Carls lists properties for lease
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, September 17, 2007
Coconut Creek, Fla. — A real estate broker has been circulating a list showing 10 of Carls Furniture's 11 full-line store locations are for lease, but a principal with the Top 100 company said it doesn't plan to close.
Barry Ruzat of Synergy Retail Group has been circulating a list of Carls' Florida showrooms, noting "locations available" and the proposed rent rate, among other things. The list has reached the hands of several people in the industry, including Carls' competitors in South Florida.
Carls already has said it has a deal in the works to sell its Aventura, Fla., location — the only full-line store not on Ruzat's list — to a real estate group.
Ruzat did not return phone calls last week.
Bobby Dragin, vice president and co-owner of the Coconut Creek, Fla.-based chain, which includes Carls Patio stores (also not on the list), said Carls' owners control more than one million square feet of real estate and "we've had all kinds of offers."
"We haven't made any decision," he said, adding, "We plan on staying in business. If we sell anything, we'll probably lease back."
Dragin declined to comment further except to note that the company has been in business for 60 years and plans to stay in business "God willing another 60."
Carls is ranked No. 56 on Furniture/Today's Top 100 with estimated furniture, bedding and accessories sales of $133.4 million last year. That included sales from 11 full-line stores and 10 Carls Patio stores.
While the company is selling the Aventura full-line store, Carls Patio has been expanding, having recently opened its 13th store in Fort Myers, Fla.
Carls Patio President Gary Ecoff said there are plans to open more units on Florida's Gulf Coast. The company's third patio store in California, a 17,000-square-foot showroom in Agoura Hills, is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter.
