Bears, and furniture customers, win a big one
Illinois store gives away $300,000 in furniture after shutout victory
Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, September 12, 2006
PLANO, Ill. — Chicago Bears fan and furniture store owner Randy Gonigam is giving away $300,000 in furniture as a result of his team’s first shutout in five years.
Gonigam, who owns the midpriced World Furniture Mall in this suburb west of Chicago, ran a direct-mail based Labor Day promotion offering to cover consumer purchases — up to $10,000 each — made during the weekend if pro football’s Bears managed to shut out the Green Bay Packers in their season opener Sunday.
The mailer featured a flattened Packer and Gonigam saying, “I could get sacked for a substantial loss, while you score $10,000 in free furniture!”
The Bears won 26-0, blanking Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre for the first time in his 16-year professional career.
Some 206 customers of this 50,000-square-foot store will get refunds for about $300,000 in buys.
Gonigam said he got the idea after hearing one on the Bears players bragging about having one of the NFL’s best defenses.
“They made that same statement during the playoffs last year and got slaughtered by Carolina,” he said.
This time, Gonigam decided he’d put his money where the player’s mouth was. The result was a 38% increase in business over the same holiday weekend a year ago.
A portion of giveback was insured through Odds On Promotions, but Gonigam wouldn’t say how much. He estimated that the store — which is open Friday through Monday and closed the rest of the week — will break even for the long weekend.
But that doesn’t begin to tell the story of the successful promotion. The post-holiday publicity has been tremendous, he said. In the days following the game, Gonigam was interviewed all the top Chicago radio and television stations. His story was in the local papers and on CNN and MSNBC. The United Kingdom’s version of “Good Morning America” plans a story, he said.
“We’re not only national, we’ve gone international. You can’t buy that kind of publicity,” he said, adding that the store will “be reaping the benefits for years to come.”
When Gonigam came up with the idea, he said he was looking for a Labor Day promotion that would be “the difference maker” for consumers. He figured a shutout was a long shot, but the kind of thing Chicago football fans could latch onto, especially since it was a season opener with a longtime rival.
“Bears fans are able to convince themselves of about anything before the season starts,” Gonigam said.
