Remodeled El Dorado opens

Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, November 26, 2012

More than 500 people line up early for the grand opening of El Dorado Furniture’s expanded and remodeled Pembroke Pines, Fla., store.PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. - Hundreds of consumers lined up for the opening of El Dorado Furniture's expanded showroom here, which at about 145,000 square feet is now its largest.
     The 12-store Top 100 company revamped the store's Boulevard format, with a new Carlo Perazzi contemporary area, a new Gazebo for patio furniture, a new power motion leather upholstery area, what the company described as a state-of the- art mattress department, and other additions.
     All told, the retailer added about 35,000 square feet and remodeled the entire store in phases.
     More than 500 people stood in line on the recent opening morning for a first look and a chance to receive gift certificates the retailer handed out to early birds.
     The retailer had planned to Above, El Dorado Furniture spent an estimated $4.5 million and 11 months remaking its Pembroke Pines, Fla. showroom, adding 35,000 square feet of additional display space.give the first 150 customers $150 furniture gift certificates, but when it saw the line to get in, it added about 50 more in various denominations for a total of about $25,000 in giveaways, said Pedro Capo, chief operating officer of the family- owned, Miami Gardens, Fla.-based company.
     El Dorado held a ribbon cutting ceremony for family, friends and the media earlier this month, following with the grand opening Nov. 10. Capo wouldn't disclose sales or projections, but said opening day traffic was record breaking, and that the store saw its best sales weekend in three years.
     The new interior streetscape, with various furniture shops and other shops lining both sides, is the longest of any in its Boulevard stores, taking consumers several minutes to stroll from one end to the other, Capo said. The store also has about 40% fewer walls than its other locations, clearing sight lines so consumers can see more furniture from any vantage point.Left, the Capo family, owners of Miami Gardens, Fla.- based El Dorado Furniture, pose during a ribbon cutting ceremony with sales associates, customers and friends, including the mayor of Pembroke Pines.
     El Dorado, which previously estimated the project as a $4.5 million investment, overhauled the store over 11 months, including the complete reworking of the interior, in addition to the showroom expansion and new parking lot lighting and striping.
     The project created more than 50 construction jobs and the store now employs nearly 100 people.
     "We are dedicated to bringing our customers the most diverse selection of furniture that the industry has to offer under one roof," Capo said in a release.
     No. 42 on Furniture/Today's Top 100, El Dorado did an estimated $159.1 million in furniture, bedding and accessories sales last year, up 16% from 2010. Sales this year have been relatively flat, partly because of the lengthy construction project in Pembroke Pines, Capo said. Next year, he said, the company is looking for a 10% to 15% sales increase.