Englander mattresses help close sales for Wolf Rock

Retail Bedding Playbook

David Perry -- Furniture Today, December 5, 2012

KINZERS, Pa. - Call this an Amish (Furniture) Paradise. And mattresses have their place in this paradise.

Wolf Rock Furniture here, headed by Amish craftsman Sam Beiler, offers a broad selection of Amish-produced wood furniture in oak, cherry and maple. The store's name, by the way, comes from Wolf Rock Road, where Beiler lives. He started the business 14 years ago, and two years ago added bedding to his sales mix. "We needed mattresses for display on our beds," he noted. "We also had some people asking for mattresses." The sleep sets, produced by Englander's Philadelphia licensee, help round out the bedroom furniture offerings.

"They make the furniture look better," Beiler said.

The furniture looks pretty good in its own right. It is high quality solid wood furniture, a type of furniture that consumers understand. "Most people know what solid wood is," Beiler said.

His factory is attached to his retail outlet here. While some Amish craftsmen don't use electricity, relying instead on air and hydraulic-driven tools, Beiler's tools are powered by electricity. Woodworking was a hobby for Beiler when he was in his 20s. It led him to his career, operating a furniture-making and furniture-selling company.

He says Amish-made furniture offers "a pretty superior piece at a very good price." There is nothing better, he says proudly, than what his craftsmen build.

Tourists are big customers at Wolf Rock Furniture, and some have questions about Beiler's Amish roots. "They read books about us," he said. "Not everything written about us is true." But it is true, he continues, that mattresses have helped him grow his business. "They let us serve our customers better," Beiler said. "When customers buy the bedroom, we can offer them the mattress."

Sometimes the retailer uses the sleep sets to help close the bedroom sale. "They are another selling tool," Beiler said. The beds retail from $599 to $1,500 in queen. The mattress business is working well at Wolf Rock Furniture. "It's been very easy for us," Beiler said. "We've never had any problems with any of the beds."