Finger Furniture's plans point to aggressive growth
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, June 3, 2007
Sugar Land, Texas — Retailer Finger Furniture took the occasion of its annual charity golf event to give the industry an early look at its new high-tech distribution center, and to update attendees on its unprecedented expansion plans.
The Top 100 store is moving into a roughly 400,000-square-foot distribution center and headquarters here that can be expanded to 500,000 square feet.
The nearly $30 million facility has state-of-the-art stock-picking and other equipment, with energy-efficient lighting and a Red Prairie computerized warehouse management system, which Finger has been using for about three years in its two smaller warehouses.
"It was a little like driving a Lamborghini on a dirt road," said Rodney Finger, president of the seven-store metro Houston retailer, which is embarking on the most aggressive expansion plan in its 106-year history.
The company had six stores until last week, when it opened a 50,000-square-foot Ashley Furniture HomeStore in Conroe, the first of eight to 12 planned for the greater Houston market. A second opens in Katy next month, followed by one in Pearland in August and Pasadena in October.
Chairman and CEO Robert Finger said the company is negotiating on property for the remaining Ashley stores. "It won't take long" to build them out, he said.
In addition, Finger is working on at least three full-line Finger stores of about 100,000 square feet. The first is set to open in the Willowbrook shopping area in northwest Houston by the end of July. A second will follow in Woodlands, north of Houston, in the second quarter of next year.
Some of the large Finger stores will replace smaller units. "Our goal is to have five to six Finger stores that are 100,000 square feet or better," said Robert Finger.
On top of the new stores, Finger soon will expand its largest store and former headquarters on Houston's Gulf Freeway by 65,000 square feet to 210,000 square feet. Construction is expected to start shortly after the Willowbrook store opens.
The privately held retailer doesn't disclose sales figures, but has said it expects to more than double its 2005 sales by the end 2008. Furniture/Today estimated its sales at $258 million in 2005 and $274 million last year.
Unlike sales for many retailers around the country, business for Finger has held up nicely this year, Robert Finger said. "We've been up every month — not by big numbers, but we've been up."
Some 300 industry leaders, government officials and other guests attended a grand opening cocktail reception and dinner at the new distribution center and headquarters, where the company honored individuals instrumental in moving its expansion projects forward.
About 180 people participated the next day in Fingers' golf outing at the Sweetwater Country Club. The event raised over $100,000 for several children's and other charities.
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