Mehran opens first H&...tore in New Jersey
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, July 30, 2007
River Edge, N.J. — The owner of the Huffman Koos name has opened a 70,000-square-foot H&K store here, holding off at least for now on earlier plans to open under the full name of the former Top 100 company.
H&K is led by CEO Anthony Mehran, who bought the rights to the Huffman Koos name out of bankruptcy in 2005.
Mehran opened a wholesale Huffman Koos showroom at the High Point Market this spring. He also closed his seven-store Moda Furniture in Passaic, N.J., announcing that at least five of the locations would open as Huffman Koos — a separate entity — after renovation.
But Mehran, who is developing proprietary sourcing for the revived brand, said he doesn't have enough goods yet to launch a Huffman Koos-only store. H&K features a mix of about 50% Huffman Koos branded goods, mainly from China and Vietnam, with the balance from other suppliers including Natuzzi and Serta.
A second, 35,000-square-foot H&K is set to open this month at the former Moda in Fairfield, N.J., and a third is planned for mid-August at a former Moda in Middletown, N.Y. Mehran also said he is looking at Rockaway, N.J. for a fourth location, possibly this year, at a non-Moda site.
The company said it sold the leases on two other former Moda stores. Raymour & Flanigan opened a store last week in a former Moda location in Manhattan.
He said he could make the transition to Huffman Koos in the New York/New Jersey area some time next year. But he said those plans are tentative because he's also marketing the Huffman Koos name to Top 100 retailers as an in-store gallery concept, and those retailers may frown on competing with a standalone store.
"We're ... trying to sell the Huffman Koos brand to other retailers in our region, so we want to leave the brand name out there and available," he said.
Mehran added that his plan to convert the Huffman Koos wholesale showroom in High Point to a retail store during non-market times was delayed in order to focus on H&K's main trading area. But he said he hopes to have the High Point space open to the public soon.
Consumer response to H&K has been positive, Mehran said, although he added that business has been "stagnant" because of the tough climate for furniture sales. He declined to disclose sales projections.
