Lubners' Clive Daniel Home soft opens in Naples, Fla.
Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, November 18, 2011
NAPLES, Fla. - Clive Daniel Home, the new midpriced to high-end startup by former Robb & Stucky leader Clive Lubner and son Dan Lubner, soft opened Nov. 4 with a merchandising and service plan designed to capture whole-home business.
The Lubners acquired the lease on the 85,000-square-foot former Robb & Stucky here, where they have been putting finishing touches on a roughly 65,000-square-foot showroom.
"Not only are we going to have the freshest assortment of product out there, but we feel that th
The new Clive Daniel Home in Naples, Fla., which features product from Schnadig’s Caracole brand and Dovetail in the front entrance lobby area.
is experience is going to be much more approachable to the consumer and much more focused on total home solutions," said Dan Lubner, CEO.
That includes offering everything from doors, windows and moldings to flooring, computerized home automation tools, landscape architecture and design services "from the mailbox in the front to the palm trees in the back," Lubner said. It will do this, he said, "while offering the highest level of designer talent and custom service and the best selection of furniture in the country."
The store also features a wine bar as a place to congregate and host showroom events. Bottles and wine by the glass are available for purchase from a well-stocked bar, he said.
In furniture, Clive Daniel is offering a mix of former Robb & Stucky lines, such E.J. Victor and its Ralph Lauren collection, Stanley, Isenhour, McCreary Modern, Braxton Culler and Hickory Chair, as well as many new lines, including Belle Meade Signature, Baker, Vanguard, Hickory White, HFI Brands' Lilly Pulitzer Home and Hotel Maison, Dovetail, Schnadig's Caracole, Lillian August, Thomas & Gray, Linwood Furniture and Summer Classics.
Asked about other merchandising differences between the former high-end Robb & Stucky - which closed earlier this year after filing for bankruptcy - and the new Clive Daniel, Lubner said the new store features more transitional styles (vs. heavy traditional). There also is more smaller-scale furniture and opening middle price points.
He added that one of the benefits of merchandising for just one store is "we could go with the best quality product for each of the different areas," as opposed to having to worry about the necessity of floor planning for 20-plus stores at the same time.
"We use to have to make decisions based as much on volume as on style," he said.
To service the store, the Lubners are leasing a 50,000-square-foot warehouse in Fort Myers, Fla., led by two Robb & Stucky logistics veterans.
Lubner wouldn't disclose the company's entire initial investment, but said the value of showroom merchandise is more than $3 million and that the retailer wants to have more than a $1 million in back-up inventory. He has said previously that the company expects to do more than $20 million at its first location.
Clive Daniel "absolutely" has expansion plans, Lubner said. It's looking for more Florida locations, "but I'd like to get back to Arizona and we're also looking at some other places we haven't previously been." He said he'd like to have a second store open within six months, but couldn't say where yet, adding that the decision will come down to the best real estate opportunity.
Lubner said the company also has been approached by other high-end retailers that he wouldn't name, who have expressed interest in Clive Daniel taking over their operations.
The retailer will host a party Nov. 16, an event tied to the Collier Building Industry Assn. and benefitting the organization's annual toy drive for Immokalee, Fla., children.
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