CEO leads Finger's expansion
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, October 21, 2007
Houston — For the first time in its 80-year history, there's only one Finger on the pulse of Finger Furniture.
When Robert Finger died of cancer this summer, son Rodney took the retailer's reins, adding CEO to his previous role as president.
Before that it was Rodney and Robert working together. And before that, Rodney worked closely with his grandfather, the late Sammy Finger, while Robert was handling Finger's former contract office furniture business.
"I miss him every day," Rodney said of his father, as Finger's newest Houston store was preparing to open this week in the Willowbrook shopping area.
"I miss not having a (family member) to bounce ideas off of. I miss his wisdom and experience. He was in the industry for 40 years and did just about everything you could think of ... and I certainly could have used that experience over the past couple of months."
That's because Finger Furniture was gearing up for the most aggressive expansion in its history when Robert Finger fell ill. In addition, while Houston has held up better than most markets, it's starting to feel the effects of a slowing housing market, the mortgage crisis and a tough business climate.
Has that slowed down Finger's expansion plans? Not one bit, Finger said. The only delays are related to construction and permits.
"If anything, we're accelerating some things. We're getting more aggressive," he said. The retailer is preparing for better times ahead and girding for more competition, with Rooms To Go set to enter the market soon.
In addition to the Willowbrook store, Finger has opened the first two of a planned eight to 10 Ashley Furniture HomeStores. They were the first new stores for the retailer since it opened in Sugar Land, Texas, seven years ago. Before that, Finger had gone 20 years without opening a store, "so we're making up for lost time," Rodney Finger said with a smile.
In November, Finger will open its third HomeStore in the Houston suburb of Pasadena. Two more HomeStores, originally planned for 2009, will open next year, in the Galveston area and in the heart of Houston, just outside the inner I-610 loop.
In early 2009, another large Finger store, at 85,000 square feet, will open in Houston's northern Woodlands suburb.
"We're very excited about that store," he said.
Unlike Willowbrook, where Finger was working with a former Home Depot Expo space, in Woodlands it's building from the ground up, doing exactly what it wants to do.
Woodlands is a dynamic market, with healthy job growth and tremendous residential growth in a planned community, he said.
In the long term, Finger plans to replace all its stores except its 250,000-square-foot Gulf Freeway showroom (although that eventually will be reworked) and the Sugar Land unit. A Finger store in the Pasadena area closed earlier this year.
Rodney Finger said the retailer wants to open Houston-area stores in Katy and Baybrook, but no timetable has been set.
This spring, the company opened a 400,000-square-foot distribution center and headquarters in Sugar Land, with a RedPrairie warehouse management system and room to expand to 500,000 square feet. The opening wasn't without glitches, as the retailer moved merchandise from two other warehouses, as well as received new goods, but the issues have been worked out, Finger said.
Although lacking his father's 40 years in the business, Rodney Finger has packed a lot of experience into his 35 years, working summers during high school and college.
He earned a degree in business administration in 1994 from Southern Methodist University and became Finger's bedding buyer.
Three years later, Sammy called on him to help lead the retail operations. After Sammy's death in 2001, Rodney took over management of the Sugar Land store. He was named president last year.
If Finger has changed under Rodney's leadership, it's probably most noticeable in the new attention to the operations side of the business.
"We have great stores, great advertising, great selection, great prices — and that's all critical," he said. "But I think what's equally critical is the service level and quality (of experience) after the sale. We need to be the absolute best."
That's why Finger is moving to bring all deliveries in house, rather than rely on a third-party company, a change that will be completed this month.
Asked if the retailer may slow its expansion given the current business climate, he said that's not the plan.
"I think it would be a mistake to have a shortsighted response to a short-lived problem," Finger said. "We're using 2007 to get ready for 2008 and 2009. When business comes back, we're going to be very well positioned for it."
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