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Huge Mathis store opens

By Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, December 16, 2007

Ontario, Calif. — Top 100 chain Mathis Brothers opened its ninth store here late last month, a 300,000-square-foot behemoth and the second California unit for the Oklahoma City-based promotional to high-end retailer.

The two-level showroom may be the largest furniture store in the state, the company said. And with a 170,000-square-foot, high-cubed distribution center and company offices, the entire facility comes in at about half a million square feet.

President Bill Mathis said the retail side of the family-owned business — with most of its stores in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla., plus a unit in Indio, Calif. — has grown more than 8% a year over the past few years.

For 2006, sales of furniture, bedding and accessories were estimated at $304 million, putting it at No. 31 on Furniture/Today's list of Top 100 furniture stores. Mathis Brothers came in fifth in 2006 sales per square foot at $602.

If the new Ontario store follows the pattern as the others in the chain, the biggest furniture sellers will be Ashley and its Millennium line, Lane and Klaussner in upholstery and motion, and other case goods from SLF, Pulaski, Lexington and Henredon.

The first floor here exhibits dozens of Lane recliners, a stellar category for Mathis, which sold about 20,000 recliners in Oklahoma last year.

The lower level also shows home entertainment furniture and occasional tables with upholstery in living room vignettes. The upper level offers case goods in bedroom and dining settings.

Larry Mathis said the company always has used television as its primary means of advertising, and expects to reach a wide audience here with ads on regional TV stations. Although Mathis typically spends 4% to 5% of sales on advertising, he said it may spend more here initially to get its name out.

Mathis believes the Ontario store can produce about $100 million annually, which would boost the retailer to over $400 million a year. In 2003, when Mathis acquired Evans Furniture in Oklahoma, Furniture/Today estimated its annual sales at $242 million.

Retail growth has allowed Mathis Brothers to expand its wholesale business. Already owner of bedding producer Lady Americana, the company acquired youth furniture importer Bedtime Inc. two years ago. Mathis stores had been selling so much Bedtime product that the brothers decided to buy it, said Bill Mathis.

Bedtime is doing well now after the new owners learned about importing mixed containers from China for sale to other retailers. "It took some time to get our arms around it," said Larry Mathis. He sees Bedtime becoming a good profit center, like Lady Americana.

Mathis Brothers bought Lady A in 2000, and since then bedding sales have grown an average of 21% annually, said Kerry Tramel, Lady A president. The producer has a 140,000-square-foot factory in Oklahoma, and 14 licensees. Furniture/Today estimated its 2006 bedding shipments at $65 million, ranking it at No. 15.

Tramel said that at the time Mathis Brothers bought Lady Americana, there was some apprehension about how its bedding would sell in Mathis stores. The retailer touts brand names at everyday low prices, but the mattress maker didn't have much name recognition, and Lady Americana at first received limited floor space. But, Tramel said, "We won them over one bed at a time."

The stores also sell bedding by Serta, Stearns & Foster and Tempur-Pedic.

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