A trip to Green Front Furniture in Farmville VA

I was closed last Friday, it was Freshman Orientation at Longwood University in Farmville VA where my son Alex will be attending in the fall, and that small town is also the home of mega-furniture store Green Front Furniture - which occupies half of Main Street in (12) buildings. My wife and I sat through the morning lectures at Longwood, but by 2 pm it was just mindless drivel for the parents while all the Freshman were making out their schedules. We knew we have three hours before our son was ready to go, so we cut afternoon classes and went in search of the famous Green Front store I've heard to much about. I've always wanted to see their facility but its a 3 hour drive from my store so I have never got around to going there all these years.

Farmville is a clean-clean-clean little town. Its old, but its kept up very well. There is no trash anywhere on the streets. The light poles have fresh paint. There are no weeds coming up through the brick sidewalks. Its clear the residents and town manager take pride in their town and it shows. Green Front has a lot of buildings, and if you walk it all in a loop and visit every one you'll burn up a mile of shoe leather easy. Ladies, wear your flats. Its loosely organized by galleries and the amount of inventory in the stores is staggering. I simply cannot believe how much merchandise is on on the floor. Has to be in the several millions of dollars, all ready to go.

What strikes you right off the bat are three things, other than the volume of goods:

1) Its not climate controlled.
2) There are no elevators
3) There is no merchandising

1) Without heat in the winter or AC in the summer, there are probably only 30 days a year I'd want to go there. A sunny 65 degree days would be about right. Its mostly old storefronts and warehouse buildings, and they have massive fans to push the air around. But it was 80 degrees there last Friday and simply too hot. My wife and I were a sweaty mess and she packed it in by the time we got to building 8, saying "There is dust blowing all over me and I'm sticky and sweaty, this is no way to look for furniture with those big fans blowing my hair straight up." So she waited outside for me in the park under the trees that was nearby. I can't imagine how chilly it would be in there on a rainy November day.

2) There are four floors on some of those buildings. And they are warehouse floors, which mean tall ceilings and long staircases to climb. Believe me when I tell you that unless you have your workout clothing on and want to get a Stairmaster workout in the heat, you won't visit very floor in every building.

3) I am stunned by how they display their wares. So much money in inventory and its all piled up helter-skelter. There is no attempt at making a pleasant shopping environment just product dumped in the first available empty space and left there until it sells. Thousands of rugs just piled on the floor, too. Ugh. Most working warehouses are organized better. It's too bad, too....because with some effort they could have a really nice display in their place. My wife said "I would never shop here, I'm at the stage of my life where I'm not going to root around for a bargain like I'm at Goodwill." I agree, too.

Other things I noticed. They are not computerized and there does not seem to be inventory control tags. I wonder how they keep track of everything? Most curious. Prices were all over the board. Some were just average, and occasionally there was something that was a killer deal. One that sticks in my mind was a red leather Southwood # 1676 Sofa that was priced at $ 1,699. That's about half of what it should be priced at. I also saw a H&M leather recliner in their clearance center for $ 699 that was a great deal. Mostly though, their Boneyard was mostly oddball stuff that they got stuck with when they bought a showroom from Market at High Point. Lots of marks and light damage on many pieces, they're not babied in that store.

It was an interesting experience. Glad I went. I can't see ever going there to shop furniture unless you wanted to simply see thousands of pieces and were willing to invest an entire day searching for a bargain. If you go, wear your walking shoes and dress for the prevailing weather! Skip the middle of summer, definitely.

Duane - We went to Green Front about 2 years ago, when we were first starting our shopping process. My thoughts were exactly like yours. I was amazed at how much furniture they had but no one seemed interested in selling. I hate pushy salespeople, but you had to really work at even finding anyone at this place! We were there on a comfortable day and spent most of the day and I bet I only saw 3 employees the entire time. There was almost half a warehouse floor with H&M leather sofas - I'd estimate maybe 50 or so. I'll be honest - we used Green Front as a place to try out as many sofas and to look at as many leathers as possible. Here's what shocked me: that all this beautiful furniture was being held in a non-conditioned space, an old warehouse with giant fans on the windows (maybe leftover from the factory days). Those beautiful H&M sofas were just covered in dirt, grim, and dust. Sitting on them made us dirty as can be! There were a few pieces we liked and the prices were good - but I couldn't help but wonder what the wide range of temps (over 100 in summers, below freezing in winters) would do to the frames and leather. It was an experience.

I think what shocks me the most is lack of pride in the product they sell. They certainly buy good stuff, but its not cared for. In my store, I take pride in what I offer to my customers and take the time to make sure its all clean and 100 % the way the maker intended it to be. And I won't jam furniture in when I'm full (like now). Pieces will stay in the box until I can display them properly. To me, that's part of the buying experience - it has to look presentable and be in a comfortable shopping environment.

There's two Porsche dealers in Northern Virginia (and yes....I have a 'car habit'). The one in Arlington VA displays all their new $ 100K cars out next to the highway in the weather, and there is acid rain etching in the paint, bird droppings over the cars, and rusty brake rotors - all on brand new cars. The other dealer in Tysons' Corner keeps their new Porsches in the showroom, or in a covered warehouse facility out of the environment. Guess which one sells more cars? I know that if I were to buy a new one, I'm not going to even think about one that looks abused and still has the window sticker on it.

Green Front is like that Porsche dealer in Arlington...

Dirty sofas and sweaty customers... sounds lovely.

If products aren't displayed properly, I'm surprised manufacturers (esp. high end) would allow the company to be an authorized seller.

Because they move TONS of product. They sell more in four days than I sell all year.

You can get by with a lot of sloppy merchandising and less than ideal shopping environment as far as a manufacturer is concerned if you move volume and pay your bills on time. Those are really the prime criteria. Furniture for most makers is a volume business with factories designed to crank product out the door, and most run no where near capacity these days. If a retailer can sell it in a open muddy field the manufacturers are O.K. with that as long as the orders keep coming in and the end users are happy. When you have as much square footage as Green Front does, you have buying power that results in aggressive pricing for the customer that little mom n' pops like me can't match. Since they still do a bang-up business, I have to assume there are plenty of people willing to drive to the middle of nowhere to shop in a hot (or cold) building poking around dusty product in order to save some money. Its a formula that works for them. I'd love to have their presence and structures, but you can bet I'd spend the extra money and make it more pleasant and presentable to shop there....

Hey Duane, I was in Greenfront-Manassas today trying on sofas (trying not buying;) I was hoping to find a Member sofa just to feel the fit, but no luck. Anyhoo...I did boomerang an old customer back your way. She was looking for a leather sectional for her living room and wasn't having any luck either. Think she said she bought a H&M recliner from you in the past, so expect her on your doorstep soon. ~ Susan

Thanks Susan! Always appreciate referrals!

Our son goes to Longwood University which is in the small town of Farmville VA where Greenfront is walking distance from his dorm. We went to visit him yesterday and I dragged them all down to Greenfront AGAIN so I could go take a look at their offerings. Boy, they sure do have a lot of product, their inventory is breathtaking in quantity. My wife once again reiterated that she would never shop there as the place is too dirty, hot (there is neither A/C in the summer or heat in the winter), no sales help, and the furniture looks abused. I just stand there and see all that money tied up in inventory in premium brands and marvel at the flea market display of it all. There is so much dirt and dust on some of the leather furniture that people have come by and written their names in the dirt on the seats. Cushions are stacked in the seats, ottomans flipped upside down and put in the sofas....it looks more warehouse than showroom floor.

I don't understand it. It offends my retailing sensibilities. These marvelous, old brick tobacco warehouses that from the outside are very appealing on the clean and kept streets of Farmville and you walk inside where it looks like a mini-tornado has struck. With just a little pride in their stores, and some money to put in climate control, and more staff - they could have the most wonderful showrooms in the East Coast. I would have such a grand time if I could have just one of those buildings for my store (they're four stories tall) and fix it up.

But they move product. People do go there because there is just so much to see - but it really is flea market all the way. Be prepared to root to get what you want, and you're pretty much on your own for picking things out. It makes my head spin ever time I walk in there..