How can I find a store like The Keeping Room in my area?

[coffee]

I've been browsing this forum for a while now, and have appreciated the straightforward information Duane presents. Last year we were sofa shopping, and I was determined to avoid the glut of cheap furniture stores where I live in northern New Jersey. Being near one of the highest concentration of retail stores in the country (I recently read that the town of Paramus, NJ has the highest retail revenue of any ZIP code in the US, ~$6 Billion, despite blue laws keeping stores closed every Sunday!), I figured there should be at least a few high end furniture stores around. We eventually went with a Stickley sofa, and are still pleased with it after the first year. As we continue to furnish our house, I wish I could browse similar stores that perhaps don't have the high overhead or the brand name premium that Stickley has. The best I can figure is going to the various manufacturer sites (H&M, BY, TK, Century, etc.) and seeing where their authorized retailers are. However, reading one of the sticky posts by Duane, many of these places may have only one or 2 pieces from these suppliers. Many seem to be interior design consultants that sell furniture. I don't want to go to one of these stores only to order from a catalog. Indeed, the Stickley showroom nearest to us didn't have the sofa we wanted, so we drove 2 hours to the next closest one to see it in the flesh. As I said, I can't believe I need to leave the retail megalopolis to find something decent.

Long story short: How do i go about finding quality furniture stores in the NYC metro/ Northern NJ area?

Edit:

I should add that there are plenty of expensive furniture stores around, but I don't need to elaborate the difference on this forum.

[drcollie]

You can try a trip to Scully and Scully in NYC, they have premium brands though I have no idea what their stock levels might be. Also,, they rename everything so you can't cross shop it, but they are a Hancock and Moore Dealer. For example this is an # 8134 Hancock and Moore Austin sofa that we sell in the Cavalier leather for around $ 4,000, they rename it and you can see their price. https://www.scullyandscully.com/furn...ather-sofa.axd

The NYC Design Center has showrooms on the better brands but they may not be open, and/or may not allow public access, you would have to call. Other than that, if there is a specific company you want to look at, then call the factory and ask for the number of the regional rep in that area. Call the rep, and he can direct you to where the stocking stores may be. For example, a gentleman called the Pennsylvania Representative for Hancock and Moore to see if he could find barstools, and was directed to my store in Virginia and he did make the trip and made a purchase last month. He wasn't happy about the 4 hour drive but at least we had what he wanted to see as few dealers floor the barstools.

The number of quality stores has diminished as it's not an easy business and by far, most stores are price-driven, meaning they are not as much interested in carrying quality product as they are carrying profitable lines. And there is nothing wrong with that because businesswise it's smarter to sell a $ 1,000 @ wholesale midline sofa for $ 3,500 than it is a $ 3,000 sofa for $ 4,900. Margins are higher on less expensive furniture and many customers don't know a good piece from a bad one. Also, the high quality market is niche, because wealthy people don't shop furniture - they use Decorators and write one check. Middle class don't shop it either, it's too pricey. So you have a select segment which would be Upper Middle Class that will actually shop better brands on their own.

The Keeping Room is still around because we have very low overhead and staff, and are not in a upscale location - plus we are very small (5,000 sf). Today I was in a Crate & Barrel on Massachusetts Avenue in Northwest Washington DC. As my wife and I walked around I remarked to her "This is a stunning showroom, with lots of natural light. What I could do if I had this much space - it's probably 10x the size of our store". But that much space would cost $ 100,000 a month to run between rent and staffing, and require 5x the inventory that has to be paid for, easily $ 1 mil on the floor. The larger your store, the easier it is to go bankrupt, plus in this industry there is no floor planning help, you have to pay for every one of your floor models in 30 days or less, and that's why you don't see many high end large stores around much anymore.

[coffee]

Thank you Duane. I will take your advice to contact a rep. They will likely have more up to date information. I think you posted elsewhere on the forum that Stickley branded stores are actually the largest retailers for H&M, yet they are not listed on H&M's "where to buy" page.

Somewhat related, I still find it difficult to commit so many thousands of dollars on a product that I am unable to sit on in person. However, as you've mentioned, many showrooms do not stock enough to have a good variety of any one manufacturer's product line, such is the reality of this niche business.

[drcollie]

We are the largest floor stocking dealer in the Mid-Altlantic for Hancock and Moore, and we typically show about fifty-five frames, give or take. However they produce approximately 1,200 frames, so we show about 5% of the line, and we are the biggest. I hear that comment at least thirty times a week, “I have to see it in person”. How do you respond to that? I think however, if you go around the store and try out those fifty frames, you will get a pretty good feel for the line.

I’m don’t know the details of the relationship between Stickley and Hancock and Moore, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact Stickley can’t produce a leather sofa to the level of the Hancock and Moore build at the given price points, or they would. And they don’t want to really put that out publicly, it’s embarrassing. But yes, they are the largest chain store dealer for Hancock and Moore and have been for some time. Sometimes I wonder why Stickley didn’t buy H&M when it was for sale in 2016, that would have made sense for them to do so.

[reader2580]

It is really hard to buy a recliner for a 6'-2" male without sitting in it. Most of them the back simply isn't tall enough. I sat in the recliner I have now before buying it and it turned out to be pretty uncomfortable after I used it at home. The recliner is also falling apart after four years. I don't want to spend $5,000 on a recliner and have it be uncomfortable when I get it home.

[drcollie]

It can be difficult because not one size fits all. If you were to tell me your weight / height / pants inseam and if wide or narrow hips I can guess right 90% of the time based on that info what will fit you. But fitting you doesn't mean you will like the sit of the piece, its two different things. Plus, many people are very particular on the sit of a chair and that comes into play. We have about twenty recliners in the store right now, and I go sit in all but one of them and be comfortable, so 19 out of 20 fit me just fine. However, I routinely have people in the store that will try all twenty and declare that none of them feel right, what else to I have to show them? Well, if you just eliminated all twenty from four different makers, then I doubt you would like anything else....

You need to make a field trip to a stocking dealer is my recommendation. Perhaps go to Furnitureland South in High Point NC, they have 1.2 million sf of sales floor, the largest furniture store in the world. You should be able to try out several hundred recliners there from all the makers in the USA.