A trip to Greenfront Furniture
The "Big Dog" in furniture in Virginia is Greenfront Interiors. They have two locations, a huge, massive complex in Farmville, VA and a large warehouse store in Manassas, VA. I decided to go check them out today (with my wife) as they're known for highly competitive prices and teenagers had taken over our home today with a 'study party' so the Mrs. and I were looking for an out.
Its been a few years since I was in their store, and they carry two brands that I also have in my little boutique store, Hancock & Moore an Southwood. Good to check prices to make sure I am still at or underneath them.
I was taken aback when I walked in. Bare concrete floors, unattractive lighting, zero ambiance, no sales help apparent (not once were we even greeted and were 90 minutes in the store), and what was most shocking was the total lack of merchandising or care of any of the floor models.
I saw a finely-varished Hekman inlaid piece with a hunk of indian Wrought Iron atop it, nothing between the two pieces. I was several groups of kids jumping up and down on better sofas, using them as trampolines with nary a comment from store staff. I saw a Stauton Chippedale lowboy with so many chips and scratches on it from a barstool placed atop it. . There were piles of oriental rugs in heaps on the floor. I wonder what the appeal is? Is it the fact that they have a huge showroom? Certainly ever customer appears to be mostly on their own, there is zero appeal in the displays.
Gave me a new appreciation for my little store. I thought my little 5,000 s.f. store could use a new coat of paint, but after going in this wreck of a store I may not even need to by comparison.
