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I was told today by my Hancock and Moore Sales Rep that The Keeping Room was the # 1 dealer in the Mid-Atlantic for Hancock and Moore in 2023, beating out every other dealer in the region, even the juggernaut Greenfront Furniture with two locations in Farmville and Manassas, VA
They have always been the top dealer due to sheer size of their operation, their operations is huge.
Keeping Room 4,850 sf
GreenFront 1,000,000 sf
I like that. Proof that you don't have to be the biggest to be the best.
That's an amazing milestone to achieve Duane. The timing couldn't be better, and it couldn't happen to a better furniture guy. That's the way to finish, on top!
Wow Duane!!
Congrats....quality beats quantity every time!...takes a good educator to move H&M and this forum is as good as it gets.
What about national stats?!?!?
Hope you and your family can celebrate!
Congratulations! I am glad you got got it before you retired. So well deserved. Sadly, the amount of Hancock & Moore You have sold for other dealers across the country simply by educating people, who then bought from local dealers, is not even counted in that. I am sure if it could even be measured you would be tops in the nation. ��
I have always been near the top for single-store dealers, its difficult to beat the multi-store locations, though. Stickley has always been the top Hancock and Moore Dealer overall, and they have 14 stores nationwide so to be expected.
What I find really interesting is that in the Washington DC Market, one of the wealthiest in the country, there is no store to fill the void I am leaving. Hancock & Moore, Century, Sherrill, Jessica Charles, Taylor King, not a one of these companies have a store to hand-off to in this region, and no prospects either. I find this astonishing, actually. Stores like mine are closing and no one is coming behind to take our place. Why is that? The demand for quality goods is there to be sure. I have to think its a cultural shift in the working environment. That is, those in their 30's and 40's don't want to run a business like The Keeping Room, its too much work and too much time spent in a store. I discuss this with a lot of people in the business and I think it comes down to these points:
1) Time on site. If the store is open 6 days a week, you as the owner will be there 6 days a week, in the store, not running from a remote location. That's a 50 hour week more or less, every week.
2) Square Footage Requirements and overhead. Furniture needs space, so a store has to have room to spread it all out, unlike something like clothing or jewelry. That translates to high overhead costs.
3) Support. You have to have delivery trucks and a warehouse to back up your retail space. Plus decent workers to do deliveries.
4) Low Margins. Profit Margins are about half of that on an Apple iPhone. There are far more lucrative businesses out there, like selling wood-fired pizza (true)
5) Most sales take hours. Because of the cost of the piece, most clients do not make quick decisions. An average sofa sale is 3 hours of time, either in store or via email or phone usually over a period of days.
6) Cost of Inventory. The store owner owns every piece in the store. There is no help from the manufactuer's and they don't ever take returns.
7) Taxes and credit card fees. For Delivery Trucks, building taxes, Insurance for a Commerical businesses, Merchant Credit Card fees, Occupational licencese, etc....all require a substanial annual cost.
8) It's Physical. You have to handle heavy furniture, most every day, in all kinds of weather. Summers are the worst, and you can't afford to have two guys standing around all day waiting on a one freight truck, so you do it yourself.
And that's why no one wants to open a furniture store! In the Wash DC Market, your furniture stores really come down to Restoration Hardware, Crate and Barrel, Arhaus, La-Z-Boy, Ashley, Pottery Barn, and West Elm. Al of them are excellent Marketing companies, especially Restoration Hardware. Stores are slick, fun to shop in and immersive experiences. Quality of the goods is mediocre at best, yet priced at premium product levels.
What are manufacturer's of better product going to do? I think because they are not getting new dealers, you will eventually see them either open up their own retail storefronts, sell on-line, or become decorator based. Each one of those models has its own set of problems to overcome however. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I do know one thing for sure. If I were back in my early to mid-40's, with what I know now, I would have a retail brick and mortar store in the metro Wash DC area that would be state-of-the-art and even more successful. Unfortunately Father Time has said "No, you can't do that at your age, not now". HOWEVER, I would be more than happy to mentor someone with a dream of owning their own store in this Market. The door is wide open for one.....