Totally Envious!

[drcollie]

My wife and I took my daughter to her college today (JMU - Harrisonburg, VA) and after we got her moved into her dorm I wanted to go see Dayton Interiors, which I had heard was a nice store and on the south side of town. They've been in business a long time and the Sales Reps from the various companies speak highly of them.

http://www.daytoninteriors.net

We pulled up to the store which is unimpressive on the outside, in an industrial part of town next to I-81 in a generic, cheap steel building. I wasn't sure what to expect, but once inside I was just amazed at how many excellent room vignettes were set up, and the quality of goods in the store. Clean and well-displayed, lots and lots of inventory. Very big on Bradington Young and they even have more Hancock and Moore on display than I do. If you ever want to see a lot of frames in a well-presented format, this is a great store to go to. They've done a great job and quite frankly I'm bummed out that my store isn't as big or can show as much as they do (must have close to $ 2 Mil on the floor in inventory). He has got to pull from a wider customer demographics than Harrisonburg, VA however....I assume customers from Charlottesville and Richmond must travel there as well.

Prices are much higher than my store, however. Not sure how much they sell, but the stock looked fresh and not shop worn in the least. For example, the Brad Young 4114 Recliner I have on special for $ 799, they have on sale at $ 999. Most H&M sofas were selling for about $ 1,000 over what I price mine at.

All the way home on the interstate I'm telling my wife I want a store that looks like that, easily 8x the size of mine and a real loading dock with attached warehouse. Maybe I need to raise my prices so I can afford to expand?

[aaron]

Are the various room presentations depicted on the site taken at the store? They don't appear to be standard stock photos. If so, I can see what you mean about presentation.

[organic_smallhome]

It's very nice, but big stores tend to be overwhelming for me. I much prefer smaller shops.

[drcollie]

Wow....either those photos on his web site are very fresh, or he keeps his stock a long time. Those are the exact room layouts and exact stock that he has in the store. Its' really nicely done there. Its a family-owned business (like mine) and they own their own building (like mine) and the owners are in the store every day (like mine). Apparently they do no internet sales and don't advertise other than one billboard on the highway. Definitely a destination store, and not a discounter. Interesting place, he appears to do well.

[Riddle]

Terrific place from my view as a window shopper, but I'd be worried sick if I were a vendor with than much stock in this economy. A friend of mine who'd rather make a smaller profit per unit and keep her stock turning would say, "That's lazy money. Not good!"