Post design director, said, "We wanted (the store) to be perceived as real players in the category, as expert as any bedding specialist, not just as a furniture retailer who happens to carry mattresses in a back corner."
Other standout areas include an updated, colorful youth furniture area called Kids Korner, featuring firetruck and jeep bedroom groups from Coaster that have been popular with kids; an appliances department with two full kitchens; and an electronics department with two home theater experience rooms.
The store has a soft color palette throughout and uses Post's moveable wall system, which adds architectural interest while keeping the store open, and also allows Aronson to easily and inexpensively rearrange the interior.
Hospitality is offered in a bistro area with a working kitchen, where a chef bakes on weekends and hands out treats and recipes. "She's been a huge hit," Cremer said.
Aronson also created a large play area for kids that includes video games and an activity wall unit in the shape of a train. Another "play area" for husbands features a large flat-screen TV and a dozen theater-style reclining chairs with built-in speakers.
Key suppliers include La-Z-Boy, Ashley, Styleline, Catnapper, Genesis, Rose Hill, Lane, Lifestyle, Legacy Classic, Orleans and Master Design. The new store also added some of Post's upholstery by Lloyd's of Chatham.
Cremer wouldn't disclose Aronson's investment in the new store, but said it was more than he initially planned on spending.
"You have to be dedicated and strongly believe that what you are doing is going to be good for the company image," he said. "You have to believe that it will set you apart from the competition and that was our purpose in doing it."
Cremer declined to disclose early sales results, except to say that the store has exceeded Aronson's expectations and "we're very very pleased" — nor any sales figures and projections for the company overall.
Aronson was listed in Furniture/Today's Beyond the Top 100 report, with estimated 2004 sales of $40 million. Cremer said electronics and appliances currently account for about 30% of total sales.
The company's store count remains at 10 because Aronson closed a smaller unit on the north side of Chicago shortly after the Oak Lawn opening.
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