Retirement Notice

[drcollie]

Some new developments.....

1) I was unprepared - very much so - for the number of clients and customers that are loyal to my store. One lady who has been shopping with us since the mid-1980's came into the store in tears, saying "You're an Institution - you CAN'T CLOSE - we shop here, and my kids do too now that they are grown up!" I did not think there would be that many who would truly miss the store. Thank you for your loyalty, I didn't expect that.

2) Many of my suppliers are aware of my relationships with my customers, this forum, and the brand ambassador that I am for them. They want me to stay on and we are thinking of ways to do it. It is unprecedented to have a dealership without a showroom, so this is covering new ground for both them and me. It might work out, it might not. We are discussing how to do that and for me to work from a home office only, while at the same time respecting the other dealers around the country and not taking customers from them. It's very important to not "steal" customers due to pricing, I will respect that and there may be other conditions to meet as well.

3) The Keeping Room showroom and physical presence will be gone forever come February, and I will not be opening another location - that's a for sure.

4) My wife of 39 years has a serious and deteriorating disease that will require me to be home as caretaker. I need to be home with her and not tied to a brick and mortar store. . However, I feel I can still work from a home office and take care of a my existing customers and perhaps add a few new ones.


Right now my main focus is clearing out inventory...Its moving, but has to be all gone my middle of February!
.

[jam234]

Duane, I am sorry to hear about your wife's illness and your recent medical issues, but it is great news that you will remain in the business. You have too much knowledge and passion for this business to walk away. You have educated countless buyers on the value of well-made furniture and have done more to promote the brands that you carry than the manufacturers themselves. The photos of pieces coming through your showroom or from the High Point Furniture Market that you share on this site are a terrific resource. Would I order Hancock and Moore furniture from a showroom where I have to sit down with a designer, answer their questions and have them come to my home to provide their ideas? No, but I wouldn't hesitate working with you on that order. Happy Thanksgiving to you, your wife and Sarah!

[drcollie]

My last phone call of the day yesterday was a West Coast customer whom I had emailed quotes to on pieces and she stated that she wanted to buy locally from their dealer for the service aspect of the sale. However, she wanted my pricing which her local dealer would not agree to without a formal quote to prove the pricing was legitimate. A formal quote is really on letterhead and something to print out and walk into another dealer. I refused to do that and I will decline to take this order from this client. She is playing one dealer off another and the turmoil this creates is not something I want to be a part of. The local dealer would be on the phone to the Supplier in 15 minutes after having a copy of the quote in their hands and raising hell that they are losing business to a store in Virginia, and why should they keep investing their money into promoting and flooring their brand when they are being undercut by some guy on the internet? Then I get a phone call from the President of that company and everyone is unhappy.

So while companies like Hancock and Moore, Century or Sherrill struggle with the idea of me operating and continuing as a dealer from a home-based office with no showroom, this is EXACTLY their concern and why they may not agree to it. They are balancing the concept of The Keeping Room being a seller and representative for them vs the fear TKR will steal their clients base on price points. It's a very real concern and one I respect as well. This is a hard business folks, every dealer has different operating costs that have to factor into how much they have to charge their customers.

I could never afford a warehouse with a loading dock, I am truck-to-ground unloading every piece in every kind of weather. I cannot afford to have employees who are younger and stronger on duty 40 hours a week to unload those trucks, its only yours truly catching those sofas coming off the trailer. I have no staff, its been just me in the store 90% of the time in the past 37 years. I own my own building (now sold) which means I was never subject to landlord increases in rent. Yes, I run lean....yes I have good prices because my overhead is so low. Other dealers have much higher operating costs and have to have higher prices to support their business. As a customer, you should respect that and be aware of it. You can choose lower price and long distance, or buy locally and get all the benefits of that service a long-distance dealer cannot provide.

Be smart and don't start fires, because those fires will ruin if for everyone else. It's a game too, that I won't play.

[Gabardine]

I'm glad you are able to take care of your wife, and hope you are taking care of yourself too. I wish you the best in retirement. I hope you keep busy and engaged, especially if that includes sharing your knowledge with people like me who were struggling to find quality furniture. You are a beacon of hope in a massive sea of mis- and disinformation. Safe travels!

[SueCT]

I am so sorry to hear about your wife's health issues. I know you are still recovering too so you have a full plate right now with everything going on. I hope the next couple of months go smoothly and you remember to take care of yourself as well. You can't take care of her unless you take care of yourself first. I hope all this works out in the best way possible for you. I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving with your family.

[Angie]

I also am sorry to hear about your wife's health. I continue to read your past post about all you happy times and your struggles and admire your perseverance in continually helping people. Some not so appreciative but I think most people are as I read through the post. I wish you the very best what ever path you take.

[drcollie]

A funny thing happened on the way to Retirement......

My Suppliers, AND my Customers, want me to remain active. And, I have to admit, I have no plans in Retirement. I have worked hard and relentlessly my entire life from age 14 to now (with my 70th Birthday on the horizon) - 60 hour weeks have been the norm. Because of that, I don't know anything but work, and we can't really travel as my wife is not up to it any more. So what the heck, I don't have to fully retire, but I am weary of manning the showroom daily and no longer want to be tied to a having to operate a retail location. I was surprised by the overwhelming support by my customers and not just saying that as a cliche', it's genuine and appreciated. About 65% of my clients are out of the area and have never set foot in my showroom and never would, they are used to working via email or forum with me and the occasional phone call. Many of my customers are in more remote locations across the country where there are no quality dealers of furniture for hundreds of miles.

Suppliers have all said "Keep on Selling". That was also unexpected. I figured incorrectly that most would say "It was a great run, see ya", and go open up another dealer in the region. But that has not happened, mainly because people dont' want to be in the retail furniture business. The margins are low, the square footage requirements are high, the product is heavy and requires trucks, and ovehead (mainly rents) kill them. There really is no place for them go open. Even the most successful stores in metro Washington DC are losing interest in furniture, one of the top ones in our suburbs bought a mountaintop winery and are putting their energies in that. Much more profitable, easier to run, less logistics. Suppliers like my store because 1) I always pay my invoices within terms (you may be suprised how many stores do not). 2) I understand the business 3) Any issues I take care of them myself, 4) I have a genuine interest in their products.

That brings me to my latest thoughts. I will continue to keep The Keeping Room open, it will just be an internet company, there will not be a showroom.

* I will set up a Home Office and work three to four hours a day from the computer.

* I'll have time to go to the High Point Market and take more photos of pieces in the showrooms in Spring and Fall each year. I'll go do more factory tours with photos as well.

* I will keep my warehouse for the time being and one of my two trucks and continue to do local deliveries as long as there is demand for them.

* There will be no product in stock at all, everything will be a Special Order. Samples will be ordered by request, just as they now are.

* The address for the store will eventually become a Post Office Box.

This let's me stay at home to take care of my wife, and still do work in a dedicated office, and on nice sunny days I can go out and play, not stuck in a store! There will be some people uncomfortable with this, and I get that. They will want to go to a Brick and Mortar store instead. I just renewed the SSL Certificates for this site (My Furniture Forum ) and the store website (www.keepingroom.com) for another 2 years each @ $ 400, so I plan to keep them going.

Guess we will see what happens! Meanwhile, I have to really clear out the floor inventory in the store. The new property owner takes over the building the end of February, and we have to move everything on the bottom floor that remains up to the upper floor for the month of March (the downstairs will become a jewelry store once he renovates it). Upstairs means outside staircase entry ONLY, on the opposite side of the entrance we now have. I would rather sell the pieces downstairs (especially the heavy ones) rather then move them upstairs.

[Angie]

That is great news indeed! Really happy for you, and I think everyone on this forum is too. An honest man to buy from who knows the product, what more can you ask?

[prosdds]

Hi Duane, I am one of the 65% of your clients whose only contact with you has been through email and on the phone. My first pieces of Hancock and Moore were ordered in 2012 and my last pieces ordered during the supply chain and shipping nightmares following the COVID in 2021 and 2022. Through it all I always had faith in in you and in The Keeping Room. I am glad you have decided to downsize and make it a part time home based business instead of quitting. For the majority of us, it makes no difference. For you it means you still get to do what you love (part time) but will shed the daily commute and all that goes with stocking, maintaining and running a retail operation. Not to mention wrestling with heavy furniture. All the best for your semi-retirement. Looking forward to your continued posts on myfurnitureform.com

[Danw99]

Yay, that is great news and will give you a nice way to ease into real retirement over time instead of being rushed into it.